Utica Shale

As the majors and other large oil and gas companies deploy up and down the Marcellus and Utica shales, a handful of smaller companies are targeting shallower formations like the Upper Devonian Shale, using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at less expensive wells to achieve their own measure of success.

As natural gas production steadily increases in the Utica Shale and a new joint venture (JV) emerges to handle midstream services, the business model for Dominion East Ohio (DEO), whose operations run through the heart of the shale play, is forecast to change in some areas, but not in others.

As drilling increases in the Marcellus and Utica shales, researchers from the Battelle Memorial Institute are studying the geology and operations of wastewater injection wells in four states, with the hope that the data collected will ensure that future wells are drilled in safe locations.

ANR Pipeline Co. on Monday announced two open seasons for projects intended to give Marcellus and Utica shale gas a new export option and access to the pipeline’s markets in the Midwest and Gulf Coast.

Pinto Energy LLC is developing a small-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility in Ashtabula, OH, to take advantage of low-cost natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales. Pinto Chairman Guy Dove toldNGI’s Shale Dailythe facility could be the first of its kind in the country and advancements in GTL technology are making it possible.

Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP is targeting growing industrial demand in the Baton Rouge-New Orleans, LA, region with a potential expansion of its system that would tap shale gas supplies from multiple basins. The project joins another targeting a similar market from rival Spectra Energy Transmission.

Two state lawmakers in Ohio, home of the Utica Shale play, are preparing legislation that would offer tax credits for five years for converting cars and trucks powered by gasoline or diesel fuel into bi-fuel vehicles, and for purchasing vehicles powered by gaseous fuels, including propane and compressed natural gas (CNG).

One week after revising its estimate for third quarter production, Gulfport Energy Corp. announced Tuesday that it has placed three wells targeting the Utica Shale in Ohio into production by connecting them to sales pipelines.

Dominion Resources Inc. is well into the process to secure a partner to farm-out about 100,000 prospective liquids-rich acres in West Virginia, offering a can’t-lose proposition for both sides, a spokesman said Monday.