The Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio is one of the fastest growing natural gas production areas in North America. It is part of the Upper Ordovician organic-rich black shale with thickness typically ranging from 150 to 350 feet. The thermal maturity windows are well defined within the Ohio Utica, shifting from dry gas in the east to the liquids-rich window in the west. Drilling activity is currently concentrated within the core area of eastern Ohio along the wet to dry gas trend.

In terms of both acreage and reserve potential, the Marcellus Shale is one of the most prolific plays in North America and among the fastest growing sources of natural gas production in the United States. The depth of the Marcellus Shale varies – from the surface in central Pennsylvania to over 9,000 feet below ground in southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania. It is part of the Middle Devonian organic-rich black shale that exists beneath much of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Drilling activity in the core liquids-rich area of the southwest Marcellus Shale is focused on Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, and Doddridge counties in West Virginia.

As a number of processing plants, including Blue Racer Midstream’s assets, have been built and brought into service, more natural gas is being gathered from wells and processed to meet pipeline specifications, allowing natural gas to flow on interstate pipelines.