Statewide PA

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Sec. Krancer Wants Tighter Rules Governing Marcellus Drilling in the State
June 3, 2011June 3, 2011

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer sent a letter on May 27 to Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, chairman of the governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Krancer, along with Cawley, is a member of the commission. The commission’s charter is to deliver a list of comprehensive policy recommendations to the governor and the state legislature by July 22 to improve Marcellus drilling in the state.

The fact that Krancer is calling for tighter regulations is a sure sign that new regulations are on the way in PA. Among the recommendations outlined in the letter:

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Cabot Oil & Gas Boosts Marcellus Gas Output 35% in a Single Day with Compressor Plant Upgrades
May 31, 2011May 31, 2011

Cabot Oil & Gas recently boosted it’s daily output of natural gas from the Marcellus in Northeastern PA by a full 35 percent in just 24 hours when new sections of a compressor station went online. Cabot is now producing 420 million cubic feet (Mmcf) of natural gas per day from the Marcellus—up from 310 Mmcf. They also have two new wells producing nearly 30 Mmcf per day each—a new daily high in output for single wells for Cabot.

Read More “Cabot Oil & Gas Boosts Marcellus Gas Output 35% in a Single Day with Compressor Plant Upgrades”
Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Is PA Sitting on the Largest Natural Gas Reserves in the World?
May 31, 2011May 31, 2011

Interesting comments about the scope of natural gas reserves in both the Marcellus and Utica Shales under Pennsylvania, from a state DEP official:

Read More “Is PA Sitting on the Largest Natural Gas Reserves in the World?”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Hires 48,000 People in Past 12 Months to Work in Marcellus Shale Drilling Industry
May 30, 2011May 30, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has just released new employment data and with it, the number of people hired in the past 12 months to work in the Marcellus Shale drilling industry. And the numbers are startling:

Read More “PA Hires 48,000 People in Past 12 Months to Work in Marcellus Shale Drilling Industry”
Atlas Energy | Chesapeake Energy | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA | SWEPI | Talisman Energy | Wastewater

PA Drillers Comply with Federal EPA’s Request for Information on Wastewater Disposal
May 27, 2011May 27, 2011

When the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently told Marcellus Shale drillers in the state to stop hauling wastewater from fracking to municipal sewage treatment plants that are not equipped to fully treat the wastewater by May 19 (see MDN story here), they all committed to comply and indeed did comply. But the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jumped in and demanded detailed plans from six drillers as to just how they planned on treating and disposing of the wastewater once the they stopped using the municipal plants.

The EPA’s deadline for the six drillers to file plans was Wednesday, May 25. Five of the six complied by the deadline:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Wilkes Marcellus Shale Drilling Forum Brings to Light Just How Many Active Gas Wells There are in PA
May 27, 2011May 27, 2011

Wilkes University held a Marcellus Shale drilling forum on Wednesday. According to press reports, the upshot of the meeting was that it will not be impossible, but will certainly be difficult, to get a consensus on natural gas drilling that uses horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Read an excellent roundup of the meeting by clicking the link below.

One bit of information offered during the meeting is interesting to note:

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New York | Pennsylvania | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

Energy in Depth Launches New Website, Major Grassroots Initiative for Northeast PA and Southern Tier of NY
May 23, 2011May 23, 2011

For some time now, MDN has admired (and referenced) the work done by drilling industry group Energy in Depth (EID). Chris Tucker and the people at EID work hard to bring the pro-drilling side of the story to the masses and to counterbalance much of the hype and rhetoric circulated in the media. EID recently launched a new website for the Northeast Marcellus region under the leadership of Tom Shepstone (//eidmarcellus.org).

EID has also launched a major new grassroots initiative now spreading from county to county in the region. EID and the Northeast Marcellus Initiative should be on your list of “must read” resources if you’re interested in the Marcellus Shale drilling debate.

Read More “Energy in Depth Launches New Website, Major Grassroots Initiative for Northeast PA and Southern Tier of NY”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Latest Testing by PA DEP Shows No Air Pollution Near Drilling Sites or Compressor Stations
May 23, 2011May 23, 2011

One of the concerns landowners and those living near Marcellus gas well drilling sites and gas compressor stations have is potential air pollution. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) periodically conducts air sample testing near compressor stations and active drilling sites. The latest results show the air is safe to breathe.

Read More “Latest Testing by PA DEP Shows No Air Pollution Near Drilling Sites or Compressor Stations”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Laser Northeast Gathering | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PA Public Utility Commission Grants Utility Status to Pipeline Company Giving it Eminent Domain Powers
May 20, 2011May 20, 2011

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has voted to grant Laser Northeast Gathering, a natural gas pipeline company, status as a public utility. The decision will grant Laser the power to condemn private property by eminent domain. That is, Laser will have the power to run pipelines under people’s property even if they don’t want it.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Will There be New Marcellus Drilling Regulations Passed by the PA Legislature This Year?
May 16, 2011May 16, 2011

Groups that oppose drilling in Pennsylvania, under the guise of “let’s be reasonable here,” have been proposing wish lists of new regulations for several years now. Some of their proposals make sense and should be carefully considered. But in considering their proposals, you must realize those organizations have ulterior motives—to completely ban gas drilling. It’s interesting to note their pronouncements lately have gone up an octave on the shrillness scale.

These groups could not get new legislation and regulations passed under Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, with both houses of the PA legislature controlled by Democrats. So now that a Republican (Tom Corbett) is governor, someone they consider “in the pocket” of the drilling industry, and with both houses of the legislature controlled by Republicans, these groups say now is the time to reform the PA Oil and Gas Act. Something does not add up with this picture.

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Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Columbia Gas Working to Train Firefighters to Handle Natural Gas Fires
May 16, 2011May 16, 2011

Columbia Gas, a major supplier of natural gas in Pennsylvania and a company that owns and uses a lot of gas pipelines, is training firefighters in how to handle natural gas fires:

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wastewater

Federal EPA Continues to Bully Pennsylvania Using the Safe Water Drinking Act
May 13, 2011May 13, 2011

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to assert itself into states’ business by claiming authority of the federal Safe Water Drinking Act. The latest example was yesterday. The EPA requested (ie demanded) details from six drillers who operate in Pennsylvania on where they will dispose of fracking fluid wastewater now that the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has told drillers that certain municipal sewage treatment plants not specially equipped will no longer be able to accept fracking wastewater. The EPA wants to know where that wastewater will now go.

But the PA DEP itself has not escaped the heavy hand of the federal EPA either. The EPA has “requested” (ie demanded) PA DEP provide a list of facilities that accept fracking wastewater. And the EPA has other “requests” for the DEP on how to do things better (see the EPA press release below).

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Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Sullivan County | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Carrizo to Drill 30 Marcellus Shale Wells in Wyoming County, PA – Laser Pipeline will Handle all of Carrizo’s Gas in the Region
May 13, 2011May 13, 2011

Richard Smith, vice president of land for Carrizo Oil & Gas, spoke to the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon yesterday outlining Carrizo’s plans for drilling in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale. He said that Carrizo will have five well pads “fully developed” in Wyoming County by September 2012. He also said Carrizo would begin drilling in Sullivan County by the end of this year.

Smith offered these facts and figures about Carrizo’s Marcellus drilling operations:

Read More “Carrizo to Drill 30 Marcellus Shale Wells in Wyoming County, PA – Laser Pipeline will Handle all of Carrizo’s Gas in the Region”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Tioga County (PA) | Ultra Petroleum

Ultra Petroleum Continues Rapid Growth in Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling – Tioga PA Well Output 2x Initial Estimates
May 12, 2011May 12, 2011

Ultra Petroleum’s growth continues to be double-digit, largely because of it’s Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations. From Ultra’s recent press release on first quarter activity we get the following Marcellus operational update:

Read More “Ultra Petroleum Continues Rapid Growth in Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling – Tioga PA Well Output 2x Initial Estimates”
Energy Services | Heckmann | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Wastewater

Wastewater Company Heckmann Corp. Makes Major Expansion in Shale Gas Regions, Including the Marcellus
May 12, 2011May 12, 2011

Heckmann Corporation, a water solutions company focused on water issues and, in particular, oil and natural gas exploration and production, has completed four acquisitions that substantially expand the Company’s water solutions for energy development business segment, including a major presence in the Marcellus Shale region. Within the past year, the California-based company has grown from 30 employees to over 750, and from $8.6 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2010 to $23.8 million for the first quarter of 2011.(1) Heckmann has a small but rapidly growing operational base in Pittsburgh for it’s Marcellus Shale operations.

Read More “Wastewater Company Heckmann Corp. Makes Major Expansion in Shale Gas Regions, Including the Marcellus”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Two Environmental Groups Propose List of Changes to PA Oil & Gas Act to Tighten Controls on Marcellus Drilling
May 11, 2011May 11, 2011

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) provided a detailed prescription of amendments they say “must be made” to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act so that state law can effectively regulate and manage deep shale and unconventional drilling techniques that were never contemplated when the law was enacted. Called the “Marcellus Shale Amendments to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act,” the proposal was provided to PA Gov. Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Commission and members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in separate meetings on Tuesday.

Among the 50 proposed changes in the PA Oil and Gas Act proposed by the two groups:

Read More “Two Environmental Groups Propose List of Changes to PA Oil & Gas Act to Tighten Controls on Marcellus Drilling”