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Shale Drilling Increases Ohio Gas And Oil Output

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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.

The agency said that during 2012, 87 Utica wells – representing less than 1 percent of all oil and gas wells in the state – produced 12 percent of Ohio's total oil production and 16 percent of the total gas production for the year.

But industry leaders and analysts tell The Columbus Dispatch that there isn't enough information to make any broad predictions about the long-term potential.