ODNR issued 156 drilling permits statewide in 2011

ODNR issued 156 drilling permits statewide in 2011

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 156 permits in 2011 to drilling companies looking to capitalize on natural gas and oil in the Utica Shale.

ODNR issued 80 of those permits during the last three months of the year, including 32 in November.

Ninety-two permits were horizontal permits.

By drilling horizontally, drilling companies can extract previously untapped sources of natural gas and oil from underground rock formations like the Utica and Marcellus shales.

There are currently 26 horizontally-drilled wells, according to department documents; 16 vertical, or test wells, have been drilled.

Carroll County received the most permits, 43, followed by Jefferson and Columbiana counties, which had 19 and 16, respectively.

ODNR issued at least one permit in 18 counties.

Chesapeake Exploration, LLC, a subsidiary of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., was the beneficiary of 111 of the 156 permits.

ODNR had only issued three permits during 2009 and 2010, according to department documents.