Oil and Gas Update - December 2012

Since my last update in July, I have perceived a trend of a southward movement of the Utica play. Thereis presently a good deal of leasing activity in Belmont, Harrison, Noble and Guernsey Counties. Wordis that some of the best wells to date have been drilled in that area. Certainly, Carroll County andColumbiana Counties are seeing large numbers of wells drilled, but leasing there is not as active as itonce was; companies are primarily focused on filling in planned drilling units and not much interested intaking random leases. The basic attitude seems to be – ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you if we need you.’ Inareas where there is a single company with a dominant lease position, lease prices are actually trendingdownward as there is little competition for leasing.The far western and far northern areas of the play have seen some bad drilling results that arelikely to stall rapid development until the boundaries and characteristics of the Utica shale arebetter understood. For the time being, most companies are likely to stick tight to what is believedto be the narrow “wet gas” window of the play – the low hanging fruit. For a map, click here.I am presently spending a good deal of my time dealing with older leases or old mineral reservations,in an attempt to clean up title in favor of my landowner clients. This sometimes requires litigation. Icurrently have cases pending in courts from the top of the play (Trumbull County) all the way down tothe southern part of the play (Monroe County).