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Consol's updates its Utica operations
PITTSBURGH
Coal and natural-gas producer Consol Energy expects to drill 11 horizontal shale wells in the Utica this year, all in Noble County, according to the company.
In the first three months of this year, Consol reported that its gas division, with operations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, produced 39.2 billion cubic feet of oil equivalent (bcfe) — 4 percent more than the 37.7 bcfe produced during the same time last year.
Consol, considered an independent exploration and production company, operating at or below others in its peer group, planned to scale back its production efforts heading into the new year.
As a result, production in the first quarter this year was down 6 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2012.
Going forward, the company has announced plans to extract between 170 and 180 bcfe across its reserves by the end of 2013, with most of that coming toward the end of the year.
By the end of the first quarter, Consol had drilled 14 horizontal shale wells — 12 in the Marcellus and two in the Utica. Notably, in Ohio, the company completed its first multiwell pad, when multiple laterals are extended to maximize returns, in Mahoning County.
Completion work also happened at another site in Mahoning County, where the well tested at a 24-hour flow rate of 1.4 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 240 barrels of oil per day.
Though the company has two horizontal rigs drilling in the Utica, one rig will be released after drilling begins at a site in Noble County.
The company also has a joint venture in the Utica with New York-based Hess Corp.; both companies are expected to report first-quarter results later this month.