SALEM, Ohio — In June, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 13 new permits for horizontal drilling in the Utica or Point Pleasant shale, as of the week ending June 25.

No new drilling permits were issued in Ohio’s Marcellus shale region in June.

In comparison, a year ago, the state issued 34 drilling permits in June.

View the latest infographic of Ohio’s producing wells

Jefferson County

The interest is increasing in Jefferson County, where six permits were issued last month. Jefferson County currently has 20 wells in production.

The ODNR issued two permits for well sites in Ross Township, both to Chesapeake Exploration LLC.
Single permits were issued for wells in Mount Pleasant, Salem, Island Creek and Knox townships. The permits in Knox, Island Creek and Salem townships were issued to Chesapeake, which has already drilled the Island Creek site. The Mount Pleasant Township permit went to Ascent Resources Utica LLC.

Carroll, Monroe

The state issued two well permits in Carroll County and two in Monroe County. One Carroll County permit in East Township went to Chesapeake; a second permit in that township went to Enervest Operating LLC.

Carroll County currently has 425 producing wells, the most of any Ohio county. In Carroll County, Loudon Township has the most wells in production, with 85 of the total 425 wells currently producing. There are 83 producing wells in Lee Township.

In Monroe County, Statoil USA Onshore Properties Inc. received permits for two sites in Salem Township. The county currently has 129 producing wells.

Single permits

The state issued single permits in Belmont, Columbiana and Tuscarawas counties.

In Columbiana County, Chesapeake Exploration has already drilled the permitted site in Washington Township.

CNX Gas Company received the permit in Tuscarawas County’s Bucks Township, and that well has already been drilled and is producing.

Ascent Resources received the permit in Belmont County for a site in Colerain Township.

Of the producing wells in Belmont County, the most are in Somerset Township, with 34 wells in production.

Ohio totals

As of June 25, the ODNR has issued 2,185 permits for drilling in the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale. Of those, 1,751 wells have been drilled and 1,328 are currently producing.

In the Marcellus shale, the state has issued 44 horizontal drilling permits to date. Twenty-nine wells have been drilled and of those, 21 are producing.

Pennsylvania

Eighty-one drilling permits were issued in Pennsylvania in June. Of those, 70 were new permits and 11 were permits to drill deeper on existing well sites.

There were 20 permits issued in Washington County, the most of any Pennsylvania county. Seventeen permits were for new sites and three were issued for deeper drilling on existing sites.

Butler County also received a flurry of permits, receiving 12 new permits for drilling. Greene County sites received five drilling permits, including one permit to drill deeper at an existing well.

Three locations in Westmoreland County received permits for drilling, and single permits were issued in Allegheny, Armstrong, Bradford, Clearfield and Lawrence counties, in our primary circulation area.

In June, there were six unconventional wells drilled in Beaver County; five drilled in Washington County; and four each in Butler and Greene counties.

Across the Commonwealth in June, there were seven conventional (Warren County) and 27 unconventional (horizontal) wells drilled.

(Editor Susan Crowell can be reached at 800-837-3419 or at editor@farmanddairy.com. You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/scrowell or Farm and Dairy at http://twitter.com/farmanddairy.)