Utica Shale / Columbiana County Observation on Wet Gas

This is just a quick observation which obviously I have nothing to back it up.

A lot of us on the eastern part of Columbiana County Ohio are really curious as to where the line between the wet and dry gas really is.   According to previous maps....our very eastern edge such as where we are (unity twp)  is in the dry gas zone.    With that ....here is what we have observed.   In the last few months and days......we know of people that are neighbors of ours that have obtained leases of over 5800 per acre.   The Hoppel well is also directly south of us.   Why on earth would Chesapeake still be offering to pay such large lease amounts if they did not believe we were in fact.......in the wet zone.    I know the well in Beaver is dry.   I have heard the Hoppel is Utica.    There is also some activity going on in Lawrence (Gateway) which has not had results released.    This really seems to lead me to believe that the odds of the entire county of Columbiana, Mahoning possibly and a sliver of Beaver & Lawrence are in the Wet zone.  

Any opinions???

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Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 2, 2012 at 12:28pm

very interesting.  Thank you for sharing

Permalink Reply by SA Frank on February 2, 2012 at 3:28pm

Someone should confirm this, Are they refering to the Marcellus or Utica here?  My suspicion is that it is Marcellus.

Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 2, 2012 at 12:57pm

http://www.shalenavigator.com/recentmaps.php

I don't know how to find this in a larger version (not blury) but very promising.

Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on February 2, 2012 at 3:31pm

I believe the map referenced earlier is for the wet/dry line for the Marcellus Shale.  The Utica line is further west, running at an angle through Lawrence Co. For a Utica map, scroll down to the four colored map and look athe dry and wet zones here   http://knappap.blogspot.com/

Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 3, 2012 at 2:59am

well that is confusing.   Marcellus Map at top....shows wet....the Utica we are in dry?   

Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on February 3, 2012 at 3:17am

Yes, since the Utica is deeper than the Marcellus it is under more pressure and higher temperatures. This makes it "cook" more. The high temps break down the longer chain hydrocarbons into shorter hydrocarbons. So you get a gradient from dry gas to wet  gas to oil to tar-like substances. 

As you go west, both shales get shallower so the temps and pressures drop and the shales will hold more longer chain hydrocarbons. With Utica being deeper, the wet/dry line will be further west where the Utica gets shallower. For the Marcellus, the wet/dry line is more to the east as it is shallower and at lower temps.

If you look at it cross sectional, the wet/dry lines for each shale are at similar depths.

Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 3, 2012 at 3:36am

You know your geology!   Our area in Columbiana Co.  is right on the Pa / Oh line.   It seems questionable what we have exactly since there are no "tests" published yet.  The Hoppel well directly to the south of us maybe 15 min.   has had no results ..not drilled yet. The Gateway well being put in is NE of us.   The closest one is the one heading west towards Lisbon / Hanoverton which I believe has oil.   All I know is this.   Residents here as of yesterday are still signing leases...and are rec' 5800 or more per acre.   A man owning 700 acres just north of us about 7 minutes.....reportedly rec'd 7000 per acre.   I think they must be thinking we have what they want....which is promising .    Our farm has been in the family over 100 years.....I'd love for him to see this become a reality for him to benefit from while he is still here.

Permalink Reply by dr j on February 3, 2012 at 4:31am

Melissa- has your family been approached to lease?  I can give you a couple of contacts if you are interested.   I am not a landman... just a Columbiana County property owner who has been through "hoops".   Based on your location, there are plenty of folks who are leased and have signed recently.   I would be surprised if no on has contacted you at this point.   Send me a private message if you would like contact info. 

Quite a few people in your area are leased to CHK but Shell also is interested ( or was a few months ago) in Unity Township.    

CHK now has a permitted well in Fairfield Township - just south of Columbiana.  Based on all those maps it should be right in the area of what is drawn as the wet/dry line.   Should be interesting to see what it produces.

Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 3, 2012 at 5:19am

Thank you Dr. J.

We were approached a year & 1/2 ago and signed with Chesapeake for 1500 per acre.   20/20 hindsight would have been nice.  

Permalink Reply by Billy Park Whyde on February 3, 2012 at 5:26am

Well if they don't drill in time you might have another crack at it.

Permalink Reply by Mike Knapp on February 3, 2012 at 8:08am

Great insight Jim.

Also worth noting that it's a gradual transition.  We delineate "dry" and "wet" areas for convenience, but in reality if you are right "on the line" you will probably have a little bit of both (which can be a good or bad thing).  If you are straddling the wet gas/oil line, having a bit of oil with your wet gas isn't bad... but if you are on the wet/dry line, it can cause problems... the gas is too wet to put into a pipeline, but doesn't have enough condensates to be worth the investment to strip them.    Bottom line, you won't know for sure till you drill. 

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