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Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

Saturday, February 4, 2012

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Background

More than a mile beneath parts of Pennsylvania lies a mostly untapped reservoir of natural gas.

Geologists and energy companies have known for decades about the gas in the Marcellus Shale, but only recently have figured out a way to extract it from the thick black rock about 6,000 feet underground.

Now gas drillers are leasing local land - more than 25,000 acres in Luzerne County alone - in an attempt to find and remove the gas, the value of which increases as energy prices soar.

In January 2008 leases were being signed for values near $100 per acre. By May that value had increased to over $2000 per acre.

With lease values changing so rapidly, landowners are unsure at what price to accept a lease offer.

Kenneth L. Balliet, a forestry and business management educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, recently took a trip to Fort Worth to see the economic impacts of those deposits. He said leases are being signed for $18,000 per acre in areas where production has proven strong.

There were 195 Marcellus Shale wells drilled in Pennsylvania in 2008 and another 768 in 2009, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Another 364 have been drilled this year as of May 5. There were only about 20 wells in Pennsylvania when Balliet was first interviewed, and he expects local production to eventually rival Texas’ Barnett Shale. He said a gas company confided it planned to spend $1 billion in 2008 in leasing agreements in Pennsylvania.

That kind of investment could mean a big boost to the area's economy as a whole. But many people are concerned that the state doesn't have adequate safeguards in place to properly regulate the natural gas industry.

Finding a good balance between economic prosperity and environmental safety appears to be the state's greatest challenge in the Marcellus Shale play.

Natural Gas Leases - Marcellus Shale

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Latest Headlines

April 7, 2011

AP: Pa. seeks more tests for drilling pollution

Prodded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania says it's expanding the scope of water tests for radium and other pollutants from the state's booming natural gas drilling industry.

March 31, 2011

Punishments of Shale drillers now need OK from top

Approval of enforcement actions and punishments aimed at Marcellus Shale drilling operators must now go through top officials in the Department of Environmental Protection in a change that the agency said Wednesday is aimed at improving its consistency in handling the rapidly growing industry.

March 4, 2011

Anti-drilling activists to hold meeting this morning

Frustrated with the borough’s inaction on the anti-gas drilling ordinance they first proposed at a meeting last summer, Harveys Lake residents and members of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition will hold their own town hall meeting today at 11 a.m. in the Harveys Lake municipal building.

February 28, 2011

Airport’s passenger numbers up

PITTSTON TWP. – Passenger numbers at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in October approached a total reached 11 years ago, and the airport director Thursday said airlines are taking notice.

February 28, 2011

Encana to cease operations in Luzerne County

The only company to drill Marcellus Shale gas wells in Luzerne County will soon pull out of the region.

February 28, 2011

Pipeline a necessary solution to Dimock water woes COMMENTARY George E. Turner

IF THE state Department of Environmental Protection’s plan for a water pipeline in a Marcellus Shale-impacted community is “just a conduit for green activists,” as a recent commentary suggested, then why does certain Dimock Township drinking water smell like a chemical factory?

February 28, 2011

Encana pulls operations out of county

The only company to drill Marcellus Shale gas wells in Luzerne County is pulling out of the region.

February 28, 2011

Contractor seeks dismissal from case calls drilling activist suit "Hyperbole"

Claiming the lawsuit is "replete with hyperbole," and arguing the Kingston-based "Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition" lacks legal standing, the contractor accused by the coalition of labeling anti-drilling activists as potential terror threats filed paperwork today seeking to be dismissed from the suit.

February 28, 2011

Cabot to sell Pa. midstream to Williams

Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., which operates several natural gas well sites in Susquehanna County, has announced an agreement to sell its Pennsylvania midstream to Williams Field Services Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Williams Partners L.P.

February 28, 2011

Out of gas: Boom goes bust

Luzerne County has seen one natural resource boom come and go. It may not see another.

February 28, 2011

As drillers leave, land returns to market

Just two days after natural gas exploration company Encana announced it is pulling out of the Back Mountain, Realtor Bob Cook said property owners have already called him about putting large tracts of land back on the market.

February 28, 2011

Drill end impacts economy

The environmental impact of natural gas drilling is subject to debate, but nobody disputed that driller Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc.’s continued presence in Luzerne County would have created jobs and work opportunities.

February 28, 2011

Drilling is gone, questions remain

W HOOSH! THAT giant sucking sound heard around Luzerne County last week was Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., pulling up stakes and exiting the state.

February 28, 2011

Drill end impacts economy

February 28, 2011

As drillers leave, land returns to market

February 28, 2011

Expert: Amount of Shale activity may be shocking

Pennsylvania hunters venturing out this fall may be surprised by the level of disturbance and activity on public lands in the northcentral, northeastern and southwestern regions of the state, according to a wildlife expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

February 28, 2011

Goal is careers, not just jobs, company official says

When Chesapeake’s first rigs began arriving in Bradford County about two years ago, the company had 38 local employees, according to David Fisher, the company’s vice president of drilling services.

February 28, 2011

Gas workers get to know the drill

Natural gas drilling might have come to an abrupt end in Luzerne County, but there still will be plenty of jobs in the industry just to the north and west.

February 28, 2011

Investigation of fracking spill goes on

WILLIAMSPORT – The state Department of Environmental Protection is continuing to investigate a large hydraulic fracturing fluid spill at an XTO Energy natural gas well pad in Penn Township, Lycoming County, which was first discovered last week.

February 28, 2011