Here’s this week’s top shale gas stories:

( 1 ) Belmont County Leads Ohio in July Drilling Permits

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported 80 new horizontal drilling permits in July. There’s currently 32 drilling rigs in the state. So far, 832 drilling permits have been issued and 466 well drilled.

Belmont County led Ohio with the most permits issued in July. Gulfport Energy and Hess Ohio Developments LLC., were issued the drilling permits.

For a county by county wrap-up of permits issued, visit the post below.

» Via: The Shale Gas Reporter › Utica and Marcellus Shale Update: Belmont County Leads the State

( 2 ) Shale Forum Targets Students

As the oil and gas industry continues to grow in Ohio, jobs in the industry will become more common, at least that’s what the “Training Students for the Jobs of Today and Tomorrow Forum” was expecting, according to WKBN.com.

The forum outlined jobs that could be created over the next several years by the oil and gas industry. It also outlined the kinds of education needed to land those jobs. Congressman Tim Ryan and Bill Johnson attended the event.

» Via: WKBN.com › Shale forum targets middle and high school students

( 3 ) Court Reveals Details of Family’s Shale Gas Settlement

The Pittsbugh Post-Gazette broke the news last week that a gag order agreed upon by a family who battled oil and gas drillers over negative health impact claims, was not necessarily supposed to apply to the family’s children.

Read Range Resources response:

“Range has never, at any time, had the intention of seeking to hold a minor child legally accountable for a breach of that provision of the settlement agreement.”

The story gained national attention, putting shale gas development under a larger microscope.

This week, the Post-Gazette gained access to the 17-page settlement agreement, which includes language that bars the family from living, “…within 2 miles of any existing Marcellus Shale facility owned by Range Resources, MarkWest Energy and Williams Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream, or within 1,000 feet of any existing natural gas lease involving the companies.”

The settlement agreement includes an admission by the family that it suffered no environmental, health or safety impact from the drilling near their property.

Why, if the family suffered no health issues, did the oil and gas companies agree on giving the family $750,000?

For details of the settlement, visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

» Via: The Pittsbught Post-Gazette › Court reveals how shale drillers, Pittsburgh-area family agreed

( 4 ) Marcellus Natural Gas Output Rising, Ohio Could be Next

Output from the Marcellus is beating expectations this year, according to the Christian Science Monitor and Bentek, a Colorado company that analyzes energy trends.

According to Bentek, the Marcellus is expected to produce roughly 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2013, an increase of nearly 50 percent.

So what does this mean for Ohio natural gas production?

Read it: 

“…when serious shale drilling started in Pennsylvania in 2008, output barely registered on a national level, and most of the Northeast relied on natural gas that was being pumped from the Gulf of Mexico or from Canada through a network of pipelines.

Now, Marcellus gas is supplying the Pennsylvania and Northeast markets, and it’s grown to be the nation’s most productive gas field. Bentek expects a surplus will soon start flowing to the South and Midwest.”

In other words, Ohio can expect to see a large increase in production come 2014 and 2015.

» Via: The Christian Science Monitor › Marcellus Shale natural gas output rising fast

( 5 ) Fracking Boom and Housing Bust?

There’s been quite a bit of talk about how shale gas development impacts the real estate market. An influx of workers can raise rents, as indicated in this 2011 report from The Center for the Study of Community and the Economy.

Can this boom result in a bust? According to Grist.org, it’s very possible.

The bust may begin with lenders.

Read it:

“Lawyers, realtors, public officials, and environmental advocates from Pennsylvania to Arkansas to Colorado are noticing that banks and federal agencies are revisiting their lending policies to account for the potential impact of drilling on property values, and in some cases are refusing to finance property with or even just near drilling activity.”

One couple, Brian and Amy Smith, were denied a new mortgage last year on their home and hobby farm. Read the entire story at WTAE. Quicken Loans told the smiths that their loan was denied because, “It is located across the street from a gas drilling site.”

Read the entire story at Grist.org.

 » Via: Grist.org › Fracking boom could lead to housing bust