Pittsburgh is located in the middle of some of the most active drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Many drilling and other related companies have located either branch or even headquarters offices in the Pittsburgh area, making it the defacto capital of drilling in the Marcellus Shale. So plenty of news comes out of Western PA to do with drilling in the Marcellus.
One of the chief objections of those who oppose drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is the amount of water used in drilling—an average of 3-4 million gallons per well. Environmentalists raise the alarm of sourcing the water from rivers and streams, and the disposal of what’s left over.
Here’s how the numbers break down: It takes between 100,000 and 300,000 gallons of water during the drilling process itself, and another 3-4 million gallons of water gets mixed with sand and chemicals and pumped in under pressure to fracture the shale, releasing the gas. Anywhere from 10 to 50 percent of the water comes back out—something called “flowback.”
The rumor mill has been working overtime in Harrisburg, PA with talk that newly minted Gov. Tom Corbett is planning to merge two state agencies that oversee drilling in the Marcellus Shale into one. Corbett officials are trying to tamp down the rumors:
Read More “Will PA Merge DEP and DCNR to Oversee Marcellus Shale Drilling?”
Below is a detailed response from the Marcellus Shale Coalition to the New York Times “hit piece” on gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale (see MDN’s review of that article here).
Read More “Marcellus Shale Coalition Provides Devastating Critique of NYT Anti-Gas Article”
Have no fear, the great New York Times is now on the case of natural gas drilling, and it has “uncovered” some rather disturbing news:
With hydrofracking, a well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself.
While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood.(1)
In an article on the developing situation of whether and where to allow Marcellus Shale drilling in Allegheny County, PA, we get this update of how much land has been leased, and the likelihood of whether or not drilling will commence in the county:
Chesapeake Energy was flaring three gas wells in Avella, located in Washington County, PA on Feb. 23 when tanks holding some 105,000 gallons of natural gas liquids exploded. Contrary to some reports, the explosion had nothing to do with hydraulic fracturing fluids. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation and not known at this time.
As for the three workers injured, at least one of them is still in critical condition:
An explosion last night at a well site along the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border injured three workers and resulted in a fire that burned for about three hours.
Read More “Explosion at Chesapeake Drilling Site in Western PA Injures Three Workers”
More gleanings from year-end financial statements from drilling companies, this time from Cabot Oil & Gas and Penn Virginia Corporation. Of note, Cabot talks about the “prolific nature” of their 44 Marcellus gas wells, and Penn Virginia will drill their second Marcellus gas well in 2011 as they continue to shift their resources to the Marcellus with plans to drill 14 wells this year.
Yesterday saw the first round of hearings by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), four hearings total—two in Honesdale, PA and two in Liberty, NY (afternoon and evening sessions at both locations). The hearings were for public comment on the DRBC’s proposed new extra layer of drilling regulations for Marcellus Shale gas wells drilled within the Delaware River watershed, which includes portions of Pennsylvania and New York where Marcellus drilling occurs.
UPDATE: The EPA hearing scheduled for Feb. 23 was postponed because a stenographer was not available to attend and record the meeting. It will be rescheduled “in the next several weeks.”
Application has been made to inject wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania into two wells in Warren County, PA.
Read More “EPA Public Hearing on Proposed Fracking Fluid Injection Wells in Warren County, PA”
The drilling moratorium on Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania state forests has been lifted by new Gov. Tom Corbett:
Read More “New Drilling in PA State Forests Back On with New Governor”
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:
The Town of Windsor, located in Broome County, NY is about to get a new natural gas pipeline built that will connect gas wells across the border in PA (where drilling is happening) to the Millennium Pipeline which runs through Broome County. Yesterday the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) gave the green light for construction to begin*. The pipeline, being built by Laser Northeast Gathering Company, will be about 9.8 miles long on the New York side of the border, out of a total 33 miles.
Read More “PA Marcellus Gas Coming to Broome County, NY via New Gathering Pipeline”
One more economic benefit from Marcellus shale drilling in Pennsylvania: Shale cuttings, the bits of rock that are left over after drilling gas wells in the Marcellus Shale, are paying for new equipment and training for first responders in Bradford County, PA.
A critical component in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to study hydraulic fracturing is where they will conduct case studies. Starting on page 42 of the draft proposal, we find out.
There were 48 proposed locations suggested to the EPA, from which they will select between five and eight locations. We know five likely locations right now, and two of those are in the Marcellus Shale region—the other three are in other shale formations around the country.
Read More “Dimock, PA Among Likely Locations for EPA Study of Hydraulic Fracturing”