The drilling of permits in PA is certainly a fickle business to forecast or predict.  It had been slow all summer, but the last two weeks there 36 new permits from nine different E&P Companies.  There were seven renewal permits.  That’s 43 in all.

Here on the blog I commented that this could be the beginning of a roll, but this week there was not one permit in PA.  In the past week, I spoke to a number of people who say that the bidding is picking up.  Consequently, I believe activity is up from doldrums of the summer, but it’s not going to be a straight shot up.

The Ohio permitting has been a little more consistent the last couple of months.  It’s been averaging about 5 to 10 or so new permits every week.  In Ohio, it’s been interesting to see that Ascent Resources is one of the more activity companies.  It appears that the company has moved from its involvement with Aubrey and his death.

Other companies consistently obtaining permits in OH are Gulfport, XTO, and Rice.  To lesser degree, Statoil, Rex, Chesapeake and Eclipse Resource have been obtaining permits.  This past week saw Hess obtaining permits.  Hess has absent from the permitting scene for about a year or so.

We are closely monitoring permitting in PA and OH.  We’ll do our best to report the latest information.  Occasionally, we’ll give your thoughts about what’s transpiring and what it may mean.

Joseph Barone
www.ShaleDirectories.com