Seneca

The Marcellus Shale’s location near high-consumption centers, its bountiful reserves and its chameleon-like ability to produce wet or dry natural gas in abundance have made it a worthwhile destination for midstream operators, and it should remain so for several years, according to Fitch Ratings.

Three families in western Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit against 17 defendants, including an operator for Range Resources Corp. and two independent water testing labs, alleging that a drilling and impoundment site caused health problems. The plaintiffs also accused Range and the labs of conspiring to hide evidence of drinking water contamination.

Midstream operations in the Marcellus Shale are significantly expanding for Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP (PVR), after the partnership inked agreements with four of the biggest natural gas producers to extend its Lycoming County, PA, pipeline system to provide access to multiple markets.

Individual operators reported record-breaking production from the Marcellus Shale in 2011, producing more than 1 Tcf from the Pennsylvania portion of the play, according to new Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) data.

Elected officials in Cecil Township, PA, voted unanimously on Monday to adopt changes to two of its ordinances governing Marcellus Shale development but are still waiting to hear if Range Resources Corp. will drop a lawsuit it filed against them in October over the changes.

A coalition of conservancy and stakeholder groups critical of Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling said Monday the state needs to slow the shale drilling pace to ensure that safeguards are in place to protect citizens.

Range Resources Corp. has filed suit against a Pennsylvania township, alleging that the municipality violated state meetings law by not giving proper notice before making sweeping, prohibitive changes to its Marcellus Shale drilling ordinance.

Proving the common saying that region trumps party in Pennsylvania politics, a pair of Republican state representatives are proposing a severance tax on natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale.

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.