ABSTRACT
The "Second Berea" Sandstone has been a prime oil and gas target in southeastern Ohio since the late 1890's. Rapid development of this horizon took place in southeastern Ohio during the 1920's and 1930"s. The introduction of hydraulic fracturing renewed interest in the "Second Berea' during the 1950's to 1960's. Dramatic price increases in the late 1970's to mid-1980's again stimulated exploration and development of the "Second Berea". Today, development of this reservoir now includes several thousand wells and encompasses an area covering 5 counties and 36 civil townships.
The "Second Berea" Sandstone is Mississippian in age and was deposited as a regressive barrier island system, which extended from Gallia County in the south to Muskingum County in the north. This unit is a very fine-to medium-grained, sub-angular to rounded, slightly shaley sandstone. Porosity varies between 6 to 14 percent, while permeability ranges from 0.012 to 0.097 millidarcies. Unit thickness varies from 0 to over 30 feet (9.84 m). Depths to the "Second Berea" range between 1000 to 2000 feet (328.08 to 656.17 m).
Natural gas production data was obtained from 111 "Second Berea" wells currently owned and operated by Columbia Natural Resources. These wells were originally drilled and completed by the Ohio Fuel Gas Company between the early 1920's to the early 1960's. Total cumulative natural gas production ranges from 40 MMscf (13.97 m3/s) to over 500 MMscf (174.60 m3/s), and averages about 134 MMscf (46.79 m3/s) per well.
