It has been two years since the Governor’s Energy Summit, which signified in earnest the kickoff of Utica Shale development in Ohio. Since the conference, Ohio has seen unprecedented investment from the oil and gas industry. Billions of dollars have been invested in the state by not just exploration and production companies, but midstream facilities and service companies, all of which means Ohio jobs and new tax revenue for the state.
To date, there have been 882 permits issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for wells in the Utica/Point Pleasant formation. Of those 882 permitted wells, 542 of them have been developed, and 152 of those are in production.
In addition, Ohio has seen midstream development occurring at a rapid pace. MarkWest, Utica East Ohio and Blue Racer are already processing gas for Utica producers, with more processing plants being constructed. In addition to these companies, Hickory Bend, a joint venture between NiSource and Hilcorp, is also building a major processing plant. Taken together, these projects are estimated to represent a nearly $10 billion investment our state.
Meanwhile, service companies like Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger are building facilities in Ohio to service the oil and gas industry. The construction and operation of these facilities are providing numerous jobs to the economy.
The most permitted counties in Ohio remain east of Interstate 77. Carroll and Harrison counties remain the hot spots of the Utica, while Belmont, Noble, Monroe and Guernsey counties continue to pick up steam as promising areas as positive production results are released. Here’s a county-by-county rundown of issued permits:
- Carroll County- 327 Permits
- Harrison County- 130 Permits
- Columbiana County- 88 Permits
- Noble County- 64 Permits
- Guernsey County- 51 Permits
- Belmont County- 45 Permits
- Monroe County- 37 Permits
- Jefferson County- 36 Permits
- Mahoning County- 27 Permits
These wells are being permitted and developed by 24 companies, and many of these companies are household names:
- Anadarko E&P Company LP – 12
- Antero Res Appalachian Corp – 41
- Atlas Noble – 8
- BP – 6 (2 permits under Brammer Engineering)
- Carrizo Utica LLC – 3
- Chesapeake– 513
- Chevron Appalachia LLC – 7
- CNX Gas Company LLC – 37
- Devon Energy Production Co – 13
- Eclipse- 6
- Enervest Operating LLC - 17
- EQT Production Company – 4
- Gulfport Energy Corporation – 86
- Halcon Operating Company Inc. – 5
- Hall Drilling — 3
- Hess Ohio Develop. LLC – 31
- HG Energy LLC – 16
- Hilcorp Energy Company – 13
- Mountaineer Keystone LLC – 8
- Petroleum Development Corp – 12
- R E Gas Development LLC – 21
- Sierra Resources LLC – 3
- Triad Hunter – 4
- XTO Energy Inc. – 5
Eastern Ohio is continuing to see new pipelines to connect all of these wells to put them into production, and once this nexus of pipelines is put into place, we will see development grow even further. That translates to more jobs and stronger local economies.