Natural Gas Report Shows Productivity In Utica Shale

The first look at actively producing natural gas wells in Ohio's Utica Shale formation using the method known as hydraulic fracturing show high levels of gas production. Figures reported Monday by Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. show five wells in eastern Ohio producing 2.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2011. The figures, which Chesapeake provided to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, shows one well alone in Harrison County producing 2 percent of the state's entire natural gas production. Rick Simmers, Ohio's oil and gas resources division chief, says preliminary production for all the wells is very high. Companies including Chesapeake have drilled 38 other wells that have yet to report production. Ohio has issued about 150 permits for Utica Shale wells in Ohio.