ZELIENOPLE — A local natural gas company was a partner on a record-breaking drilling operation.

Deep Well Services assisted its partner, State College-based Eclipse Resources, in laterally drilling 19,588 feet in the Utica Shale in southeastern Ohio.

The previous record of 19,300 feet was set by the same partnership.

“The entire DWS team is extremely proud to have played an important role in completing this very special industry accomplishment involving the Outlaw C11H well,” said Mark Marmo, president and CEO of Deep Well Services.

Deep Well Services provided insight, planning and manpower in the operation, and its modeling programs helped depict potential issues and identified at least one problem with the well's initial plans.

“This is yet another record-breaking example of how our partnership with Eclipse Resources is such a valuable asset,” Marmo said.

The company's recent record-breaking performances have been only part of its hot streak of success.

The company obtained the Specification Q2 from the American Petroleum Institute and ISO 9001:2015 certifications, both given to drilling service providers for meeting high marks in quality management systems.

“This certification illustrates that DWS is going above and beyond to both assure safety and efficiently operate to benefit our customers,” Marmo said.

Marmo said the process took 18 months, and the company dedicated five team members to ensure the company met the standards. He said the certifications will help the company to continue expanding and meet its long-term goals.

“There were process and procedures, risk mitigation plans, service quality plans,” Marmo said. “It was a lengthy, but worthwhile endeavor.”