Utica-Marcellus to Benefit Ohio, Pennsylvania

Ohio and Pennsylvania are on track to become the second-largest producer of natural gas in North America, according to Bentek Energy spokesman Justin Carlson. Speaking at the Think About Energy Summit sponsored by America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Carlson noted that the Utica and the Marcellus are currently behind only Texas and western Canada in overall production with some 12.5 million cubic feet per day. Carlson adds the Utica-Marcellus may soon surpass Canada.

What’s been developed in the Utica and Marcellus shale, to date, is “the tip of iceberg,” said James Crews of MarkWest Energy Partners, a major pipeline and processing company. He predicted that the two shales will still be producing for the “next 100 to 200 years.”