SALEM, Ohio — Permits for horizontal drilling in the Utica shale are beginning to pinpoint where the sweet spot in the Utica shale may be located.

Noble County

Of the new drilling permits issued in May by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 17 permits were issued in Noble County. The permits were distributed in Center, Beaver and Marion townships.

The ODNR granted four permits in Center Township to the CNX Gas Company. An additional five permits were issued to Antero Resources Corporation in Marion Township, and eight permits were issued to Antero Resources Corporation for sites in Beaver Township. Nine of the wells are already in the drilling phase.

There are 38 additional Noble County wells in either the drilling or “having been drilled” phase. They are awaiting infrastructure to get the oil and gas moving into pipelines. Most of the wells drilled are with Antero Resources and are located in Seneca Township.

Monroe County

The ODNR issued 12 new permits in Monroe County. Four permits were issued in Seneca Township to Antero Resources. One of the wells has already been drilled.

In Ohio Township, four permits were issued to Triad Hunter; three permits were issued in Franklin Township to Hall Drilling, and one permit was issued in Perry Township to EM Energy Ohio.

There are 33 wells being drilled and 12 wells are producing in Monroe County.

Harrison County

The ODNR issued 10 new permits in Harrison County during May. It brings the permit total there to 231.
American Energy Utica, the drilling company created by Aubrey McClendon after he left Chesapeake Exploration, is not wasting any time moving forward with drilling plans. The ODNR issued nine permits to AEU in Nottingham Township.

One additional permit was issued in German Township to Chesapeake Exploration.

There are now 87 wells either being drilled or that have been drilled. In addition, there are 57 wells producing in Harrison County.

Carroll County

According to the ODNR, Carroll County leads the state with the largest number of permits issued to date. There are now 405 permits issued for well sites there.

The ODNR issued eight new permits during May. Four permits were issued in East Township, two in Fox Township and two in Union Township. All were granted to Chesapeake Exploration.

There are 153 wells in some step of the drilling phase and 191 producing wells in Carroll County.

Guernsey County

Drilling appears to be ramping up in Guernsey County as well. The ODNR issued seven new permits for the county during May.

Two permits were issued in Millwood Township to R.E. Gas Development; two were issued Madison Township to American Energy Utica; two in Londonderry Township to American Energy Utica; and one in Oxford Township to Eclipse Resources.
Twenty-five wells are in a drilling phase and 27 wells are producing.

Belmont County

The ODNR issued five new permits in Belmont County. All five of them were issued to the Gulfport Energy Corporation. The permits were issued for two wells in Washington Township, two in Kirkwood and one in Union Township.

There are now 32 wells drilled there and 19 are in production.

Columbiana and Jefferson counties

Single permits were issued in both Columbiana and Jefferson counties.

The permit in Columbiana County was issued in Hanover Township to Chesapeake Exploration. The county now has 42 wells either drilled or being drilled and 23 producing wells.

In Jefferson County, the ODNR issued one permit to Chesapeake Exploration for a well to be drilled in Island Creek Township.

The ODNR is reporting 16 wells either drilled or being drilled in Jefferson County, and 12 wells are online producing.

As of May 31, the ODNR has issued a total of 1,283 permits and 879 wells have been drilled in the Utica shale.

Marcellus shale

In May, the ODNR issued two new permits for drilling the Marcellus shale.

One permit was issued in Belmont County to Gulfport Energy Corporation for a well site in Kirkwood Township.

One permit was issued in Monroe County to Triad Hunter for a site in Lee Township.

There are 44 permits issued for drilling in the Marcellus shale and 27 wells have been drilled.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued 225 unconventional (shale) well permits during May. Greene, Bradford, Susquehanna and Washington counties led the pack.

The DEP issued 54 permits in Greene County during May. According to the report, 44 new permits were issued and 10 permits to drill deeper was also granted. There were 29 shale wells drilled, according to the DEP.

In Bradford County, 43 new permits were issued and one permit was issued so the well could be drilled deeper. Four wells were drilled during May, according to the DEP.

In Susquehanna County, 40 new permits were issued and one was issued so the well could be drilled deeper. There were 13 shale wells drilled in May.

In Washington County, 30 new permits were issued and six requests to drill deeper were also approved. In addition, drillers moved forward and drilled 17 new shale wells.

In the immediate Farm and Dairy circulation area, the DEP issued 11 permits in Allegheny County; 10 permits for well sites in Butler County; one in Beaver County; one in Lawrence County and four in Westmoreland County.

The DEP reported that five new wells were drilled in Butler County and two in Lawrence County. The report also showed that 98 shale wells were drilled during May.

West Virginia

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection also issued several permits for Marcellus shale well sites during May.

In Marshall County, one permit was issued to Noble Energy on land owned by Consolidation Coal Company.

In Wetzel County, a single permit was issued to the Stone Energy corporation on land owned by Heath and Charmaine Starkweather.

Eight permits were issued in Tyler County. Three of the permits were issued to Antero Resources on land owned by Edin C. Weigle. Antero also received three permits for land owned by the Coastal Lumber Company.

Double permits were issued to the Jay-Bee Oil and Gas Company on land owned by W. and Ida Tustin Stanley.

A single permit was issued to Antero on land owned by David M. Hartley.

In Monongalia County, three permits were issued for Marcellus shale wells. The permits were issued to Northeast Natural Energy for well sites owned by Ellen Campbell and the Coastal Forest Resources Company.

The DEP also issued a single permit to Noble Energy for a well to be developed on land owned by the Consolidation Coal Company.