Oil and gas production expected to increase in Guernsey County

Ohio's four oil refineries can produce enough crude oil to make 11.4 million gallons of gasoline per day

 Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, second from left, meets with Ohio natural gas and oil producers at an energy educational roundtable hosted by the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program at the Cambridge Country Club. Industry officials believe 2022 will be an "active" year for oil and gas drilling in Guernsey County. Provided by OOGEEP/OOGA- - -The Daily Jeff. Industry experts expect to see an increase in oil and gas production in the Utica Shale region including Guernsey County this year due to a rising demand resulting from global issues and domestic usage.

Guernsey County currently has 300 Utica shale well permits and the most active producers in the county are Ascent Resources with 130 permits, Southwestern Energy with 69 and Utica Resources with 31.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports 24 wells — 23 productive and 1 exploratory — were drilled in Guernsey County in 2019, the latest year for which statistics are available.

The average well depth was 19,918 feet with an estimated footage drilled of 478,029.

The most recent horizontal shale production statistics for Guernsey County from 2019 totaled 13,556,178 barrels of oil and 91,078,704 Mcf of gas.

"The industry in Guernsey County is strong, and it's active," said Mike Chadsey of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association after a recent roundtable discussion attended by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose at the Cambridge Country Club. "It's because what's happening globally.

"Some of the opportunities and challenges happening right now are allowing us to put (drilling) units together...get leases together and go out and drill to lift that commodity out of the ground. You will see increased activity here in Guernsey County this year, and beyond this year."

There are 12 drilling rigs currently in operation in the Utica region across southeast Ohio.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, more than 275,000 gas wells had been drilled statewide as of 2019 with 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas production. The most recent statistics available also show 55,921 oil wells have produced 27 million barrels of crude oil.

"I think it's strong," said LaRose of Ohio's oil and gas industry "Ohio has done smart things to be a welcoming state when it comes to energy, and there's good reason for that. All you need to do is look to Europe right now."

"Shutting off Russia's oil supply, you are going to have to make that up somewhere and that's where you are seeing some renewed interest in the western part of the Utica shale formation because it's more rich in oil deposits," said George Brown of OOGEEP. "The great thing about Guernsey County is the entire natural gas ecosystem that goes along with it (oil)."

Ohio is home to four oil refineries, which can produce nearly 600,000 barrels of crude oil daily, according to the Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Program. That's enough oil to produce 11.4 millions gallons of gasoline per day.

The rate at which oil and gas production will increase in Guernsey County this year will depend on several variables, according to local officials.

"It will probably depended producer to producer based on what their plans are...their access to capital and what their drilling units look like, but I would say we will see increased activity this year," said Chadsey. "Our people can't turn on a dime. You do have to get a permit, get your hands on a rig, a crew and all that stuff, so it will probably be a slow ramp up but I think we will continue to see more activity and excitement about that activity here in Guernsey County."

The county continues to be on the western edge of the Utica shale play in what is referred to as the oil window.

Brown said there are two-overlaying issues that will slow production in Guernsey and other counties nearby when it come to oil and gas.

"One is the certainty in the planning that needs to go into the preparation process for exploration," he said. "It takes time. It can take up to a year, if not more, to get a rig in place and get it in the process of exploration. An atmosphere that is more encouraging of domestic, made in Ohio energy is important.

"And two, building out the critical energy infrastructure to get that product to meet its market. There are currently five pipeline proposals that have either been canceled or opposed that would haven taken the gas and oil coming from Ohio and other parts of the basin to end users either on the east coast of the United State or down south to meet the needs.

"There is a big need to invest in critical energy infrastructure like pipelines or terminals and other processing facilities so the product that's in the ground can get out and meet the end user," concluded Brown.

Officials credited the local workforce for its role in maintaining productivity locally.

"From our prospective, we see so much support locally here in Guernsey County because so many individuals are working in the industry, either directly or indirectly by service companies or things of that nature," said Chadsey. "A long history of oil and gas here certainly helps. They are educated about these issues and have probably spent generations working in, and for and with the oil and gas industry."

There are more than 208,000 people working in Ohio's natural gas and oil industry with an average wage of $81,749 in core oil and gas related industries and $70,787 in ancillary industries.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, right, toured the Guernsey Power Plant with Mitch Garber, senior vice president of Caithness Energy, who developed the facility. Provided by OOGEEP/OOGA- - -

LaRose joined oil and gas leaders for a tour of the Guernsey Power Plant south of Byesville while in Guernsey County.

"We had a chance to visit the new power plant where they are going to be making clean energy for millions of people when you consider that feeds into a power grid that covers many states," said LaRose. "Folks that are on the producing end of oil and gas are working every day to make sure that we have the access to the natural gas that is needed to power that plant."

The $1.6 billion plant is scheduled to continue cold commission testing into the summer with the first turbine operation planned for June. A hot commission/testing phase will begin this summer and continue until commercial operation begins in December.

"You have this incredible multi-billion investment happening in Guernsey County with the plant that's because of the geographic location of the resource...the fuel natural gas... and the pipeline that runs through to fuel the plant," said Brown "It an incredible opportunity for the county just given everything that's in the mix being at the center of everything in the industry.

"It's very exciting," he added.

There has been more than $93 billion invested in Ohio over the last 10 years of shale development that helped, in part, bring the facility to Guernsey County.

By Rick StillionClick here to view the original article.