Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale operators produced nearly as much natural gas in the first six months of 2011 as they did in the previous year and a half, according to new Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) data.

The Pennsylvania Marcellus produced 432.5 Bcf of natural this year through the end of June, according to the DEP. By comparison, the play produced 271.8 Bcf of natural gas in the last six months of 2010, and 194.6 Bcf between July 2009 and June 2010.

Oil production also rose, but condensate fell. The play produced 492,533 bbl of condensate and 364,183 bbl of oil in the first half of 2011. By comparison the play produced 549,143 bbl of condensate and 41,674 bbl of oil in the second half of 2010, and 187,856 bbl of condensate and 453,378 bbl of oil between July 2009 and June 2010.

Northeastern Pennsylvania still leads the play. Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga counties combined for 260.2 Bcf during the reporting period (up from 163.6 Bcf in the second half of 2010). Bradford County alone, at 117.5 Bcf, produced more than a quarter of the state’s total Marcellus production during the period. Southwestern Pennsylvania production also jumped with Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties producing 114.5 Bcf during the period (up from 77.3 Bcf during the second half of 2010).

Producers were led by Chesapeake Energy Corp., which produced 79.8 Bcf from 110 wells, while Talisman Energy Inc. produced 70.3 Bcf from 185 wells. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. produced 54.5 Bcf from 117 wells. Range Resources Corp. produced 42 Bcf from 240 wells and EQT Corp. produced 27 Bcf from 49 wells.

The Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania is generally divided into two regions, the northeast and the southwest, but increasingly the stretch of fairway between those regions is gaining prominence. While statewide shale production jumped 60% between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, it tripled in neighboring Clearfield, Centre and Clinton counties in central Pennsylvania to 15.9 Bcf in the first six months of 2011 from 5.2 Bcf in the last six months of 2010.

Activity is not confined to those counties. Between January and July of 2009, DEP issued 10 permits in nearby Elk and Jefferson counties and operators reported drilling two wells. During the same period this year, the DEP issued 93 permits and operators reported drilling 26 wells.

Counties in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the state also saw large production increases in the first six months of 2011 over the last six months of 2010, according to the DEP. In the northeast, Bradford County’s production increased from 65.8 Bcfe to 117.6 Bcfe, while Susquehanna County increased from 60.8 Bcfe to 82.9 Bcfe. In the southwest, Greene County jumped from 31.8 Bcfe to 51.1 Bcfe and Washington County increased from 35.5 Bcfe to 48.4 Bcfe.

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