Oil and Gas activity in Ohio is steadily growing to rival some of the state’s historic oil booms and the milestones that were set beginning in the 19th century, according to an early analysis of limited 2013 production data conducted by the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA).

OOGA’s VP of Operations, Peter MacKenzie, shared those observations when he presented the organization’s annual DeBrosse Report at its winter meeting last week. The data included is an estimate based on the limited production data submitted by operators last year, all of which has not yet been submitted. MacKenzie stressed that the numbers are not official and could differ from what the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is expected to report in the coming months (see Shale Daily, Dec. 2, 2013; Jan. 2, 2013)

In 2013, Ohio’s conventional and unconventional drillers produced 9.7 million barrels of oil and 203 Bcf of natural gas, up from 4.9 million barrels of oil and 83 Bcf of natural gas in 2012, according to the DeBrosse Report.

MacKenzie said 580 wells were completed in the state last year, 283 of which were by conventional drillers. It was the lowest number from that group since World War II, as they’ve been forced to compete with larger independent companies that have secured deep mineral rights for Utica Shale drilling across the eastern part of the state.

MacKenzie said no prior development in the state has accelerated as fast as the current one being driven by Utica producers.

MacKenzie couldn’t be sure exactly how many wells were drilled in the state last year, but said Ohio “is on the leading edge of a boom” that will likely rival the Ohio Lima-Indiana Trenton play of the 1880s, the Morrow County Trempealeau play of the 1960s and the Clinton Sandstone boom of the 1970s and 1980s — periods when the state saw single years in which more than 5,000 wells were drilled.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. reported the most completed wells with 158, followed by Eclipse Resources with 30, EV Energy Partners LP with 26, Gulfport Energy Corp. with 25 and conventional driller Knox Energy Inc. with 21.

On average, more than 4 million feet of wells were drilled in Ohio, to which MacKenzie added “that looks to me like it could be a record, we’re going deeper and farther than we did last year.”