BP to Lease Acreage in Utica/Point Pleasant Shale

摘要

BP America (Houston) said March 27 it would lease thousands of acres in northeast Ohio for future oil and gas production in the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale formation. The Utica/Point Pleasant Shale is a relatively new and promising shale basin that consists of a potentially liquids-rich source, and adds an American energy source to BP's onshore gas portfolio.BP has signed an agreement to lease about 84.000 acres in Trumbull County with the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley (ALOV), a group representing area mineral owners. Members of ALOV voted March 26 to approve the lease agreement. Terms, to be executed with each landowner, are confidential. The Utica/Point Pleasant Shale is at a depth of about 6000 feet. The rock formation is of similar thickness to the Marcellus Shale and has the potential to deliver higher liquids rates. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates a recoverable Utica Shale potentialbetween 1.3 and 5.5 Bbbl of oil and between 3.8 and 15.7 Tcf of natural gas.