Ascent Resources, founded by shale pioneer Aubrey McClendon after he was bounced from Chesapeake Energy Corp. on his certainty that the Utica Shale would be vital, continued to be the largest well permittee in Ohio in January, splitting its eight permits between the dry gas counties of Belmont and Jefferson.
Belmont County continued to be the focus of drillers' attention, with 11 of the 30 total Utica permits issued, according to permitting data from the state's Department of Natural Resources. Supermajor Exxon Mobil Corp.'s shale drilling subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. pulled four permits in Belmont County, as many as it did in all of 2017. The major has 82,000 acres of leasehold in Belmont and the neighboring dry gas county, Monroe. XTO had no immediate comment on its sudden bullishness in the Utica.

Other drillers that were idle in January 2017 with permits in hand a year later included the top U.S. NGL producer, Antero Resources Corp., which pulled five permits in dry-gas Monroe, and Utica pioneer Chesapeake, with five permits split between wet gas Harrison County and neighboring Jefferson County.
While the 30 permits issued in January mark a 20% increase over January 2017 permits issued, it is a one-third drop from December's 45 permits. A look at previous years' data indicates that a permitting — and presumably drilling — drop is common in Ohio with a change in calendar year. The drop is likely caused by Ohio's frigid winters and the change in company budget years, a spokesman for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association said Feb. 7.
Activity by Ohio's top gas producer by volume, Gulfport Energy Corp., was subdued. The driller pulled two permits in Belmont and a third in Monroe, compared to 12 permits in December and nine permits in January 2017.
January 2018 permits were slightly more geographically diverse than January 2017's, with more operators being issued permits, the data showed. Seven drillers received permits to drill in seven Ohio counties in January, compared to five drillers in four counties in January 2017.
