Rex Energy Corp., which expanded its operations in Ohio’s Utica Shale earlier this year, said Wednesday it was pleased with the initial production results from its first Ohio Utica Shale well.

The Brace #1H well in Carroll County, OH, was brought online to sales from its 60-day resting period at a 24-hour sales rate, assuming full ethane recovery, of 1,094 boe/d [43% natural gas liquids (NGL), 31% natural gas and 26% condensate], Rex said. The well went on to average a five-day sales rate, assuming full ethane recovery, of 1,008 boe/d (43% NGLs, 30% gas and 27% condensate). The well produced with an average casing pressure of 1,502 psi during the initial 24-hour sales period and 1,533 psi during the average five-day sales period on a 24/64 inch choke. The well was drilled to a total measured depth of 12,332 feet with a lateral length of approximately 4,170 feet and was completed in 17 stages. Based on composition analysis, the oil from the Brace #1H is 60.1 degree API gravity and the gas is approximately 1,250 BTU.

“We believe that the initial sales from the well on a per lateral foot basis are among the best results in Carroll County to date,” said Rex CEO Tom Stabley.

Rex’s Warrior Prospect makes up about 15,400 net acres in Carroll County. The company’s preliminary 2013 plans are to drill an additional nine wells and complete six wells in the prospect.

In July the village county of the county seat, Carrollton, voted in favor of a non-developmental oil and natural gas lease agreement with Rex that was valued at $938,000 (see Shale Daily, July 26). The lease allows subsurface mineral drilling only with no surface trespass involved.

State College, PA-based Rex has been increasing its presence in the Utica Shale this year (see Shale Daily, May 3; April 17). A Utica joint venture (JV) it entered into with MFC Drilling Inc. and Abarta Oil & Gas Co. Inc. requires it to drill and complete one well and begin drilling two others by Nov. 15, and requires three additional wells each year until the company satisfies the carry obligation. The JV covers a three county region of eastern Ohio.

In the Warrior South Prospect, located in Noble, Guernsey and Belmont counties, where Rex holds 3,100 net acres, the company has drilled and cased its first well, the Guernsey #1H and is drilling the second of its three wells it has scheduled for this year. The company’s preliminary 2013 plans are to drill an additional three wells and complete three wells in its Warrior South Prospect.

Extended commissioning and de-propanizer maintenance issues at the MarkWest-operated Bluestone/Sarsen cryogenic gas processing complex in Butler County, WV — which is expected to resume normal operations by the end of this month — and Rex’s decision to defer some of its previously forecasted 2012 production in order to test the effects of increased shut-in periods and restricted flow rates, is likely to result in 3Q2012 average daily production of 70-72 MMcfe/d, which is slightly lower than the previous guidance of 73-76 MMcfe/d.