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State regulators plan to triple the number of inspectors who monitor oil and gas wells in Ohio’s Utica Shale region.
But the positions are being created on the expectation of increased revenue.
Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Heidi Henzel-Evans says taking the number of inspectors from 30 to 90 will be funded by increased revenue from the state’s severance tax on oil and natural gas drillers.
Hetzel-Evans says traditional vertical well drilling has decreased in recent months, but shale drilling is still booming.
“In the year 2013-2014, where we’ll see more activity in the shale formations, we’ll have many more boots on the grounds to address any issues related to those larger operations.”
Hetzel-Evans says there are now about 54,000 oil and gas wells around the state. She says only 65 of those are in the Utica Shale region, but that number could reach several hundred by the end of the year.
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