Pennsylvania

Marcellus Shale activity has clearly taken hold in western Pennsylvania. In the region’s Allegheny County the number of properties leased for oil/gas exploration climbed by 322% between 2008 and 2009, and about 7% of the county’s land has been leased for drilling and extraction since 2003, according to University of Pittsburgh data.

Atlas Energy Inc. and India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they will buy another 42,344 acres in the Pennsylvania portion of the Marcellus Shale for an average purchase price of $4,532/acre, or around $191.9 million.

Atlas Energy Inc. and India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they will buy another 42,344 acres in the Pennsylvania portion of the Marcellus Shale for an average purchase price of $4,532/acre, or around $191.9 million.

Looking to capitalize on the growing need for natural gas storage in the prolific Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, Valley Forge, PA-based UGI Corp. said Friday its UGI Central Penn Gas Inc. (UGI CPG) and UGI Storage Co. subsidiaries are conducting a binding open season for 14.7 Bcf of firm underground storage service from three existing storage fields.

Looking to capitalize on the growing need for natural gas storage in the prolific Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, Valley Forge, PA-based UGI Corp. said Friday its UGI Central Penn Gas Inc. (UGI CPG) and UGI Storage Co. subsidiaries are conducting a binding open season for 14.7 Bcf of firm underground storage service from three existing storage fields.

Nine centrist Democrats led by Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania Thursday sent a letter to President Obama spelling out the principles that they believe should be the core of any international climate policy negotiated in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has entered a consent order and agreement (CO&A) with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) concerning drilling and hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) activities in an approximately nine-square-mile area in Susquehanna County, PA, which requires the company to provide a temporary water supply or treatment device to 13 homes. The area was identified by DEP because of concerns about the presence of methane in groundwater supplies. None of Cabot’s activities outside the nine-square-mile area are affected by the agreement, officials said. By taking these precautionary measures, Cabot and DEP “are assured that the safety and health of the residents in the area are fully protected while the investigation of causes of methane in the groundwater continues,” the Houston-based producer said. In a separate incident Cabot in October was allowed to resume hydrofracing operations in Susquehanna County after DEP said the company had complied with the terms of an order that was issued after a hydrofrac lubricant was spilled three times over a one-week period at a company drilling site (see Daily GPI, Oct. 20).

Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has been fined $56,650 for three spills in September of a liquid gel used to fracture natural gas wells, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said. The spills, which occurred in one week’s time at Cabot’s Heitsman gas development in Dimock Township in Susquehanna County, forced Cabot to cease drilling activities in the region for around three weeks until it complied with a state order (see Daily GPI, Oct. 20; Sept. 28). “This penalty was assessed for Cabot’s violations of the Clean Streams Law, Solid Waste Management Act and Oil and Gas Act,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell. “We expect that Cabot will do a better job in the future of overseeing its contractors now that the company has an improved preparedness, prevention and contingency plan in place.”

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. on Friday resumed hydraulic fracturing (hydofracing) operations in Susquehanna County, PA, after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the company had complied with the terms of a Sept. 24 order.