Complete Story
 

Technological Advances Provide Opportunities to Tap into Ohio’s Natural Resources

Oil and Gas Exploration Spreads to New Parts of Ohio

Many landowners throughout Ohio are considering exploring oil and natural gas drilling on their properties, and the drilling is spreading westward across the state.

Although the oil and gas industry has been part of Ohio for more than 150 years, landowners in the state have a renewed interest in oil and natural gas, largely due to two Ohio shale plays – the Marcellus Shale (located in the eastern portion of the state) and the Utica Shale (extending across most of the state). New advances in drilling technology have enabled horizontal drilling (sometimes called directional drilling) to take place in some shale locations that were previously not feasible for drilling. And, according to a recent report by the state’s geologist, Larry Wickstrom, Ohio has an astounding amount of oil and natural gas that can be recovered.

This issue is attracting attention from the agriculture industry as landowners in more and more counties are considering signing drilling leases. In fact, drilling has taken place in half of Ohio’s 88 counties (as of 2011), with an estimated 431 wells producing nearly five million barrels of crude oil and nearly 80 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

If they haven’t already, landowners are encouraged to research the pros and cons of oil and natural gas drilling before signing a lease. Here are some helpful resources to get you started:

Click on the links above to learn more about the oil and natural gas industry in Ohio.

Printer-Friendly Version

0 Comments