Penn

In what it said was the first step to develop a new pipeline to move Marcellus Shale natural gas out of northeast Pennsylvania, Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP (PVR) has acquired an option to purchase an easement along a 28.8-mile long right-of-way corridor in Susquehanna County, PA.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) will be accepting public comments on a proposed settlement with UGI Central Penn Gas, part of UGI Utilities Inc., a subsidiary of UGI Corp. The 20-day period for public comment will begin after the PUC files its paperwork on the case. At issue is a $5,000 civil penalty levied by the PUC against UGI for an incident that occurred in Bedford Township. An investigation found that on Sept. 2, 2009, a four-inch high pressure distribution line was damaged and leaked natural gas during the excavation for new a municipal water and sewer main.

Inspectors with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are on pace to find more cementing and casing violations in the Marcellus Shale than before, but a spokesman for the agency said the uptick is the result of tighter regulations, not an industry problem.

Companies that aim to export domestic shale gas can expect to face a tough spot market, according to Terry Engelder, the Penn State University geosciences professor who helped prove the value of the Marcellus Shale.

The anticipated surplus of domestic natural gas supplies won’t automatically translate to successful liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations, according to Terry Engelder, the Penn State University geosciences professor who helped prove the value of the Marcellus Shale. The United States can expect to face a tough spot market overseas.

Drilling in liquids-rich corners of the Marcellus Shale and Midcontinent region helped Range Resources Corp. post record production volumes in the first quarter of the year.

A hydrogeologist from Penn State University says companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale play through hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) are recycling about two-thirds of the wastewater that returns to the surface.

A hydrogeologist from Penn State says companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale play through hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) are recycling about two-thirds of the wastewater that returns to the surface.

Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP (PVR) has begun commercial operations on the first large-diameter gathering pipeline in the north-central Pennsylvania Marcellus fairway, the Radnor, PA, company said.