The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday that natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased 69% in 2012, despite a reduction in drilling activity.

According to the EIA, data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) showed natural gas production in the Keystone State averaged 6.1 Bcf/d in 2012, up from 3.6 Bcf/d in 2011.

“While accelerated drilling in recent years, primarily in the Marcellus Shale formation, significantly boosted Pennsylvania’s natural gas production, increases were restricted by the state’s limited pipeline and processing infrastructure,” the EIA said Thursday. “This created a large backlog of wells that were drilled but not brought online.”

The EIA said data from the DEP indicated that a significant portion of the wells that began producing in 2012 had actually been drilled earlier. “As infrastructure expanded, these wells were gradually connected to pipelines, sustaining natural gas production increases through 2012 despite the decline in new natural gas well starts,” the EIA said.

Earlier this month, energy analysts with Barclays Capital said there is currently enough of a drilling backlog in the Marcellus that if wells were brought online over a one-year period, production would continue to grow but at a slower pace (see Shale Daily, March 8). They said DEP data showed a backlog of 1,432 unconventional wells during the second half of 2012.

(To read the full story go to shaledaily.com).

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