The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued only 16 new permits for oil and gas drilling in January. Of those 16, six went to well sites in Belmont County.

Two Belmont County permits were issued to Ascent Resources Utica for sites in Wheeling Township, and two to Ascent Resources for Richland Township well sites.

The ODNR issued a single permit in both Pultney and Mead townships to XTO Energy.

As of Jan. 30, there are now 316 total permits issued in Belmont County. There are 113 wells in some drilling phase and 123 wells are reported as producing.

Other permits

The ODNR issued four permits in both Harrison and Monroe counties.

In Harrison County, the four permits were issued for the same Ascent Resources Utica well pad in Nottingham Township .

To date, 380 permits have been issued in Harrison County, where there are now 215 producing wells and 106 wells in a drilling phase.

In Monroe County, two permits were issued in Seneca Township to Antero Resources Corporation, and two permits were issued in Perry Township to a newcomer, EM Energy Ohio.

In Monroe County, the ODNR has issued a total of 229 permits to date. There are 94 producing wells and 89 are in some sort of drilling phase.

Single permits

One permit was issued in both Guernsey and Jefferson counties.

In Guernsey County, the permit was issued in Millwood Township to Eclipse Resources.

The county has received a total of 195 permits to date, and 99 wells are producing, with another 56 listed in a drilling phase.

In Jefferson County, the permit was issued to Chesapeake Exploration for a well to be drilled in Springfield Township

Jefferson County now has received 62 permits to date, with 15 wells producing. There are also 29 wells drilled and awaiting completion or to be brought on line.

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