Digging Deep Into 2nd Quarter 2018 Utica Shale Production Data

By -
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has now released the production data from the Utica shale for the second quarter of 2018. As always, we are going to give you a look at how the numbers compare to past quarters, past years, and how they break down among the various drillers who are active in Ohio and the counties where they are drilling. We'll look at where the production numbers would end up for 2018 if they continue at the same pace as they have had through the first two quarters. We also have the top 10 oil and gas wells detailed below.

PRODUCTION RATE COMPARISONS

First up, let's take a look at how the quarterly data compares from the first quarter of 2014 (which is when the ODNR began reporting quarterly data rather than one yearly report) through the second quarter of 2018. As a reminder, all oil figures are 42-gallon barrels, and all gas production is measured in MCF:

Total oil production is back on the rise after dropping for the first time in six quarters during the first quarter of 2018.  In fact, the total oil production is the highest seen in over two years.  Of course, there were also over 600 less wells producing over two years ago.  Thus, the production rate continues to limp along at just above the lowest numbers we've seen over the past four and a half years.  The following chart gives a look at the precipitous drop in oil production rates in the Utica shale since 2015.

Gas production, which has consistently been hitting new highs in terms of production rates, actually saw a slight rate decline in Q2 of 2018.  The total amount of gas produced did set another quarterly record, though.  The following graph gives a look at gas production rates quarter by quarter, showing how much steadier these rates have been in comparison to oil production.

The next table shows the production comparison year-over-year.

With stronger numbers in the second quarter, the Utica is now on pace to avoid a third straight year of declining overall oil production.  Gas production remains on pace to surpass 2,000,000,000 MCF for the year for the first time.  More gas has already been produced in the first two quarters of 2018 than in all of 2015.

TOP PRODUCING WELLS

Here are the top 10 oil-producing wells in quarter one of 2018:


Eclipse Resources remains the Utica leader as far as oil production goes, with 6 of the top 10 wells.  Chesapeake Energy, which will soon no longer be appearing on these reports, gets two Harrison County wells into the top 10 oil producers for the second consecutive quarter (although these are different wells than in quarter one).

Here are the top 10 gas-producing wells from the quarter:


Ascent Resources continues to dominate this list, although not quite to the same extent as in the past couple of quarters.  In the fourth quarter of 2017, Ascent had all of the top 10 gas-producing wells in the play.  Last quarter Eclipse took the top spot with the same Herrick East 11H well that appears in the top 10 this quarter, while Ascent had all of the other nine.  Now Chesapeake pops up with the fifth-best gas well in Q2.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY

Here is the production data broken down by county:


When it comes to oil production, as the top 10 wells above would already suggest, Guernsey County is far and away the top spot in Ohio. Even though there are less producing wells in Guernsey than in four other counties, it easily saw the most overall oil production and had by far the best production rates.

Belmont and Jefferson continue to be the top counties when it comes to gas production rates, far outpacing all others.  Belmont also produced over 100,000,000 more MCF of gas than any other county in the state during Q2 of 2018.

OPERATOR-BY-OPERATOR

And here are the results broken down by operator:


Gulfport Appalachia continues to see huge gas production rates from its six wells.  Statoil and Rice Energy take second and third in that category, respectively, while Ascent Resources produced the most gas overall.

While Eclipse Resources would be expected to show well in oil production after having six of the top ten oil producing wells of the quarter, it's Rex Energy that slips into the top spot as far as daily rate, with 124 barrels produced per day in production.

We hope you enjoyed this breakdown of the data.  You can view the spreadsheet from the ODNR containing all of the production data by clicking here.

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be a whole lot of film editing going on there to fi
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividend on closing the deal while offering a quarterly variable div
Read more

Is a Strong Oil Demand Expected This Year?

By -
Image
  According to the world's largest oil traders, global oil demand is set for a rebound. Between now and the end of 2022, global consumption is expected to increase by up to 8 million barrels each day. Vitol Group, the world's largest oil trader, supports this statement.  In an interview with Bloomberg, Vitol's chief executive Russell Hardy said, "We'll need all eight cylinders to get through 2022". This, of course, is due to the lower than average demand for oil at the moment. Reopening economies and Asian markets will create a strong demand rebound by the end of this year and in 2022.  Although the demand for jet fuel will slowly increase, it will still be below average at the end of the year. Nevertheless, a surge in petrochemicals will offset the expected delay in jet fuel demand. Last year, the oil surplus reached a record of 1 billion barrels. This excess is already more than halfway drained, and experts believe it will be depleted by the third quarter th
Read more