Pittsburgh

The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, which was formed earlier this month by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and tasked with reporting back to the governor by July, held its first meeting in Harrisburg Friday.

Water samples taken from seven Pennsylvania rivers showed levels of radioactivity at or below “background levels,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Whether wastewater from natural gas drilling sites will be more extensively analyzed for radiation levels still is an unknown, but some Pennsylvania water systems don’t plan to wait and will step up radiological tests, officials said this week.

Chevron Corp. on Thursday completed its $4.3 billion acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Atlas Energy Inc., just one day after the Atlas shareholders had approved the deal, the companies said.

Chevron Corp. on Thursday completed its $4.3 billion acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Atlas Energy Inc., just one day after the Atlas shareholders had approved the deal, the companies said.

Atlas Energy Inc. shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a proposed $4.3 billion merger with Chevron Corp., Pittsburgh-based Atlas said Wednesday.

New York should proceed cautiously as it considers how to regulate hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) in shale drilling operations, but the state shouldn’t wait for federal authorities to complete a lengthy review, the incoming Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) chief said Tuesday.

Radio talk show host Ron Morris has begun broadcasting a 12-part series on the Marcellus Shale on a Pittsburgh radio station, WMNY 1360, aimed at getting the facts about shale development.

Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy Inc. said its natural gas division achieved record quarterly production of 36.2 Bcf for the quarter ended Dec. 31. This was 44% higher than the 25.1 Bcf produced in the year-ago period. For the year, the company produced 127.9 Bcf, eclipsing 2009’s record production of 94.4 Bcf by 35%, the company said. Consol said it will update its gas production forecast in conjunction with the release of its 2011 capital budget on Jan. 27.