American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016 - 102

how traditional zoning restrictions may
affect oil and gas activities within a municipality, McGranor noted. Indications
from at least one case are that some
justices are willing to allow such restrictions, he suggested.

The Debrosse Memorial Report, an annual
overview of Ohio oil and gas activity,
confirms the Utica/Point Pleasant was
the state's top natural gas target, with
70 percent of wells in 2015 going to the
formation, Martin Shumway, president of
Shumway Resources LLC, tells the Ohio
Oil & Gas Association's winter meeting.

invalid under Ohio law. In that case, the
city of Broadview Heights enacted an ordinance that made it unlawful for any person
or corporation to engage in the extraction
of gas or oil within the city, he said.
"The plaintiffs were making a unique
argument. They said the people were
acting as direct sovereigns, not as the
city," McGranor stated. "They cited things
such as the Articles of Confederation and
Declaration of Independence, saying those
gave them the right to act as separate sovereigns. The court, in pretty short opinion,
said no, they were subject to Ohio law."
What the courts have not ruled on is

Activity And M&A
In his overview of Ohio activity,
Shumway said the Debrosse Memorial
Report showed the Utica/Point Pleasant
was the primary natural gas drilling target
for the state in 2015, with 70 percent of
the 534 well completions coming in the
formation. The Clinton attracted 48 permits
and the Knox Unconformity 45, he added.
Examining the formation's estimated
ultimate recoveries, Shumway pointed
out that Utica wells in Monroe and Belmont counties had outstanding EUR to
lateral length ratios, with many comparable
to Marcellus Shale wells.
On the oil side, Shumway reported
Ohio's shale wells produced 22 million
barrels in 2015, with conventional operators contributing another 3.7 MMbbl.
Knobloch pointed out in his merger
and acquisition update that in addition to
the majors' return to the Appalachian
Basin, significant amounts of capital were
arriving from overseas, including deals
involving companies from South Korea,
Britain, Norway, Japan, France and India.
From 2010 to 2014, 113 mergers and
acquisitions involved Marcellus properties,
while the Utica attracted 78 deals and the
joint wells 12. The total value of those
deals was $48.8 billion, Knobloch stated.
Overall, the best Marcellus acreage
covers 28,000 square miles, while the
prime Utica property totals 9,400 square
miles, he said.
Looking at the EUR to lateral ratio,
Knobloch projected wells with more than
1.0 Bcf per thousand feet of lateral accounted
for 3,000 square miles; wells greater than
2.0 Bcf/1,000 feet were in 495 square
miles, while wells with ratios above 3.0
Bcf were mainly in 17 square miles.

"We all have seen changes that affect
drilling, completion and production, and
that affect the results of the well," Knobloch
said. "The well results vary, not only from
county to county, but even across a county
from township to township and from well
to well, even wells on the same well pad."
Groundwater Report
The University of Cincinnati's analysis
of the possible impacts of Utica Shale development on Ohio's groundwater resources
reached an exciting conclusion, but Jackie
Stewart, EID's state director in Ohio, marveled at the politics behind the study.
The research was the first multiyear
study by any university that looked at
possible groundwater contamination from
Utica operations. It analyzed 191 samples
from five counties, taken before, during
and after drilling operations, Stewart said.
The study included DNA analysis of any
methane detected to allow researchers to
determine its origins.
Stewart said the report found no evidence of natural gas contamination from
shale, oil or gas mining in any of the
groundwater wells sampled. At the meeting, the lead researcher indicated those
funding the study were disappointed.
While most people would conclude that
the university would publicize the study
highly, Stewart said instead it was released
during a Carroll County Concerned Citizens
meeting on a winter night at a church. In
addition to 20 club members present,
Stewart said she, Mike Chadsey of OOGA,
and one newspaper reporter were in attendance. There was one newspaper article
about the meeting, she pointed out.
"The study itself was accessible only on
the Concerned Citizens' website," Stewart
said. "EID and OOGA started calling reporters. In less than a month, the one newspaper article has blown into national news.
The University of Cincinnati now has posted
the study on its website. My point is that on
a very local level, reporters need to hear our
side. And they need to hear the facts." ❒

Ohio Likely To Play Crucial Role
In '16 Election, Analyst Predicts
Timothy Knobloch, president of James
Knobloch Petroleum Consultants Inc.,
tells the Ohio Oil & Gas Association
that nearly $50 billion was spent on
mergers and acquisitions in the Appalachian Basin from 2010 to 2014.

COLUMBUS, OH.-The 2016 national
election promises to be one of the most
exciting political events ever, and Ohio
is poised to play a major role in the outcome, predicts David Wasserman, election
analyst for The Cook Political Report.
The key question for the 2016 White
House race is whether the Democrats
will score a blowout win if their candidate,

102 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
is matched against businessman Donald
Trump, pondered Wasserman, the keynote
speaker for the Ohio Oil & Gas Association's winter meeting in March.
"Most Democrats are not entirely sure
what will happen," he says. "After all,
Trump has proven that he is a master
reinvention artist, and that he is capable

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016

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