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Comment by Dan on April 29, 2014 at 5:23pm

Looks like the winners are the ones that took the BP money and ignored the others that cried wait , wait for a better offer. I don't expect anything big in my life time.

Comment by Adal on April 29, 2014 at 4:47pm

BP America is planning to sell off 105,000 leasehold acres it owns in the Mahoning Valley as part of its exit strategy in the Utica shale, a company spokesman says.

"Just because this play doesn't fit in our BP portfolio doesn't mean it's a busted play," said Curtis Thomas, BP Ohio's director of government and public affairs. "It doesn't mean that it's not a perfect play for another oil and gas operator."

BP announced this morning that poor returns from its appraisal well program has caused it to discontinue investment in the northern tier of the Utica shale, especially in Trumbull County, where the company has drilled eight wells.

Comment by Adal on April 29, 2014 at 3:58pm

BP just announced during its first quarter report that they are pulling out and selling Trumbull County leases. 20 barrels of oil a day isn't good enough for them.

Comment by Adal on April 27, 2014 at 6:48am

The two biggest are Williamsfield and Richmond in the last year. I know a landowner in Andover Township, his 5 year lease is up this summer, was bought by Chesapeake, I'll try to find out his options.

Comment by Adal on April 26, 2014 at 10:20am

Three townships were targeted in 2008, Williamsfield, Andover, and Richmond. In January 2011, Chesapeake entered the picture buying leases mostly in those townships. In September 2011, they appear to have bought leases in most townships from Enervest. The CEO has said that they are trying to sell Ashtabula County leases, no takers yet. Some of those 5 year 2008 leases are expiring. Chesapeake is leasing, extending, and releasing a few leases. So when Chesapeake, Enervest, and BP talk, I'm listening.        

Comment by Adal on April 15, 2014 at 4:49pm

This is what Enervest's CEO Walker said at a gas / oil conference last fall.

The volatile oil EnerVest is exploring in the Utica refers to hydrocarbons that are in a gaseous or near-gaseous stage when trapped in a reservoir. As they are brought up to the surface, changes in temperature alter the state of these hydrocarbons and produce liquids.

"It's valuable because the price of oil is much higher than the price of natural gas and natural gas liquids," he said. However, it's much more difficult to extract oil molecules from shale than dry gas or NGLs.

Walker said his company has two test wells in the volatile window, and he believes that the rock and pressure is sufficient there to allow production. "The volatile oil window has a tremendous amount of oil in place, about 16 million barrels per section," he reported. "We just haven't scientifically figured how to get it out yet. Our industry is a very high-tech industry and we will learn how to do that."

The EnerVest CEO said he's confident the volatile oil window code could be cracked within two years. "I'm optimistic. I think that if we had to say what part of the Utica has the most upside potential, it might be the volatile oil window."

But that's probably not the case with the "black" oil deposits that border the volatile oil window, Walker said. "It's thermally immature."

Still, as technology improves, so does the potential of tapping black oil, Walker said, reminding the audience that 10 years ago, engineers thought it impossible to extract natural gas and natural gas liquids from shale.

Comment by Adal on April 15, 2014 at 9:18am

I listen to what CEOs say mostly on business channels. Halcon's CEO called Northern Trumbull County wells horrible to say it nicely. Enervest has bought 3 or 4 companies in Ashtabula County (AC) since around 2003. They have drilled a few test wells, they hit NGLs, they are keeping some leases in AC, and they service a Clinton well for me. I have another Clinton well leased by another company who only controls 40 acres around it down to the Clinton well. But in September 2011, it appears that they sold my Utica drilling rights to Chesapeake, and then the word leaked out to everyone.   

Comment by Ed Ganelli on April 14, 2014 at 5:30am

I have to agree with several of the comments below!  New, improved fracing technologies will be the key to further leasing/drilling in Ashtabula County.  As was stated, the profit per well for this area is just not there right now...
As part of the Magyar Group that signed about 2 years ago, this leaves me in what I feel is a really good position since there are only 3 years left on the original 5 year term of our lease.  Therefore:
A) Beland must drill sometime within the next 3 years, or...
B) Beland must use the automatic 5 year renewal option in the lease (meaning another payment of $4,250 per acre) in order to continue holding the acreage under lease, or...
C) Our leases will be terminated, title to the mineral rights cleared again, and we can wait until technology has improved enough to warrant O & G companies to lease again.

Since we already got 4250 an acre, a really good lease, and time on our side, I find any of the 3 above options as fine with me!  What would hurt most now would be for Beland to go ahead with a well, not do it properly, and the dud be a barely producing one.  THAT would hold acreage yet pay little or nothing in royalties!
Yeah...I'm hoping for no drilling yet - at least none in the near future!   ;-)

Comment by David Perotto on April 13, 2014 at 7:51pm

Keep your eye on Enron Oi & Gas, particularly their Gonzalez, Wilson County Eagle Ford wells. They are figuring out how to extract oil from shallower strata. As this is perfected, it will come to Ashtabula. Patience will be necessary, it is not going to happen overnight.

Comment by MJ on April 13, 2014 at 7:39pm

Elliemae,

Ashtabula is squarely in the volatile oil window.  It will see action - just not right away - It is not in the "low hanging fruit" area, and extraction techniques will need to be figured out.  I guess patience is the word.  The same is true of Trumbull, Geauga and Portage.  Learn as much as you can now on sites such as this so as to be prepared when leasing starts up again.  Note:  There is a lot of nonsense here as well - people with agenda driven ideas and posts.  Take with a "grain of salt"

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