Marcellus

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s energy executive said “it’s not surprising or alarming” that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has never denied an operator’s request for a waiver to the stream and wetland setback requirements enshrined in Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

Rex Energy Corp. on Wednesday announced lower than expected capital expenditures for this year, while projecting a significant increase in production volumes from its assets in the Appalachian Basin as it gets a better grip on drilling and completion techniques in multiple formations.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. said Wednesday its estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves increased by 23% year/year in 2013, thanks in large part to Marcellus Shale assets in West Virginia.

In a move that may raise environmentalists’ criticism of the Heinz Endowments, Robert Vagt, the outgoing president of the Pittsburgh-based philanthropic organization, will step down next week to become chairman of Rice Energy Inc., an independent operator focused exclusively on the Appalachian Basin.

Officials in Potter County, PA, want the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to require that public water suppliers are notified when a permit is issued for oil and gas drilling in delineated water supply recharge areas.

An Ohio company has approached the City of Marietta, OH, to see if the municipality is interested in leasing 35 city-owned acres for oil and gas drilling targeting the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Binghamton, NY, officials won’t pursue a court fight over the city’s ban on unconventional drilling, but the mayor vowed Tuesday that no natural gas drilling would ever be allowed within the city limits.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues to move forward slowly with a set of proposed regulatory updates for the state’s oil and gas drillers with a series of public hearings scheduled throughout this month.

Natural gas and oil production from wells in six domestic shale plays/basins will continue to edge higher in February, buoyed in large part by the Marcellus, Eagle Ford and Bakken, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).