The combined value of all Ohio oil and natural gas production in 2014 was more than $3.1 billion, up nearly 132% from the prior year, according to an annual mineral industries report released late Friday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Geological Survey.

The report, which provides basic and economic information about the state’s extraction industries, also offered an updated analysis of oil and gas production last year, reaffirming that Utica Shale development continues to drive significant increases (see Shale Daily, March 24).

The geological survey said the dollar value of Ohio crude was about $1.2 billion in 2014, up 57% from the prior year. The average price for oil produced in the state last year was $79.92/bbl. The dollar value of Ohio natural gas was $1.9 billion, up 229% from 2013. The report said Ohio’s average natural gas price last year was $3.78/Mcf.

Based on estimates from ODNR’s Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management, the report said 715 oil and gas wells were drilled in the state last year. Wells were drilled in 38 of Ohio’s 88 counties, demonstrating that conventional producers remain active outside a 12-county region in Eastern Ohio where shale producers have been most active.

Ohio’s Utica-Point Pleasant interval was the most actively drilled in 2014, accounting for 73% of all wells drilled, followed by the Clinton Sandstone, a long-time vertical target that accounted for 13% of all wells drilled. A total of 605 productive development wells were recorded in the state during 2014, most of which were located in Harrison County, where shale drillers reported 121 productive wells. Carroll and Guernsey counties reported 93 and 59 producing development wells, respectively, in a hotbed for Utica drilling to round out the top three counties for producing wells.

The report said combined conventional and unconventional oil production reached more than 15 million bbls, an 89% increase from 2013. Combined natural gas production was about 513 Bcf, up by 207% from 2013.