Conventional

After more than five years in the making, months of fiery debate and weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Wednesday approved new environmental regulations for shale gas production and voted for legislation to scrap new rules for legacy producers.

A sweeping overhaul of environmental regulations for Pennsylvania’s oil and natural gas industry hit another roadblock on Wednesday, when the state House Environmental and Energy Resources Committee approved legislation to scrap parts of the package that would apply to conventional wells.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate energy committees this week voted against the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) overhaul of regulations for the oil and natural gas industries.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate energy committees this week voted against the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) overhaul of regulations for the oil and natural gas industries.

Marathon Oil Corp. capital spending will be at least $600 million less in 2016 compared with this year, and in the United States, unconventional plays will get the dollars as they have proven to be more economic than conventional activities, CEO Lee Tillman said in New York City Wednesday.

A committee created earlier this year to advise the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on its regulation of the state’s conventional oil and gas drillers said it won’t support a package of rules for the industry that are expected to be implemented next year.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate energy committees on Wednesday voted in favor of a series of bills that would require the state to adopt separate regulations for the conventional oil and gas industry, aimed at shielding it from the financial burdens of rules crafted primarily for unconventional producers developing the Marcellus Shale.

An increase in the fees charged for unconventional oil and gas well permits in Pennsylvania went into effect on Friday under a new flat-fee schedule that will not apply to traditional vertical wells.

An environmental group in Pennsylvania has sent a letter to lawmakers in the state Senate to voice its opposition to a bill that would require the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to create separate regulations for conventional and unconventional wells.