Utica Shale: Yield Report for 2012

Horizontal drilling made strides in 2012
45 Utica Shale wells tout staggering production
by Z. Daniel Barnett - Published: January 2, 2013

Though still in its infancy, the horizontal drilling boom in Ohio made huge strides in 2012.
Tom Stewart, Executive Vice President of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, said that the 45 wells in-production in the Buckeye State are yielding staggering results, producing enough natural gas to equal 40% of what's being produced by the 64,000 existing vertical wells in the state. Total Utica Shale production is currently averaging 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per-day.
Companies like Chesapeake Energy and Anadarko Petroleum also made their presence known last year. They are among 16 of the biggest exploration companies now holding drilling rights on more than 4 million acres in eastern Ohio. In the two years since it drilled its first Utica Shale well, Chesapeake has invested $3.3 billion in Ohio and drilled 134 wells. In 2013, the company said it plans to drill 200 more.
Heidi Hetzel-Evans, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said that permitting requests slowed at the end of the year, but that the state expects activity to surge again once warmer weather returns.