View source for Utica Shale

{{Short description|Stratigraphical unit of Upper Ordovician age in the Appalachian Basin}}
{{Infobox rockunit
| name           = Utica Shale
| image          = 
| imagesize      = 
| caption        = 
| type           = [[Geological formation]]
| age            = {{Fossil range|Upper Ordovician|Upper Ordovician|late [[Upper Ordovician]]}}
| period = Mid Ordovician
| prilithology   = [[Shale]]
| otherlithology = 
| namedfor       = [[Utica, New York]]
| namedby        = [[Ebenezer Emmons]], 1842
| region         = [[Appalachian Basin]]
| country        = {{flag|Canada}}<br>{{flag|United States}}
| coordinates    = {{coord|43.064|-75.18|display=inline,title|name= Utica Shale}} 
| unitof         = 
| subunits       = 
| underlies      = [[Lorraine Shale]], [[Martinsburg Formation]], and [[Reedsville Formation]]
| overlies       = [[Point Pleasant Formation]], [[Trenton Group]]<br>[[Canajoharie Formation|Canajoharie shale]]
| thickness      = up to {{convert|1000|ft|m|-1}}<ref name=usgs/>
| extent         = 
| area           = 
| map            = 
| map_caption    = 
}}
The '''Utica Shale''' is a [[Stratigraphy|stratigraphical]] unit of [[Upper Ordovician]] [[Geochronology|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.<ref>Emmons, Ebenezer, 1842, ''Geology of New York; Part II, Survey of the second geological district''. New York State Museum, 437p.</ref>
[[Image:Joints 1.jpg|thumb|Rectangular [[Joint (geology)|joints]] within siltstone and black shales of the Utica Shale near [[Fort Plain, New York]]]]

==Lithology==
The Utica Shale is composed of calcareous, organic, and rich [[shale]].<ref name=lexicon/>

==Oil and gas==
The Utica shale is a major source of [[Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoir|unconventional]] [[tight gas]] in [[Quebec]], and is rapidly becoming so in [[Ohio]].

===Quebec===
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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hartenergy.com/news/forest-oil-develop-quebec-32977|title=Forest Oil To Develop In Quebec|publisher=Hart Energy|accessdate=May 10, 2024}}</ref> 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{{citation needed|date=February 2022|reason=That's a lot of land. Where is the info from Questerre Energy ?}}. Other companies in the play are Quebec-based Gastem and Calgary-based Canbriam Energy.

The Utica Shale in Quebec potentially holds {{convert|4|Tcuft|e9m3|abbr=on}} at production rates of {{convert|1|e6cuft|m3|abbr=on}} per day.<ref>[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=92251&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1124217&highlight= Forest Oil Corporation – Press Releases and Notices<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cnrp.ccnmatthews.com/client/junex/release.jsp?actionFor=838978&releaseSeq=1&year=2008 |title=Press release > Investors > Junex<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2016-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302181642/http://cnrp.ccnmatthews.com/client/junex/release.jsp?actionFor=838978&releaseSeq=1&year=2008 |archive-date=2012-03-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>Susan R. Eaton, "Shale play extends to Canada," ''[[AAPG]] Explorer'', January 2010, p.10-24.</ref> Gastem, one of the Utica shale producers, took its Utica Shale expertise to drill across the border in [[New York state]].<ref name=ogj240308>
{{Cite journal
 |url= http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/323864/s-articles/s-oil-gas-journal/s-volume-106/s-issue-12/s-exploration-development/s-new-york-to-get-utica-shale-exploration.html
 |title= New York to get Utica shale exploration
 |publisher= [[PennWell Corporation]]
 |journal= Oil & Gas Journal
 |page=41
 |volume= 106
 |issue= 12
 |date=2008-03-24
 |access-date=2009-07-07}}
</ref>

The province of Quebec imposed a moratorium on [[hydraulic fracturing]] in March 2012.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.com/quebec-installs-outright-moratorium-hydraulic-fracturing-433930 Quebec installs outright moratorium on hydraulic fracturing], ''International Business Times'', 4 April 2012.</ref>

===Ohio===
[[File:Utica Shale assessment - 01.jpg|thumb|left|Map showing the location of the oil and gas assessment units (AU) for the Utica Shale in the [[Appalachian Basin]] Province]]

Utica Shale drilling and production began in Ohio in 2011. Ohio as of 2013 is becoming a major natural gas and oil producer from the Utica Shale in the eastern part of the state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=John Funk |first=The Plain Dealer |date=2013-05-17 |title=Utica shale gas production ramping up slowly, Ohio report shows |url=https://www.cleveland.com/business/2013/05/utica_shale_gas_production_ram.html |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=cleveland |language=en}}</ref> Map of Ohio Utica Shale drilling permits and activity by date.<ref name=drillingmap>
{{Cite web|url=http://www.uticashaleblog.com/p/maps.html
|title= Map of Ohio Utica drilling permits and activity by date
|author=uticashalemaps.com|access-date=2012-05-05}}</ref><ref name=ohioi>
{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey/tabid/23014/Default.aspx
|title= Marcellus and Utica Shale Data
|author=Ohio.gov Database|author-link=Ohio Department of Natural Resources
|access-date=2011-03-08}}</ref> In 2011 drilling and permits for drilling in the Utica Shale in Ohio reached record highs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gerino |first=Dan |title='Fracking' permits booming |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/10/13/fracking-permits-booming.html |newspaper=Columbus Dispatch}}</ref>

=== Pennsylvania ===
Companies like [[CNX Resources]] have had success expanding Utica Shale production in Pennsylvania, drilling its first Utica well in 2015 in Westmoreland County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerlik |first=Bob |date=2022-05-23 |title=PIT, CNX Develop Fuel Strategy to Reduce Emissions, Costs for Aviation |url=https://blueskypit.com/2022/05/23/pit-cnx-develop-fuel-strategy-to-reduce-emissions-costs-for-aviation/ |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=Blue Sky PIT News Site |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022, CNX formed a partnership with the Pittsburgh International Airport in Allegheny County to develop Utica shale on airport property and convert it to LNG and CNG for use in fueling aviation and other machinery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNX, Pittsburgh International Airport Form Partnership to Convert Natgas into Alternative Fuel {{!}} Hart Energy |url=https://www.hartenergy.com/exclusives/cnx-pittsburgh-international-airport-form-partnership-convert-natgas-alternative-fuel |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=www.hartenergy.com |language=en}}</ref>

===New York===
In 2009, the Canadian company Gastem, which had been drilling gas wells into the Utica Shale in Quebec, drilled the first of its three state-permitted Utica Shale wells in New York. The first well drilled was in [[Otsego County, New York|Otsego County]].<ref>Tom Grace, [http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_280080116.html "Officials positive following gas-well tour,"] ''Oneonta Daily Star'', 7 October 2009.</ref>

New York imposed a moratorium on large-volume hydraulic fracturing in 2008.<ref>[http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/05/24/new-york-governor-says-hell-make-fracking-decision-before-2014-election/ New York governor says he'll make fracking decision before 2014 election], NPR State Impact, May 2013.</ref> This was renewed by Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] in 2014, and continues as of December 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lombardi|first1=Kristin|title=New York's heralded fracking ban isn't all it's cracked up to be|url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/12/08/new-yorks-heralded-fracking-ban-isnt-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/|access-date=16 January 2018|publisher=NPR|date=8 December 2017}}</ref>

===Resource size===
The US [[Energy Information Administration]] estimated in 2012 that the Utica Shale in the US held 15.7 trillion cubic feet of unproved, technically recoverable gas. The average well was estimated to produce 1.13 billion cubic feet of gas.<ref>US Energy Information Administration, [http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383(2012).pdf Annual Energy outlook 2012], accessed 14 Sept. 2013.</ref> The same year, the [[US Geological Survey]] estimated that the Utica Shale had 38.2 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered technically recoverable gas, 940 million barrels of oil, and 208 million barrels of [[natural gas liquids]].<ref>US Geological Survey, [http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3116/ Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Ordovician Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province], 2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3116, Sept. 2012.</ref>

In 2022, a team of researchers in a paper published in ''[[Energy Policy (journal)|Energy Policy]]'' identified the Utica Shale as a "carbon bomb," a fossil fuel project that would result in more than one [[tonne|gigaton]] of [[carbon dioxide]] emissions if fully extracted and burnt.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kühne |first1=Kjell |last2=Bartsch |first2=Nils |last3=Tate |first3=Ryan Driskell |last4=Higson |first4=Julia |last5=Habet |first5=André |date=2022 |title="Carbon Bombs" - Mapping key fossil fuel projects |journal=Energy Policy |language=en |volume=166 |pages=112950 |doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112950|s2cid=248756651 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022EnPol.16612950K }}</ref>

==Distribution==
The Utica Shale lies under most of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and extends under adjacent parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada and Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, and Virginia in the United States.

It occurs in outcrops in the state of [[New York (state)|New York]]<ref name=usgs>
{{Cite web|url=http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/NewUnits/unit_4218.html
|title= Utica Shale
|author=USGS-GEOLOX Database|author-link=United States Geological Survey
|access-date=2010-02-01}}
</ref> 
and in the subsurface in the provinces of [[Quebec]] and [[Ontario]].<ref name=lexicon>
{{Cite web
 |url          = http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:015717
 |title        = Utica Shale
 |author       = [[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]]
 |access-date   = 2010-02-01
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130221081406/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:015717
 |archive-date = 2013-02-21
 |url-status     = dead
}} 
</ref>

Parts of the Utica shale underlie the [[Island of Montreal]], and its weakness relative to the Trenton and Chazy limestones under much of the rest of the island complicated the construction of the [[Montreal metro]]. Some stations had to be built [[cut-and-cover]] or with a narrow [[split platform]] profile to reduce the load on the bedrock. In particular, [[De L'Église station|De l'Église]] station suffered a cave-in during construction and had to be hastily replanned.

In some regions of Pennsylvania, the Utica Shale reaches to almost two miles below sea level. However, the depth of the Utica Shale rock decreases to the west into Ohio and to the northwest towards Canada.
<ref name=usshale>
{{Cite web|url=http://us-shale-oil.com
|title= US Shale Oil
|access-date=2015-03-09}}
</ref>

It reaches a thickness of up to {{convert|1000|ft|m|-1}}<ref name=usgs/> and can be as thin as {{convert|70|ft|m|-1}} towards the margins of the basin. {{convert|250|ft|m|-1}} are exposed in the type section.

==Relationship to other units==
The Utica Shale underlies the [[Lorraine Group]] and overlies the [[Trenton Group]] [[limestone]] and the [[Canajoharie Formation|Canajoharie shale]] in the [[Mohawk River]] valley.

The Utica Shale is divided into the Nowadaga Zone, Loyal Creek Zone and Holland Patent Zone.<ref name=usgs/>

It lies a few thousand feet under the [[Marcellus Shale]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/ Utica Shale - The Natural Gas Giant Below the Marcellus?] at geology.com
* [http://www.theinfomine.com/2011/08/27/utica-shale-a-major-oil-discovery/ Utica Shale, A Major Oil Discovery] at TheInfoMine.com
*[http://www.uticashalemaps.com Utica Shale, Maps] at UticaShaleMaps.com

{{Shale gas}}
{{Stratigraphic column of West Virginia}}

[[Category:Shale formations]]
[[Category:Shale formations of the United States]]
[[Category:Oil-bearing shales in the United States]]
[[Category:Oil-bearing shales in Canada]]
[[Category:Ordovician System of North America]]
[[Category:Ordovician United States]]
[[Category:Ordovician stratigraphic units of Canada]]
[[Category:Ordovician geology of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ordovician Ohio]]
[[Category:Ordovician Ontario]]
[[Category:Ordovician geology of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Ordovician Quebec]]
[[Category:Ordovician West Virginia]]