ohio

Oil and natural gas production in Ohio’s Utica Shale declined in the first quarter as operators pared activity heading into the year in response to a variety of factors that are likely to see the trend continue.

The Ohio House of Representatives has passed a bill to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants in a move decried by the natural gas industry, which has staunchly opposed out-of-market assistance for the reactors operated by bankrupt FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries.

Gulfport Energy Corp. said Friday it is making progress to simplify its portfolio as it zeros in on core assets in Ohio’s Utica Shale and the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP).

Newly released data from Cleveland State University’s (CSU) Energy Policy Center shows that investments in Ohio’s Utica Shale have reached $74 billion since 2011, when the first unconventional commercial production was reported and the school began tracking the play’s economic impacts.

Yet another bill to support struggling nuclear power plants with state subsidies has been introduced, this time in Ohio, where FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries have announced plans to close the state’s two reactors without legislation or market reform to help them. The natural gas industry immediately decried the legislation as it continues to fight similar proposals nationwide.

PTT Global Chemical pcl (PTTGC) and Daelim Industrial Co. continue to work toward sanctioning the multi-billion dollar ethane cracker proposed for southeast Ohio, a project spokesman said this week.

Ohio pure-play Ascent Resources LLC, the Utica Shale’s largest producer, said in a rare operational update that it expects to reach at least 2 Bcfe/d of production this year.

Even fewer independent operators pushed combined conventional and unconventional natural gas production to new highs in Ohio last year, as the consolidation that’s occurred in the state over the last decade continued, according to data included in the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s (OOGA) annual Debrosse Memorial Report.

Unconventional natural gas production in Ohio exceeded 2 Tcf for the first time last year, as volumes set another record in the fourth quarter, according to new state data.