The Akron Legal News

Oil production increases again in Ohio shale region

BRANDON KLEIN
Special to the Legal News
Published: September 17, 2019

Oil production in Ohio's horizontal shale region continued to increase in the second quarter this year with greater gains than natural gas on a percentage and annual basis, according to data the Ohio Department of Natural Resources released recently.

Horizontal wells produced more than 5.81 million barrels of oil and nearly 614.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas for the quarter compared with more than 4.48 million barrels of oil and 554.36 billion cubic feet of natural gas for the second quarter of 2018.

Note: a barrel of oil is equal to 42 U.S. gallons and gas reporting totals include natural gas liquids. Ohio law does not require the separate reporting of natural gas liquids, or NGL, or condensate and, therefore, reporting totals listed on the report include NGLs and condensate.

That's a nearly 30-percent increase for oil and a nearly 11-percent increase for shale gas between the two quarters.

This year's production numbers reverse the script from last year when oil production trailed natural gas on a percentage basis.

In addition, Ohio's shale region has produced nearly 10.89 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the first two quarters this year. That's up 29 percent and 12.6 percent for oil and natural gas, respectively, from the first half of last year.

The ODNR listed 2,365 horizontal shale wells with 2,317 reporting oil and natural gas production for the second quarter this year. The average amount of oil produced was 2,509 barrels; of natural gas produced was more than 265 million cubic feet; and of the average number of first quarter days in production was 86.

Ohio's Utica and Marcellus shale formations are located in eastern Ohio and account for more than 85 percent of U.S. shale gas production growth since 2011. The growing shale industry has attracted more than $74 billion from 2011 to the first half of 2018, according to a Cleveland State University study.

Since drilling in Ohio's shale portion began, the state has issued more than 3,157 permits for horizontal drilling in the Utica/ Point Pleasant shale play with 2,684 of them drilled and 70 permits for the Marcellus shale play with 47 of them drilled.

There is no drilling activity within central Ohio's 10-county metropolitan area. Ohio counties where drilling takes place include Belmont, Jefferson, Mahoning and Washington.

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