How Does the Utica Shale Compare to the Marcellus Shale?

From the Youngstown Vindicator:
The very first Utica-Point Pleasant (Utica Shale) well in Ohio was permitted in September 2010 amid anticipation of what the next few years would bring in terms of drilling, economic development, jobs creation and environmental risks. 
The Marcellus Shale in neighboring Pennsylvania had proven to be the largest shale-gas play on Earth, so why not expect the same or even more from the Utica Shale here in Ohio? 
As it turns out, a comparison between the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania makes sense. Both states have nearly parallel histories of oil and gas exploration and development dating back to 1859. The petroleum industry in both states had peaked years ago and was in a gradual and steady state of decline. The geology of the Marcellus and Utica Shales is not all that different as both formations were deposited in the same ancient sea that covered the region for most of the Paleozoic Era (about 280 million years ago). 
Unconventional drilling of the Marcellus Shale was pioneered by Range Resources with its first well drilled in Washington County in 2005. Since that first well, Marcellus drilling activity in Pennsylvania grew steadily over the next six years. Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) data show that in 2007 the number of unconventional Marcellus wells drilled in the state stood at 112 wells. The number of wells grew to 333 in 2008, 815 in 2009, 1,614 in 2010 and peaked at 1,975 in 2011. In 2012, the number of wells began to decline.
Read the rest of this article here. 

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