Ohio's oil and gas extraction is hitting pay dirt nationally

Giving OPEC a (sort of) run for its oil profits, Ohio’s horizontal petroleum product wells easily topped their respective 2018 first quarter numbers.

A key related metric for this production, also adds an official with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is ensuring that the drilling activity follows state law and regulatory protocols as they relate to environmental considerations.

Figures released by the Department’s Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management indicate that during the first quarter of 2019, Ohio’s horizontal shale wells produced 5,073,536 barrels of oil and 609 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

By comparison, the figures for the first quarter of 2018 were 3,942,329 barrels of oil and 609 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Put another way, oil production rose nearly 29 percent and natural gas production jumped nearly 16 percent between the two quarters.

Also, the Natural Resources Department’s quarterly report lists Ohio as having 2,277 horizontal shale wells of which 2,228 reported oil and natural gas production during 2019’s first quarter.

However, all of the first quarter figures are still smaller than their respective forth quarter 2018 numbers. During the fourth quarter of 2018, Ohio’s horizontal shale wells produced 5,810,484 barrels of oil and 663 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

It must be noted too that wells typically do not run continuously in Ohio. The number of days wells operated during 2018’s forth quarter and 2019’s first quarter were identical: 86.

Yet while Ohio’s petroleum production is easily dwarfed by such states as Texas, North Dakota, California, Oklahoma, and Alaska, it still is enough to have the state ranked 12^th in the nation, according to the statistical data collecting and distribution firm, Statista.

In fact, says Adam Schroeder, spokesman for the Oil And Gas Resources Management Division, Ohio is one of the largest producers of natural gas and oil production in the United States, with some data showing that the state has the fifth largest reserve of natural gas in the country.

Schroeder said also the Ohio Oil and Energy Education Program estimates that there are over 200,000 jobs in the state that are tied to the oil and gas industry. And it is estimated that by 2040 the Utica and Marcellus Shale region – of which Ohio is an important component - will provide nearly half of all the United States natural gas production, Schroeder said.

“We have really seen a rise in job development in the industry over the past several years. From public sector to private industry jobs, the job growth has really been impressive,” Schroder said.

Data compiled by Cleveland State University indicates that in 2011, the petroleum industry employed around 14,000 Ohioans, a number that has risen to nearly 200,000 today.

“Our staff, both in the field and those supporting them, take their statutorily defined responsibilities seriously and work every day on behalf of Ohioans to achieve a balance between protecting public health, safety, and the environment and ensuring the wise use of natural resources for the benefit of all,” Schroder said as well.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net