32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 29 – Oct 5
For the week of September 29 to October 5, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased from the previous week. There were 32 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up five from 27 issued two weeks ago. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 27 drilling permits across six counties—the highest weekly total the state has recorded in months, possibly even over a year. Ohio issued five permits in two counties. West Virginia was skunked last week, issuing no new permits for the second consecutive week. What’s up with WV? Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 29 – Oct 5”

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the September 20 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC approved and/or renewed 40 general water use permits in August for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania.
Following three years of negotiations, Lycoming County Commissioners celebrated closing a deal with Range Resources to lease 1,350 acres in Jackson Township for shale drilling. The county is receiving a $5.4 million signing bonus, which works out to $4,000 per acre. Sweet. However, the county will receive just a 2% royalty for any oil/gas produced from the property. You read that right (not a typo)—just 2%, which has to be the lowest royalty rate we’ve ever seen negotiated, either with a private landowner or a municipality.
On August 17, Eureka Resources’ Williamsport Second Street facility (one of the three previously operated by Eureka) leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see
On August 17, Eureka Resources’ Williamsport Second Street facility (one of the three previously operated by Eureka) leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) provided an update on the cleanup of the spill from the closed Eureka Resources frack wastewater treatment facility in Williamsport (Lycoming County), PA. On August 17, Eureka’s Second Street facility (one of the three previously operated by Eureka) leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see
In mid-August, a spill at Eureka Resources’ Williamsport facility released about 16,000 gallons of oil-based wastewater, with some entering Grafius Run and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (see
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC also tells shale drillers when to stop withdrawing if low water flow (i.e., drought) conditions exist. And that’s what the SRBC did earlier today. The agency, via its Hydrologic Conditions Monitor, warned shale drillers that, at 47 listed locations (all in Pennsylvania), they must stop water withdrawals until streamflow reaches a specific “trigger flow” target (different for each location).
In late 2022, MDN told you that Canadian-based Enerplus, with sizable non-operated assets in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, had sold certain Canadian assets so it could concentrate most of its activity on drilling in the North Dakota Bakken (see
Verne, Inc., a California-based energy company, announced last week that it will open its first manufacturing plant in the Marcellus Energy Park near Muncy, Lycoming County, PA. Verne developed a process to increase the density of hydrogen by storing the gas in a cold and compressed state, making it more efficient to transport in larger volumes. The new PA facility (which should be up and running in nine months) will build the storage tanks for this cold hydrogen. The hydrogen will be transported via truck to power data centers, drilling sites, construction sites, and more.