Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A. presents

Utica Journal Discoveries - An Electronic Oil and Gas Newsletter

With offices located in the heart of the Utica Shale play in

Canton, Akron, Alliance, New Philadelphia & Sugarcreek, Ohio

                                       Editors Gregory W. Watts, Esq. and Ryan W. Reaves, Esq. 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Releases First Quarter Production Numbers for Oil and Gas

ODNR

Chesapeake, American Energy Partners legal fight moves to arbitration

The Oklahoman
The legal fight between Chesapeake Energy Corp. and American Energy Partners LP will leave the courtroom and continue through arbitration.  Oklahoma County District Court Judge Thomas E. Prince sided with AEP, saying the proceedings are bound by the severance agreement between Chesapeake and Aubrey McClendon.  Chesapeake "is thus ordered to pursue the claims in its petition on file herein only through arbitration and not through this litigation, which is dismissed without prejudice," the order stated.  "We respect the court's decision, and we are pursuing our claims in arbitration," Chesapeake spokesman Gordon Pennoyer said in a statement Tuesday.  AEP declined comment Tuesday, but the company said in a filing Friday that it believes the judge's decision has put an end to Chesapeake's lawsuit.

Magnum Hunter Resources Announces Execution of Definitive Agreement to Sell Non-Core Undeveloped Leasehold Acreage in Tyler County, West Virginia

SeekingAlpha
Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (NYSE: MHR) announced that Triad Hunter, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell certain non-core undeveloped and unproven leasehold acreage located in Tyler County, West Virginia to an independent exploration and production company.  The Company anticipates that the net proceeds it will receive from the sale of the Properties will be approximately $40.8 million.  The sale is scheduled to close on May 28, 2015 and consists of ownership interests in approximately 5,210 net leasehold acres.  Mr. Gary C. Evans, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Hunter, commented, "The undeveloped properties to be sold pursuant to the agreement announced are deemed non-core to Magnum Hunter and were not in our long-term drilling plan for this immediate area. Additionally, with lease expirations on the horizon on a large portion of this acreage position, it made sense to sell these properties now to an industry competitor that already owns adjacent leases.  This sale represents less than 2 1/2% of our approximate 210,000 net leasehold acreage position in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays."

Broadview Heights won't appeal ruling allowing gas drilling

Cleveland.com

The city of Broadview Heights won't appeal a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas ruling that allows oil and gas drilling in the city.  The city consulted two large downtown law firms on a possible appeal and deemed further legal action futile, Law Director Vince Ruffa said in a phone interview.  "There was no basis for an appeal, honestly," he said. "They gave us the opinion that appealing would be pointless and frivolous."  The decision means a voter-approved ban on future wells will remain overturned.

UBS Global Oil & Gas Conference:  Chesapeake Energy Presentation

SeekingAlpha

Chesapeake Executive Vice President Jason Pigott, commented the "Utica just continues to be the strong asset in our portfolio.  They're currently running about five rigs right now.  Like all our other areas, their capital efficiency has just been fantastic.  Every weak we're setting new records in the play.  We're getting more efficient with our frac crews and number of stimulations we do per day.  We highlighted on the quarterly call that again we consider ourselves to be the leading operator in the Utica, and we're far ahead of our peers in the area.  Our rock quality is not always the best rock quality but our capital efficiency is unmatched out there.  Some of the reasons that we skip this unmatched capital efficiency is the results we see on the completion side.  We've really focused on changing our completion designs in all of our areas, but we focused on higher intensity jobs in the Utica, which is paying big dividends."  A copy of the accompanying presentation may be viewed here.