Ohio's Utica Shale – Additional Permits and New Production Reports

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) reports that during the week of January 13 through January 19, 2013, it approved 3 new horizontal well drilling permits regarding the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale, all of which were issued to Chesapeake Exploration LLC for its operations in Carroll County.  Through January 19, ODNR has issued 500 horizontal well permits for the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale, 212 horizontal wells have been drilled under such permits, and 48 wells are in production.  Of the producing wells, Gulfport Energy Corp. has released production data from two new Utica Shale wells; one in Belmont county and one in Harrison County that are showing impressive numbers.  Gulfport’s Stutzman well in Belmont County ranks fourth in production totals among all wells in Ohio, and its Clay well in Harrison County ranks eighth among all producing wells.   Gulfport also operates Ohio’s most productive well, the Shugert well in Belmont County which reportedly is producing 7,482 barrels of oil equivalents per day, which includes 28.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, plus 300 barrels of oil and 2,907 barrels of natural gas liquids per day.