Appalachia continues to be a gas powerhouse in the U.S. due to the efficiency of rigs in the region.

Since January 2012, the Marcellus and Utica have provided 85% of the growth in U.S. gas production, according to a recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. This is mostly attributed to the advancement of fracking technology by the region’s shale players.

“The productivity of natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale and the neighboring Utica Shale is steadily increasing because of ongoing improvements in precision and efficiency of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing occurring in those regions,” the EIA report said.

Furthermore, the Marcellus and Utica are the driving forces behind total gas production in the country.

In April U.S. dry natural gas production totaled 2.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), about 180 Bcf more than a year ago.

The U.S. shale basins now account for 56% of the country’s gas production. Collectively, shale gas production from the Marcellus and Utica regions increased by 12.6 Bcf/d from January 2012 to June 2015.

Production in the Marcellus grew by 10.2 Bcf/d since January 2012 to 16.5 Bcf/d in July. Utica’s production in July was almost 18 times higher than in January 2013 at about 2.6 Bcf/d.

The EIA said factors for the production boost in the Marcellus and Utica includes:

  • Greater use of advanced drilling techniques;
  • Increased number of stages used in fracking operations;
  • Increased use of techniques such as zipper fracking; and
  • Use of specific components during well completion that aid in increasing frack size and porosity of the geologic formation being targeted.

In the report, the EIA expressed the trends in total production and rig productivity as new-well gas production per rig.

In the Marcellus, the average new-well gas production per rig increased to 8.3 MMcf/d in July. Previously, it was 3.2 MMcf/d in January 2012.

The Utica region also experienced significant gains in rig productivity and production, the EIA said.

In July, Utica’s new-well gas production per rig is 6.9 MMcf/d, almost 22 times what it was in January 2012.

EIA, Marcellus, Utica, shale, gas, production

The EIA’s “Drilling Productivity Report” provides a month-ahead projection of both oil and natural gas production for the seven most significant shale formations in the U.S.

Although the report’s regions are grouped according to the name of the predominant shale formation, it analyzes all drilling and production within each geographic area.

For the report, the Marcellus region, which includes Pennsylvania and West Virginia, encompasses not only the Marcellus Formation, but also portions of the Utica Shale and conventional formations that lay beneath those states.

The Utica region, which includes resources that lay beneath Ohio, includes production from the bulk of the Utica as well as production from the Point Pleasant Shale and to a lesser extent conventional resources.

Contact the author, Emily Moser, at emoser@hartenergy.com.