Eastern & Southern Ohio Oil & Gas Activity

Marketing Director
11 minutes ago
2 min read

Week of Dec. 15–21, 2025

(Mon, Dec 22, 9:21 a.m. ET)

1) Executive Snapshot

Permits: Light but steady; Ohio shale permitting continues at a maintenance pace with no breakout week.
Rigs: Ohio rig count flat week‑over‑week, reinforcing a disciplined Utica program rather than growth mode.
M&A: Ascent Resources remains the focal point of Ohio‑centric deal drama amid competing bids and governance friction.
Regulatory: Injection wells (Washington County) and HB 439 (brine road‑spreading ban) remain active pressure points.
Markets: Gas softened materially week‑over‑week; oil drifted lower but stabilized late week.

2) Permits (Ohio – Utica)

Latest Confirmed Weekly Tally: Ohio issued single‑digit shale permits in the most recent posted ODNR recap (reflecting routine development, not expansion).
Geographic Pattern: Core Utica counties (Belmont, Monroe, Noble, Carroll) continue to dominate; no meaningful step‑change in new county activity.
Context: End‑of‑year permitting often reflects inventory management and administrative timing rather than operator sentiment.

Implication: Operators appear content to hold acreage and drilling inventory into early 2026 rather than push year‑end volumes.

3) Rigs & Field Activity

Ohio Rigs: Unchanged week‑over‑week, tracking with broader Marcellus/Utica discipline.
Tri‑State Basin: Stable overall; no capital rotation signals away from or into Ohio this week.
Operational Tone: Pad development and completions optimization > greenfield drilling.

Implication: Expect predictability, not acceleration, through the holidays.

4) M&A / Corporate

Ascent Resources

Multiple credible bidders remain in play, with valuation disputes and process challenges surfacing publicly.
Governance tension between sponsor groups continues to raise the odds of:
- a revised process,
- a court‑influenced outcome, or
- a higher‑priced cash bid.

Why it matters locally: A control change at Ascent would likely affect drilling cadence, midstream alignment, and surface‑use posture across large swaths of eastern Ohio, even without lease amendments.

5) Regulatory & Local Developments

Injection Wells – Washington County (Marietta area)

Public opposition and litigation continue to challenge approvals based on updated seismic and groundwater standards.
No decisive ruling yet, but the case remains a statewide bellwether for future Class II permitting.

HB 439 – Brine Road‑Spreading Ban

Bill remains in House committee; no floor action this week.
Industry and township stakeholders continue quiet positioning ahead of 2026 session momentum.

Implication: Waste handling and disposal economics remain a latent risk factor for operators and landowners hosting infrastructure.

6) Markets (Week‑over‑Week)

Natural Gas: Henry Hub down sharply (~20%) on milder weather and storage dynamics.
Oil: WTI hovered in the mid‑$50s, ending the week steadier after earlier softness.
Local takeaway: Gas‑weighted Utica economics tighten near‑term, reinforcing capital discipline.

7) County / Operator Heat Map

Active / Watch

Belmont, Monroe, Noble: Core development zones; stable but sensitive to operator ownership changes.
Washington County: Regulatory and community scrutiny remains elevated.

Quiet

Tuscarawas, Harrison, Jefferson: No notable new permitting or enforcement signals this week.

8) Forward Watch (Next 1–3 Weeks)

Publication of the next ODNR weekly permit recap (holiday lag likely).
Any formal escalation or resolution in the Ascent bidding process.
HB 439 movement as legislators position for the 2026 session.
Early‑January rig count inflection once holiday downtime clears.

Bottom Line:

This was a control‑room week, not a drill‑bit week. Capital stayed disciplined, regulators stayed active, and the most consequential developments remain corporate and legal rather than operational. For Ohio mineral owners and surface holders, the smartest move right now is vigilance, not urgency.