Michigan's Oil and Gas History
Michigan has a rich history of oil and gas drilling. In fact, hydraulic fracturing has been used extensively for many years in Michigan. The first reported hydraulic fracturing in Michigan was in 1952 on a well in Elk Township, Lake County, located in the northwestern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, 80 miles north of Grand Rapids. The well was drilled to the Ellsworth Shale at a depth of approximately 1,100 feet.
According to the Oil & Gas Producers Education Foundation (MOGPEF), Michigan's oil and gas industry contributes to the state's economy in a variety of ways:
Drilling activity in Michigan has primarily targeted the Antrim Shale for more than 20 years, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all oil and gas drilling in the first decade of the 21st century. The Antrim Shale covers roughly 39,000 square miles producing along a belt across the northern part of the Michigan Basin and extends in Ohio and Indiana. A brownish-black shale that overlies the Traverse Formation, the Antrim Shale mainly produces methane. Approximately 12,000 wells in Michigan have been hydraulically fractured, the majority in the Antrim Shale at depths of 500 to 2000 feet. With more the 9,700 Antrim Shale wells in production, the Antrim Shale continues to be the dominant formation for natural gas development in the state.
According to the Oil & Gas Producers Education Foundation (MOGPEF), Michigan's oil and gas industry contributes to the state's economy in a variety of ways:
- Providing more than 10,000 industry-related jobs.
- Paying 14,000 private mineral owners more than $80 million in royalties annually.
- Contributing nearly $1 billion in oil and gas income (royalties, rentals, lease bonuses) to the State of Michigan since 1927.
- Paying more than $40 million in severance taxes and oil and gas fees to the State of Michigan annually.
- Michigan produces about 30 percent of the natural gas the state uses.
Drilling activity in Michigan has primarily targeted the Antrim Shale for more than 20 years, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all oil and gas drilling in the first decade of the 21st century. The Antrim Shale covers roughly 39,000 square miles producing along a belt across the northern part of the Michigan Basin and extends in Ohio and Indiana. A brownish-black shale that overlies the Traverse Formation, the Antrim Shale mainly produces methane. Approximately 12,000 wells in Michigan have been hydraulically fractured, the majority in the Antrim Shale at depths of 500 to 2000 feet. With more the 9,700 Antrim Shale wells in production, the Antrim Shale continues to be the dominant formation for natural gas development in the state.
Oil and natural gas reserves are found in a variety of geologic formations. In Michigan, the formations that have been targeted to date for high volume hydraulic fracturing include A-1 Carbonate, Antrim, Black River (Van Wert), Collingwood, Niagaran, and Utica. The MDEQ maintains a map of high volume hydraulic fracturing activity within the State. The map shows the locations and status of applications and permits for high volume hydraulic fracturing in Michigan since 2008. The map can be accessed on the MDEQ Land webpage under Oil and Gas, Hydraulic Fracturing.
In Northern Michigan, the predominant potential unconventional oil and gas play is the Collingwood Shale. The Collingwood Shale is below much of the northern third of Michigan, in the heart of the Michigan Basin. It is about 40 feet thick and is sandwiched between the Utica Shale and Trenton Black River limestone formation.
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In the spring of 2010, Encana, a leading North American energy producer, revealed that it’s subsidiary, Petoskey Exploration LLC, had successfully tested a well in Missaukee County in the Collingwood Shale formation. Known as the Petoskey Pioneer well, the well produced an average of 2.5 million cubic feet of natural gas a day for 30 days, making it the most prolific single source of natural gas in Michigan. While production then dropped to 800,000 cubic feet per day, the output is still significant for a Michigan gas well. This well targeted the Collingwood Shale at 9,500 ft. true vertical depth, with a 5,000 foot horizontal penetration using hydraulic fracturing.
Despite the success of the initial well, a boom in high volume hydraulic fracturing in Michigan did not occur, primarily due to low oil prices. Since 2008, the MDEQ has issued just over 50 permits and over 30 wells have been completed using high volume hydraulic fracturing. Encana pulled out of Michigan in 2014 to focus on more profitable operations elsewhere and most of the recent oil and gas activity is downstate using conventional methods. However, a hydraulic fracking boom in Michigan could still come in the future. If energy prices go back up, other currently proven plays are depleted, and advancements in technology reduce production costs, drilling using high volume hydraulic fracturing could increase in Michigan. |
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