CONSOL Energy (CNX) is active in the exploration and development of the Utica Shale and has 200,000 net acres under lease in Ohio that is prospective for this play. The company also has additional acreage in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that has exposure to the Utica Shale.
In October 2010, CONSOL Energy reported the results of the company’s first well into the Utica Shale. The Barnesville #1 well was drilled and completed in Belmont County, Ohio, and produced 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day during a test period.
The Barnesville #1 Utica Shale well was a vertical well and was not stimulated and this accounted for the low production. The company plans six additional Utica Shale test wells in 2011 at a cost of $35 million.
