Whats Good About Utica?
One advantage to the Utica Shale is that like the Marcellus Shale across the border in the U.S., the Utica Shale has a close proximity to major markets in the Northeastern United States, which leads to lower transportation and infrastructure costs. Natural gas sold here also sells at a premium price relative to other hubs in the United States. Other Players Forest Oil (NYSE:FST) is also involved with the Utica Shale, with 330,000 gross acres under lease, with about 70% prospective for the Utica Shale. Forest Oil drilled several successful vertical test wells in 2007, and had some aggressive development plans for the Utica Shale that were outlined at its 2008 analyst meeting. The financial crisis seemed to have delayed substantial development here, and Forest Oil does not mention the Utica Shale in its current marketing presentation. The company did acknowledge during its fourth quarter of 2009 earnings conference that the Questerre Energy Corporation well validates its own work in the
