When the energy boom took off in eastern Ohio, the general thought was that the Utica shale was an area primarily rich in natural gas.
Now oil production is also starting to surge.
Oil production in Ohio hit a record 27.8 million barrels in 2023, up 41% from 2022, according to researchers at the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education at Cleveland State University who have tracked production since 2011. In December alone, eastern Ohio oil wells pumped 93,000 barrels of crude, up one third from December 2022, according to federal data.
Ohio has become one of the top 10 oil producers in the country. It already was one of the biggest producers of natural gas.
"We always thought it was a gas play," said Mike Chadsey, spokesman for the Ohio Oil & Gas Association. "Now it may very well become an oil play.’’
Utica shale investment tops $100 billion
It's been more than a decade since drilling took off in eastern Ohio, driven by a controversial technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" that environmentalists have criticized.
The number of producing oil and gas wells in Ohio now tops 3,100, according to the Cleveland State researchers. Investment has been estimated at least at $105 billion.
Most of the money has been spent on drilling while the rest has been spent on such things as pipelines, transportation, storage, processing and natural gas-fired power plants.
Production has been concentrated in 18 eastern counties, but it has been the strongest in a handful of counties near the Ohio River − Belmont, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Carroll, Guernsey, Columbiana and Noble, according to Cleveland State's reporting.
Even with the surge of oil production, the Utica continues to be a region dominated by natural gas, where 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas was produced last year.
Crude made up about 7% of the state's energy production last year, the researchers said.
What is driving oil growth?
Price and technology are key factors why more oil is being produced in Ohio.
Higher oil prices are making investments in the region profitable with oil prices climbing above $80 a barrel recently. Meanwhile, the warm winter hurt demand for natural gas and has been a drag on prices.
Natural gas produced in the Utica also trades at a discount because it's hard to transport it from the region to market.
"Oil is more appealing," said Mark Henning, research supervisor at the Energy Policy Center at the Levin School. "There's a greater return on capital."
Meanwhile, improved technology is allowing companies to access areas that in the past may have not been seen as productive as they are today, said Andrew Thomas, executive in residence at the Levin College.