WHEELING, W.Va. — In 2014, Ohio and West Virginia saw an average of about 65 rigs running to extract natural gas and oil from the Marcellus and Utica shales, with a majority of those located in the Upper Ohio Valley.
After two years of tumbling prices, there are now only 21 rigs running in the two states, with only 7 of those in West Virginia. The profits of two global energy giants, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, seem to correlate with the significant drop in drilling activity throughout the region during the last two years.
From April through June 2014, Exxon and Chevron earned a combined $14.5 billion worth of profits. During the same period this year, however, that total profit fell to just $200 million, with Chevron actually posting a $1.5 billion loss during the quarter…
