Shell gearing up for Utica shale push

Ready to roll: the Ohio Utica shale play is squarely in the sights of Shell and its chief executive Peter Voser

Upstream

By Noah Brenner Houston

 09 August 2012 22:59 GMT

Shell is preparing its initial push into the Utica shale play after quietly amassing a position that spans the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Anglo-Dutch supermajor received approval from Ohio for its first three wells targeting the Utica there, after secretly testing the formation’s potential on the Pennsylvania side last year.

Shell has permits in hand for three wells — two vertical stratigraphic test wells in Guernsey County, and one horizontal wildcat in Columbiana County, according to state records.

In Guernsey County, the Tobin Gene W 102-1VD will be drilled to 7700 feet and the J Bar J Ohio Inc 103-1VD will be drilled to 8300 feet. Both are targeting the Point Pleasant formation.

To the north-east,…

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