SALEM, Ohio — Monroe County gained 20 new permits for drilling to begin on 20 well sites during July.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, there were 20 permits issued in Monroe County, which was the most in the state.
In Salem Township, five permits were issued to Eclipse Resources, and three to Statoil USA Onshore Property.
In addition, four permits were issued in Washington Township to Gulfport Energy Corporation; three in Adams Township to Eclipse Resources, and three in Ohio Township to Statoil USA Onshore Property as well as one in both Switzerland Township to CNX Gas Co. and one in Seneca Township to Antero Resources Corporation.
The ODNR report shows there are now have been 204 permits issued in Monroe County since the shale boom began.
As of July 31, the county has 48 producing wells and 119 drilled wells awaiting infrastructure before they can begin producing.
Carroll County
In Carroll County, there were seven permits issued in July in Orange Township to Chesapeake Exploration, according to the ODNR. Carroll County still leads the state with the number of permits issued in total — at 494, according to the ODNR. There are 363 producing wells and 68 drilled wells.
Harrison County
The ODNR reports Hess Ohio Developments received five new permits in Athens Township in Harrison County last month. As of July 31, there were 364 permits issued in Harrison County since 2013. At the end of July, the number of producing wells stood at 146 and the number of wells drilled awaiting pipelines or other infrastructure stands at 160.
Noble County
The ODNR issued seven new permits during July in Noble County. The permits were issued to Antero Resources Corporation, with six issued in Beaver Township and one in Enoch Township.
Guernsey County
Two new permits were issued in Guernsey County to PDC Energy for a well site in Wills Township. As of the end of July, the ODNR has issued 184 permits for Utica shale wells. According to the ODNR, there are currently 85 producing wells in Guernsey County and 69 drilled wells.
Belmont County
A single permit was issued in July to American Energy Utica for a well to be drilled in Belmont County’s Wheeling Township, according to the ODNR. The monthly report shows there are now 238 total permits issued in Belmont County with 93 wells producing and 97 wells reported as having been drilled.
Since the shale boom began, the ODNR has issued 1,982 permits for horizontal drilling in the Utica shale and 1,564 wells have been drilled. There are currently 20 rigs drilling in Ohio.
Marcellus shale
The ODNR reported no new Marcellus shale well permits issued during July and there are no rigs drilling any new wells.
As of July 31, there were 44 permits and 29 Marcellus shale wells remain in a drilling phase.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued 128 permits during July and 1,259 since Jan. 31, 2015. The DEP reported there were 98 unconventional wells drilled during July.
Here is a breakdown of the number of permits and wells drilled in the counties closest to the Farm and Dairy circulation area:
Allegheny County
So far this year, the DEP has issued 28 permits, of which 21 were for new wells and seven were for permission to drill deeper in existing wells. The DEP reported there were five shale wells drilled in July in the county.
Beaver County
The DEP issued two new permits in Beaver County during July. So far, the DEP issued 25 permits this year, of which 20 were for new wells and five were for permission to drill deeper.
Bradford County
In July, the DEP reported there were 13 permits issued and so far the DEP has issued 184 in 2015. The DEP reported there were seven unconventional wells drilled during July. The DEP reported 175 of the wells were for new wells, five were for permission to drill deeper and the remaining four were permission to redrill a well.
Butler County
The DEP reported three new permits July in Butler County. So far in 2015, the number of permits issued there totaled 73, with 69 issued for new wells and four for permission to drill deeper in existing wells.
The DEP reported there were 15 shale wells drilled in Butler County during July.
Greene County
The DEP issued 30 permits for well sites in Greene County during July. Of those permits, 26 were issued for new wells and four were issued so an existing well could be drilled deeper. So far in 2015, there were 201 permits issued with 161 issued for new wells and 40 were issued for permission to drill deeper or other alterations to the permit. The DEP reported 33 shale wells were drilled during July 2015.
Washington County
As of July 31, there were 16 permits issued for new wells in Washington County and 190 permits issued since Jan. 1. Of the 190 permits issued this year, 134 were for new wells and the remainder were for permission to drill deeper or alter their permit applications in other ways. The DEP also reported there were four new wells drilled in July.
Lawrence and Mercer counties
There were no new permits issued by the DEP in July for new wells to be drilled. And, according to the DEP, there were no wells drilled so far this year. The permit count in Lawrence County remains at 20 and in Mercer County, 13.
West Virginia
Tyler County in West Virginia appears to be a hot spot for drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued 15 new permits in Tyler County during July. Nine of the permits were issued to Antero Resources Corporation on three different properties. The remaining six permits were split between the Stone Energy Corporation and Statoil USA Onshore Properties Inc.
Marshall County
Another hot spot for drilling appears to be in Marshall County, where nine permits were issued in July by the Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP issued seven of the permits to Chevron Appalachia on two different properties.
Single permits
The West Virginia DEP issued single permits in Ohio and Wetzel counties, both to the SWN Production Company
