A recent data dump by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources indicates Utica Shale wells display substantial natural gas profile with a lack of clarity on liquids composition.

Where is Napoleon now that the oil and gas industry needs him?

The controversial military genius is seldom recognized for one his most important contributions to history, the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian desert in 1799.

Some wag commented that it was Greek to him. And it was, with the Greek providing the key for deciphering the hieroglyphic depictions on ancient Egyptian monuments.

Finding a reliable Rosetta stone for oil and gas would bring welcome commonality to the Tower of Babel language that currently dominates the energy industry. While “liquids rich” has been great from a promotional and marketing standpoint, it really comes down to a version of “he said/she said” on liquids with public records indifferent in listing production of liquids, condensate or much of anything except oil, natural gas, and, on occasion, water.

Napoleon’s historical contribution is worth recalling now that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued updated information through the end of March on the Utica/Point Pleasant shale.

Industry hype currently labels this play as an Eagle Ford analog. If so, the Utica play is still at the farm club level and not quite ready for call up to the Bigs. Currently there are nine rigs drilling horizontal oil or gas targets in the Utica area, compared to roughly 170 at work in the Eagle Ford. At this point, it seems highly optimistic that the play will get to 50 rigs in the next couple years, which is half the level the Eagle Ford shale reached within an 18-month window.

More importantly, the Ohio DNR record dump included the first production data for nine oil/liquids producing Utica wells, five of which also generated natural gas. The tally so far is an average 61 Bopd in oil within a spectrum that ranges from 10 Bopd to 131 Bopd.

Gas production is an entirely different story, however. The five listed gas producers average 3.38 MMcfpd, according to the Ohio DNR, with production history ranging from 92 to 206 days.

Included in those five producers are the wells for which Chesapeake released production history last September when hyping a major new play that Aubrey McClendon later labeled the biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow. Right now the plow — and Johnny Appleseed — still hold the greater historical significance in Ohio, at least until the Ohio DNR releases additional production information in coming months.

To review, Chesapeake in September 2011 published results from four of the 12 horizontal wells it had drilled into the Utica/Point Pleasant formation, testing the limits of the wet and dry gas portions of the play. This soon led to Utica fever and ultimately concluded in Chesapeake’s $2.14 billion joint venture with French major Total.

Specifically, Chesapeake identified the Buell 8H in Harrison County, Ohio, which “was drilled to a lateral length of 6,418 feet and achieved a peak rate of 9.5 million cubic feet (mmcf) per day of natural gas and 1,425 barrels (bbls) per day of natural gas liquids and oil (liquids), or 3,010 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.”

According to the Ohio DNR, the Buell has been a producer for 198 days at the end of March. The DNR record dump shows gross production of 1.5 Bcf of natural gas and 13,472 bbls of oil, along with 8,927 barrels of brine. Production works out to an impressive 7.7 MMcfpd with another 68 Bopd. Obviously, it’s a keeper.

Second on Chesapeake’s list was the Mangun 22-15-5 8H in Carroll County, Ohio, which “was drilled to a lateral length of 6,231 feet and achieved a peak rate of 3.1 mmcf per day of natural gas and 1,015 bbls per day of liquids, or 1,530 boe per day.”

The Ohio DNR shows the Mangun has produced 322.4 MMcf over 206 days along with 12,334 bbls of oil for an average 1.57 MMcpd and 60 Bopd in hydrocarbons.

Chesapeake also listed the Neider 10-14-5 3H in Carroll County, Ohio, which “was drilled to a lateral length of 4,152 feet and achieved a peak rate of 3.8 mmcf per day of natural gas and 980 bbls per day of liquids, or 1,615 boe per day.” Ohio DNR records for the Neider 3H show 395 MMcf and 9,444 bbls over 130 days, or average production of 3.04 MMcfpd and 73 Bopd.

The Ohio DNR records indicate these are good wells with production heavily skewed to natural gas. Chesapeake’s data implies a substantial liquids component that consists of roughly 900 to 950 bbls of liquids, plus oil, on a daily basis. As for the Rosetta Stone, Chesapeake noted that the production rates listed for the wells “assume maximum ethane recovery.” However, the actual breakdown on the elements in the liquids stream is intimated rather than documented for a play that is touted as liquids rich.

The newly published data follows the conclusion of all academic studies, which is a recommendation that more research is needed going forward.

However the data dump provides perspective on the level of activity currently underway in the Utica. The Ohio DNR has issued permits for 179 horizontal wells targeting Utica/Point Pleasant objectives through the end of the first quarter 2012. Of these, 55 have been drilled with seven listed as turned to production, including six Chesapeake Energy Corp. wells.

Utica/Point Pleasant permit history dates to August 2009 when Hess Ohio Resources LLC drilled a well in Jefferson County, Ohio. While Ohio DNR data lists the well as drilled, it is not listed on the production rolls.

Ohio Buckeye Energy earned the second permit in December 2010 and drilled the North American Coal Royalty Co. Buell 8H well in Harrison County. That well, the first Utica producer, was put in production in June 2011, and is the one cited by Chesapeake as its main producer.

There are 12 operators currently on the rolls at the Ohio DNR. However, Chesapeake Energy clearly dominates the play — and the Ohio DNR information set — with roughly three out of four datapoints.

Chesapeake’s received its first permit (and the third overall for the Utica/Point Pleasant) in January 2011. Since then, the company has permitted drilled, or completed more than 133 wells.

Chesapeake’s dominance is found in well status reports. The company accounts for nearly half of the wells listed as drilled with a heavy concentration in Lee Township, Carroll County, Ohio. In all, Chesapeake has drilled 15 wells in Carroll County, four in Columbiana County, three in Jefferson County, and two each in Portage and Stark counties.

According to Ohio DNR records, Chesapeake had work underway on nine wells at the end of March, including three in Carroll County, two in Columbiana and Jefferson counties, and one each in Geauga and Stark counties.

Another 11 Chesapeake wells are classified as completed, including four in Jefferson County, three in Carroll County, and four others split between Columbiana, Guernsey, Portage, and Tuscarawas counties.

The Ohio DNR has 80 permits outstanding for Chesapeake, including 28 for Carroll County, and 20 for Columbiana County. Additionally, Chesapeake has received seven drilling permits each for Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning counties.
The company has six wells listed as producing located in Carroll County, Ohio.

After Chesapeake, the operator rolls narrow quickly with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. the next largest player with 10 horizontal permits dating to the September/October 2011 time frame — most focused in Noble and Guernsey counties with five and three permits, respectively.

Chesapeake partner Enervest Operating is close on Anadarko’s heels with nine permits, most focused in Carroll County, Ohio. Privately held HG Energy is fourth with seven permits, all located in Monroe County, Ohio.

Otherwise, the CNX/Hess joint venture has received five permits with two of those wells drilled. Hess also separately holds two more permits including one drilled in Jefferson County, Ohio. Other publicly held players include Devon Energy Corp., Gulfport Energy Corp., and ExxonMobil.

The majority of Ohio Utica activity is concentrated in Carroll, Columbiana, and Jefferson counties, which lie at the juncture of the West Virginia Panhandle, Pennsylvanian and Ohio state boundaries. A secondary area of concentration is found 60 miles southwest in Noble, Monroe, Guernsey and Washington counties where Anadarko and CNX/Hess are active. ExxonMobil has staked an area along the West Virginia/Ohio border, while Devon is located about 70 miles west of current activity.