Any idea if, or when, a well will be drilled on or near 7473 Lusk Lock Road in Elk Run Township,

Any idea if, or when, a well will be drilled on or near 7473 Lusk Lock Road in Elk Run Township, Columbiana County? Our lease was sold to Hilcorp Energy Co. by Chesapeake.

It’s hard to say. The company does not release that information, and Houston-based Hilcorp has been most active in Mahoning County and in western Pennsylvania’s Lawrence County.

However, it sounds like your lease was sold in bulk with nearly 1,100 others in six townships across Columbiana County in February when Chesapeake, the Utica’s largest natural-gas producer, and Hilcorp finalized the agreement.

For the most part, Hilcorp could be considered a relative newcomer to the Utica Shale. The company is busy developing southern Mahoning County, where it holds 10 drilling permits. Currently, the company is drilling a well at the Carbon Limestone Landfill in Poland, where it already has a well and plans for others.

But its place in southern Mahoning County positions the company to develop its purchase in northern Columbiana County. Much of the acreage Hilcorp acquired from Chesapeake surrounds the Brinker storage field — a 30,000 acre natural-gas reserve owned by Columbia Gas.

Columbia Gas is a subsidiary of NiSource Inc. In 2012, NiSource and Hilcorp partnered to explore, produce and transport oil and gas in the Utica. The two formed the Pennant Midstream partnership and are currently building a natural-gas processing facility in Springfield Township that will help Hilcorp refine and transport gas that the company produces in Mahoning County.

Hilcorp has only one well in Columbiana County. Even if the company has not determined when it will drill on or near your property, given Hilcorp’s latest moves, it’s a strong possibility.

Many landowners have waited for years to have their property developed, so it could take time.

Questions about shale development or the fracking

process can be sent to news@shalesheet.com.