SALEM, Ohio — There is no doubt low oil prices are impacting the number of shale permits issued in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
In Ohio, there were only 13 permits issued during February, down substantially from a year ago when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 43 Utica shale permits. Ohio permits totaled 34 in February 2014.
In Ohio, Belmont and Jefferson sites received the most permits this February.
Belmont County
The ODNR issued four Utica permits to Gulfport Energy for sites in Belmont County’s York Township . There are now 134 wells producing and 107 remain in some drilling phase.
Jefferson County
In Jefferson County, four Utica shale permits were issued by the ODNR to Chesapeake Exploration. Two permits were issued for a site in Ross Township and one each in Saline and Salem townships.
Two permits
The ODNR issued two permits in Monroe and Carroll counties during February.
In Carroll County, two permits were issued in Center Township to RE Gas Development.
The ODNR report shows there are 42 wells in some sort of drilling phase and 413 wells are in production in Carroll County.
Meanwhile, in Monroe County, two permits were issued to EM Energy Ohio for a site in Perry Township. The ODNR report shows the county has 72 wells that have been drilled and 115 producing wells.
Guernsey County
A single permit was issued in Center Township in Guernsey County to the Devon Energy Production.
The ODNR reported there are now 107 wells in production in the county, and 49 in a drilling phase.
Statewide
Across Ohio, there are now 2,138 permits issued, with 1,688 wells drilled to date.
There were no new permits issued in the Marcellus shale in Ohio. There are 44 Marcellus shale wells permitted, with 29 wells in some sort of drilling phase.
Pennsylvania
The reports produced by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also show a slowdown in the number of Utica and Marcellus shale permits issued. This was evident with the DEP reporting no new well permits issued or wells drilled in Bradford County where the shale rush began 10 years ago.
Western Pennsylvania
Washington County continues to be a hot spot for new permits and drilling even in the slowdown. The DEP reported there were 43 permits issued in February and 92 so far in 2016. There were seven new wells drilled in February.
Thee were 27 permits issued in Greene County last month. So far the DEP has issued 66 in 2016. Greene County also led the state in February for the highest number of new wells drilled, with seven.
The DEP issued nine new permits in Allegheny County. There have been 14 permits issued in the county so far this year.
The DEP issued only one permit in February to a Butler County site. So far this year, there have been 12 permits issued in the county.
West Virginia
The slowdown was also felt in West Virginia in February. Only two counties, Doddridge and Brooke County, showed shale permits issued.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued two permits for new wells in Brooke County. The permits were issued to SWN Production Company for surface property owned by Russell and Lisa Hervey.
Three permits were issued in Doddridge County. Two permits were issued to the Antero Resources Corporation for surface property is owned by McCloy Alvadore. The single permit was issued to the EQT Production Company on property owned by Justin L. Henderson.
