Utica Production Places Ohio in Starring Role of Shale Revolution

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From Forbes:
Thanks to the Utica and even part of Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale plays (map here), Ohio is now one of our of major natural gas producing states. Despite low prices in the $3.00 range, producers in the Utica have added 10 rigs since early-March to now total 29. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports that 2Q gas production hit 4.3 Bcf/d, up 5% or so from the prior quarter and up 16-17% from the 2Q 2016. Four counties - Belmont, Harrison, Monroe, Carroll, and Jefferson - account for nearly 90% of the state's output, with Belmont leading at 1.9 Bcf/d. 
Looking forward, Ohio has many more gas opportunities: I've already documented the Northeast gas pipeline build-out primed to bring gas to more markets, here. Delivering over 0.6 Bcf/d in recent days, the massive $4.2 billion, 713-mile greenfield Rover pipeline (map here) finally started Phase 1 operations Friday, September 1. Rover's Phase 2 will lift the project to its full 3.25 Bcf/d capacity and could come online by early-December. Rover will ship Appalachia Basin gas to markets in the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and eastern Canada.

With construction slowed by multiple delays and pressure from regulators, the gas market has been excitedly waiting for Rover's arrival. This is the largest pipeline project since the beginning of the shale boom, so vital that regulatory policies surrounding it move the needle for the U.S. gas market, here. 
Rover will have major effects on regional Northeast basis gas pricing, such as Dominion South. But be careful how you view new pipelines on gas prices, since they have a dual impact: pipelines can lower basis by increasing gas-on-gas competition but they can also increase production. Meaning that to a large degree, the price impact of gas pipelines for prices isn't certain. For example, now that Rover is up and running, Northeast gas production has ramped up past the 25 Bcf/d.
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