JIP Seeks Clearer Picture of Utica Shale Play

"Ingrain’s technology brings understanding of the fundamental pore-scale storage and fluid flow mechanisms in shale," Walls noted. "This understanding is the foundation for improving well productivity and longevity."

Walls said he believes that Utica production could grow significantly, and become a major factor in the nation’s energy landscape.

Will Utica Shale Live Up to Its Potential?

Bloomberg reported in April that Ohio's oil dream was fading due to initial drilling difficulties and results, with some companies such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. announcing plans to sell Utica assets.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) May report on 2012 Utica/Point Pleasant production and string of asset sales in the play also raised the question of whether the Utica's promise as the next big shale oil play will be realized. Eighty-seven wells drilled by 11 companies produced approximately 1,750 barrels of oil per day (bopd), or 635,900 barrels during 2012, and 35 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, or 12.8 billion cubic feet, last year, DNR reported May 16. 

Analysts at GHS Research cautioned investors not to read too much into the report, pointing out that the oil and gas industry is still seeking to fully understand the play's geology and reservoir characteristics, and that infrastructure build outs are needed to lift current constraints on production.

"Considering that the geology and reservoir characteristics are still not fully understood (let alone the ideal setup for well spacing, operations and infrastructure), we should see bigger and better things coming out of Ohio in the near future – just not the next Standard Oil," GHS noted in a May 17 research report.

"Part of the reason that the ODNR results are misleading stems from the fact that 2012 drilling in the Point Pleasant shale formation in northeast Ohio – the sweet spot for producers – was targeted in that part of the shale that produces primarily wet gas and not oil," according to a May 21 blog entry by RBN Energy analyst Sandy Fielden.