Building on its existing relationship with French oil major Total, Chesapeake Energy Corp. completed yet another joint venture to continue its progress developing unconventional resources—this time in the Ohio portion of the Utica Shale play.

Initial drilling in the Utica is still centered around eastern Ohio, in the wet gas window, but activity could push westward as the oily window is better defined, noted Christopher Perry, the Energy Group Supervisor of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey in a conference call hosted by Stifel Nicolaus last week.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has closed $1.25 billion of perpetual preferred shares of its wholly owned, unrestricted subsidiary, CHK Utica LLC.

To help fund its Utica Shale drilling and development plan, Gulfport Energy Corp. has announced plans to offer five million shares to the public, of which four million will be new shares and one million will be offered by an individual stockholder.

CONSOL Energy Inc. has closed on its previously announced agreement with Hess to jointly explore and develop CONSOL's nearly 200,000 Utica Shale acres in Ohio for aggregate consideration to CONSOL of approximately $594 million.

The law firm of Babst Calland has opened an its newest office in Charleston, West Virginia at the United Center on Virginia Street East.

Building upon the existing relationship Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has with private equity firm Avista Capital Partners in the Marcellus Shale, the two companies have just announced a joint venture agreement to acquire and develop acreage in the Utica Shale.

Today, oil and natural gas company Chesapeake Energy disclosed peak rates from four Utica Shale wells in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, three in the wet gas window and one in the dry gas window.

Providing further evidence that Ohio is on the cusp of a possible economic oil and gas boom, the Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) has released an economic impact study that shows how the state’s petroleum industry is positively impacting Ohio’s economy today and includes the first comprehensive research into how planned oil and gas development in the Utica Shale formation might impact the state over the next five years.

New York-based Hess Corporation said Sept. 8 that it has acquired privately-held Marquette Exploration LLC and other leases in Ohio’s Utica Shale, boosting its acreage position by 85,000 net acres at a cost of approximately $750 million.

Chesapeake Energy's first horizontal Utica Shale well, the Buell #8H, tested 6.5 MMcfepd (6.2 MMcfpd of natural gas and 59 bopd of condensate).

On Sept. 7, Hess Corporation said it had formed a joint venture agreement with CONSOL Energy Inc. to acquire a 50% interest in CONSOL’s nearly 200,000 acres in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio for aggregate payments of $593 million.

Recent Utica Shale activity is trending upward and it appears valuations in the area are on the rise as well.