Two Uses Eyed for Kirkwood Heights Well
May produce gas or store brine; other wells permitted
Wheeling WV Intelligencer
3 January 2011
By Casey Junkins. Staff Writer
BRIDGEPORT [OH] - There is a new standard for the deepest gas well in
Ohio's history, as David Hill Inc. is finished drilling its 13,727-foot
deep vertical well at the top of Kirkwood Heights near Bridgeport [OH].
As driller David Hill determines whether to use his new well for gas
production or for storing brine left over from hydraulic fracturing at
other natural gas sites, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has
granted permits to drill several other gas wells throughout Belmont
County.
The drilling is complete, though the rig can still be seen at the top
of the hill from Interstate 70 during the daytime. Hill said this is
because there is nowhere for the device to go right now. If Hill's
depth estimate is correct, the 13,727-foot well shatters the record of
11,442 feet for a Noble County well drilled in 1967.
"We reached the Mount Simon Sandstone," he said, noting the shaft also
penetrates both the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Hill - who has been drilling holes in search of gas for 31 years - said
he is "cautiously optimistic" that the well will be able to produce
fuel, though he maintains the backup plan of using it as an injection
well. His company currently operates about 300 wells in Ohio and West
Virginia.
The property owner, St. Clairsville-based Georgetown Marine Inc., is
set to gain 12.5 percent worth of production royalties if gas flows
from the Kirkwood site. Georgetown representatives have directed all
questions regarding the matter to Hill.
Hill is currently evaluating the viability of the shaft, noting "We are
very happy and proud that we had no adverse incidents during the
drilling process."
"We are cautiously optimistic," he said. "When we get the results, we
will move into the completion phase."
Though the completion phase generally involves hydraulic fracturing, or
fracking, Hill said this process - which calls for drillers to pump 5
million to 6 million gallons of water, sand and chemicals into each
well to help release gas - may not be necessary at the Kirkwood Heights
site.
"We will run tubing and punch holes in the pipe," he said. "I am not
sure we will have to frack the well."
However, Hill said if the well seems unlikely to produce much gas, he
could use it as an injection well to dispose of brine drawn from other
drilling sites.
"Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale are going to happen in Belmont County.
If it becomes an injection well, this will be a responsible way to
dispose of the brine."
After gas drillers pump shale shafts full of fracking fluid, much of
this substance flushes back up through the well.
The original fluid combines with minerals and mud from the earth to
create the briny wastewater. Gas drillers have been known to use
ethylene glycol, a substance found in antifreeze, in their fracking
fluid. Some others have used formaldehyde, which the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration identifies as "reasonably anticipated
to be a human carcinogen."
Other Permitted Wells
At a depth of 8,450 feet beneath the soil near Barnesville, Consol
Energy Inc. recently struck the Utica Shale rock formation - a
discovery that will allow the company to develop more natural gas.
According to the the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website,
drillers have also received permission to grind out gas and/or oil
wells at the following sites:
§ property in the name of Beagle Club,
northwest of St. Clairsville - by Marquette Exploration LLC;
§ property in the name of Pavich, west of
Powhatan Point - by Phillips Exploration Inc.;
§ property in the name of Albright, west
of Shadyside - by Oxford Oil;
§ property in the name of Sechrest, west
of Shadyside and Bellaire - by Phillips Exploration Inc.;
§ property in the name of Boan, west of
Powhatan Point - by Phillips Exploration Inc.;
§ property in the name of Capstone, east
of Flushing - by Marquette Exploration LLC;
§ property in the name of Earls, between
Shadyside and Jacobsburg - by Oxford Oil;
§ two units of property in the name of
Porterfield, northwest of St. Clairsville - by Marquette Exploration
LLC;
§ two units of property in the name of
Buckeye UIC Barnesville, between Barnesville and Interstate 70 - by CNX
Gas Corp., a subsidiary of Consol;
§ two units of property in the name of
Douglass, southwest of Barnesville - by Oxford Oil;
§ property in the name of Jackson,
southwest of Barnesville - by Oxford Oil.
With more drilling moving across the Buckeye State, Ohio Gov.-elect
John Kasich now acknowledges that the Marcellus Shale could give a
needed economic boost to the state.
Kasich said Thursday his administration would focus on helping
businesses and skilled workers take advantage of any gas deposits. He
said Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy has big plans in Ohio.