From The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio continues to increase its oil production from shale, but just barely, while natural-gas production is growing at a more rapid clip.
The third-quarter figures, issued this afternoon by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, cover a period of unusually low oil and gas prices.
The state’s energy producers reported 5.7 million barrels of oil and 245 billion cubic feet of gas from shale in the third quarter, up from 5.6 million barrels and 222 billion cubic feet in the second quarter.
The new figures show output of oil and gas have more than doubled from the third quarter last year.
Ohio has 1,134 wells in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. Of that total, 1,087 wells listed some production.
Gas production is growing more quickly than oil, likely because of a few wells that are producing large amounts of gas and because much of the new activity is in gas-rich parts of the state.
Industry officials have said that production is a lagging indicator, meaning that it will take several quarters for the figures to respond to the drop in prices.
