I continue to be surprised every time I read news about oil and gas production from the Utica Shale formation.
The most recent numbers released last week raised an eyebrow. The numbers around here are not all that impressive - yet - but a well, one well, in Harrison County reported some impressive production numbers.
Here are some of the figures released by the Ohio Department of Natural resources:
In Harrison County a Cheseapeake Energy well produced 1.52 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 13,472 barrels of oil in 2011. The well didn't even operate the full year, just 198 days. That works out to 68 barrels of oil a day, 7.69 cubic feet of gas per day.
Five Chesapeake wells in Ohio, Harrison county included, along with four in Carroll County, produced 2.62 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2011, and more than 43,000 barrels of oil.
Chesapeake also announced that it wants to have 20 rigs in the state by the end of the year.
Trumbull County has not been the site of any drilling yet, but there is one in Mahoning County. Located in Milton Township, that well produced 758 barrels of oil, according to the ODNR. One in Portage County yielded 583 barrels of oil. The drilling in this area is still in its infancy, but based on the numbers from these other counties, the area most likely will see similar results.
I am really optimistic about the future for this area. I can't wait to see where we are in a year or two. The gas and oil developers obviously have done a lot of research, or they would not have plunked down millions of dollars for oil leases in Trumbull County recently.
People around here are getting familiar with some common terms being thrown around: Hydraulic fracturing, fracking, wet gas, dry gas, Utica Shale, Marcellus Shale, injection wells, etc. The way it looks right now, in a year or two, people will be as familiar with fracturing as many today are when it comes to the steel industry.
The developments are moving this way. It's going to be an interesting ride, and it's just beginning to take shape. Let's just hope the area is ready for this upcoming influx of people, machinery and technology.
Robinson is the editor of the Tribune Chronicle. You can reach him at frobinson@tribtoday.com.