Producers in Ohio's Utica Shale are scaling back plans for future drilling locations, according to state data, and only received new permits to drill in three counties along the Ohio River.
Permitting plunged 42% year over year and the state's top gas producer pulled only one permit for the month, according to data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Ascent Resources, founded by the late shale landman and wildcatter Aubrey McClendon after he was fired from the top spot at Chesapeake Energy Corp., continued to be the top permit puller in the Utica with 11 permits across two counties: Belmont and Jefferson; nearly triple the permits it was issued at the same time last year. Third-quarter production data from the state showed Ascent as the second largest producer by volume in the shale, more than doubling its production year over year in the third quarter to 930 MMcf/d.
The Utica's top producer, Gulfport Energy Corp., was issued only one permit in Belmont County, compared to five in February of 2016, consistent with its plan to cut spending 32% in 2018 by drilling longer laterals on fewer wells in Ohio and devoting more attention to oil and liquids-rich wells in Oklahoma's SCOOP and STACK plays.
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"In the Utica, during 2018, we are focused on maximizing capital efficiency," Gulfport CEO Michael Moore told analysts on the company's Feb 22 earnings conference call. "While activity is stepping down from our 2017 program, we have increased our average lateral lengths on wells spud by approximately 37% over our 2017 program."
Gulfport averaged 1.15 Bcf/d of gas production, according to the latest state data.
Dry gas-focused Belmont County, across the Ohio River from Wheeling, W.V., accounted for two-thirds of the permits issued in February as Chesapeake Energy and EQT Corp. each pulled three permits to drill there. Belmont is along the route of Energy Transfer Partners LP's partially opened 3.25 Bcf/d Rover Pipeline LLC.

