Midyear Outlook: Ohio Soaring to New Oil Heights While Natural Gas on the Rise

“Ohio will likely set a new record for oil production this year,” according to Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Eric Vendel. The comments were made at the National Association of Royalty Owners-Ohio’s conference in Cambridge in September, and reflect data from the ODNR showing strong oil production over the first two quarters of 2023 totaling nearly 13.5 million barrels.

Ohio currently ranks 12^th in the nation for oil production and is the top oil producer in the Appalachian Basin. However, ODNR Chief Vendel predicts even more potential, stating that he thinks the state is “going to be breaking records.”

(ODNR Presentation at NARO-Ohio)

Let’s dive further into the first two quarters of 2023, showing Ohio’s oil production strong at the mid-year outlook (horizontal only):

• First and second quarter oil production were on the upswing, at 5 million barrels and 6.9 million barrels respectively, surpassing 2022 fourth quarter production totals of 5.9 million barrels.
• Quarter two was the second highest quarterly amount EVER.
• In 2023, 18 wells reported an average production of more than 1,000 bbls PER DAY for at least one producing quarter.

Guernsey and Carroll counties continued to be responsible for the top ten oil producing wells in the first half of 2023, with Ascent Resources having six and Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP Ohio) having four of the top ten highest producing wells.

In total, Guernsey County produced over 4.8 million barrels, while Carroll County produced 4.7 million barrels in the mid-year. Together, they produced roughly 71 percent of all oil in the past two quarters, highlighting how important these two counties are to Ohio’s energy production.

For its part, natural gas production is also on the rise compared to 2022 fourth quarter numbers, with production reaching more than 551 billion cubic feet and 536 billion cubic feet, respectively, in the first half of 2023. Ohio remains one of the top producers of natural gas in the country, ranking sixth.

Jefferson and Belmont counties were the highest producing natural gas wells in the first half of 2023, with Gulfport Appalachia having six of Ohio’s top ten highest natural gas producing wells and Ascent Resource Utica the remaining four top ten producing wells.

Bottom Line: The mid-year outlook for Ohio shows significant growth in the state’s oil production while natural gas production continues to be pivotal. ODNR’s data only confirms that Ohio’s oil and natural gas industry will continue to aid the state, region and country in providing crucial energy security for now and years into the future.

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