Number of Permits Issued & Wells Drilled in Select PA Counties, including the County with the Most Wells

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In a story about how Armstrong County, PA has to keep the County Courthouse open late one night a week so researchers can review property records for potential Marcellus shale gas well development, we get some interesting numbers on recent drilling activity in PA:

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, 1,386 deep gas wells operated in Pennsylvania in 2010, with permits issued for 3,314 more.

Eighty-seven permits have been issued in Westmoreland, where 46 wells have been drilled. Nineteen wells have been drilled in Fayette, where 77 permits have been issued.

Washington County has 136 Marcellus shale wells drilled—the most in the region—and 239 permits for future wells issued.

There are 80 wells drilled in Greene County, where 178 permits have been issued.

In Somerset, four wells have been drilled and 18 permits have been granted. In Indiana, nine wells were drilled and 27 permits were issued. In Armstrong, 29 wells have been drilled and 42 permits were issued, according to the DEP.

In Bradford County, the recorder’s office for more than a year has received compensation from gas drilling firms to remain open an additional six hours every week. According to the DEP, Bradford has the most Marcellus shale wells in the state—355—with permits for 830 wells.

*Leader Times (Feb 20) – Armstrong County Courthouse to stay open late for Marcellus shale research

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