Drilling falls short in Ohio

Initial expectations for 2012 were not met

12/4/2012

COLUMBUS — Injection drilling in Ohio hasn’t met the initial expectations of state officials this year, due to lower natural gas prices and a backlog in the work needed to connect the wells to customers.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials had told state legislators in March that as many as 250 of the natural gas and oil wells would be drilled in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale by the end of the year. But, according to the Columbus Dispatch, state records show that only 165 wells have been completed, with 22 more being drilled.

Despite the delays, state officials said shale drilling by the hydraulic-fracturing, or fracking, process is alive and well in Ohio.

“We're having new companies that continue to come in, and permitting remains steady,” said Heidi Hetzel-Evans, a Natural Resources Department spokesman.

Natural Resources Director James Zehringer told a state Senate committee in March that 250 wells would be drilled by the end of this year. A timeline in his written testimony also predicted 750 new shale wells by the end of 2013 and 2,250 wells by the end of 2015.

Ms. Hetzel-Evans said the agency based its drilling projections on shale activity in Pennsylvania, where state records show that more than 5,600 shale wells have been drilled since January 2009. Shale wells in Pennsylvania and other states have produced so much natural gas, propane, and ethane that prices have dropped significantly.

The drilling that has occurred has had an impact in eastern Ohio, especially in Carroll County, which has more wells — 73 — than anywhere else in the state.

Hydraulic fracturing has made it possible to tap into deep reserves of oil and gas. But the boom in shale gas fracking raised concerns about pollution.