Tagged: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Officials say drilling in Ohio's Utica shale region nearly doubled the output of oil and natural gas there since 2011.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the shale region of eastern Ohio increased the oil output by 93 percent and the natural gas output by 80 percent in that time.

Some environmentalists are asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to do a full audit and investigation of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the state agency that grants permits for injection and extraction wells. Brian Rothenberg of Progress Ohio says the state agency is not doing due diligence in regulating those wells in Ohio.

A newspaper reports that injection drilling in Ohio hasn't met the initial expectations of state officials this year.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials had told state legislators in March that as many as 250 of the natural-gas and oil wells would be drilled in eastern Ohio Utica shale by the end of the year.

But state records show that only 165 wells have been completed, with 22 more being drilled.