Utica Shale
| Utica Shale Stratigraphic range: late Middle Ordovician |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Lorraine Shale, Martinsburg Formation, and Reedsville Formation |
| Overlies |
Trenton Group Canajoharie shale |
| Thickness | up to 1,000 feet (300 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 43°03′50″N 75°10′48″W / 43.064°N 75.18°WCoordinates: 43°03′50″N 75°10′48″W / 43.064°N 75.18°W |
| Region | Appalachian Basin |
| Country |
 Canada United States
|
| Type section | |
| Named for | Utica, New York |
| Named by | Ebenezer Emmons, 1842 |
The Utica Shale is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Ordovician age in the Appalachian Basin. It underlies much of the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada.
It takes the name from the city of Utica, New York, as it was first described as an outcrop along the Starch Factory Creek east of the city by Ebenezer Emmons in 1842.
The Utica Shale is composed of calcareous, organic, and rich shale.
The Utica shale is a major source of tight gas in Quebec, and is rapidly becoming so in Ohio.
Drilling and producing from the Utica Shale began in 2006 in Quebec, focusing on an area south of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City. Interest has grown in the region since Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. announced a significant discovery there after testing two vertical wells. Forest Oil said its Quebec assets may hold as much as four trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, and that the Utica shale has similar rock properties to the Barnett shale in Texas.
Forest Oil, which has several junior partners in the region, has drilled both vertical and horizontal wells. Calgary-based Talisman Energy has drilled five vertical Utica wells, and began drilling two horizontal Utica wells in late 2009 with its partner Questerre Energy, which holds under lease more than 1 million gross acres of land in the region. Other companies in the play are Quebec-based Gastem and Calgary-based Canbriam Energy.
The Utica Shale in Quebec potentially holds 4×1012 cu ft (110×109 m3) at production rates of 1×106 cu ft (28,000 m3) per day From 2006 through 2009 24 wells, both vertical and horizontal, were drilled to test the Utica. Positive gas flow test results were reported, although none of the wells were producing at the end of 2009. Gastem, one of the Utica shale producers, took its Utica Shale expertise to drill across the border in New York state.
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Wikipedia