Archive for the ‘Pennsylvania Natural Gas Drilling’ Category

This course focuses on the welding process that is commonly used in the oil and natural gas industry. Participants in this advanced training will learn both the theory necessary for success in this process as well as techniques to apply out in the field. Class size is limited to ensure proper participant and instructor time. This course will prepare the participant for the API 1104 6G and T test.

NGV Roadmap Sets Strategy for More Economic and Environmental Benefits, Greater Energy Security

Canonsburg, PA – In Harrisburg, Washington, DC, and across the country, policymakers and other key stakeholders are engaged in an ongoing conversation about expanding the use of low-cost, clean-burning natural gas – specifically through consumer and commercial natural gas vehicles (NGVs).  Last week, President Obama noted that, “[T]he potential for natural gas is enormous,” while detailing the benefits of NGVs.  And yesterday, several Pennsylvania state lawmakers introduced a legislative package aimed to encourage and promote NGVs, demonstrating yet again the vast potential of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

In the midst of this robust conversation, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) this week unveiled a major study – A Roadmap For Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air – laying out a strategy to position Pennsylvania as a national model for NGV use and adding further momentum to the ongoing NGV discussion.  The Roadmap examines one of the many long-term benefits associated with the responsible development of the Marcellus, in both the natural gas and transportation sectors, and provides a common sense, workable pathway to achieve a host of benefits, such as lower-cost fuel, more robust job creation, expanded energy security, and a cleaner environment for the region and nation.  Following is just a sampling of the recent media coverage of the MSC’s Roadmap and the surrounding NGV policy developments:

• Inquirer reports on Pennsylvania Clean Transportation Corridor. “The Marcellus Shale Coalition, the trade group promoting the state’s booming natural gas industry, on Tuesday released a study it called a ‘road map’ to converting vehicles to natural gas by constructing a chain of refueling stations along Pennsylvania’s Interstate highways.  The coalition’s study calls for spending up to $208 million over five years to build a ‘Pennsylvania Clean Transportation Corridor’ of 17 new refueling stations and to subsidize 850 heavy-duty natural gas vehicles, or NGVs.  The new refueling stations would supplement an existing network of 24 stations that supply compressed natural gas to fleet operators, including agencies like the Lower Merion school district, which has converted 72 of its 112 buses to natural gas in the last 20 years.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/6/11)

• Post-Gazette highlights potential for public and private cooperation. “GOP lawmakers unveiled their revamped seven-bill package Wednesday, aimed at encouraging businesses, transit systems and other organizations to switch their dirtier diesel engines to natural gas. The measures, dubbed collectively as ‘Marcellus Works,’ would offer $47.5 million in tax credits, grants and loans to subsidize the cost of new natural gas vehicles and fueling stations…  The drilling industry is promoting a similar message, releasing its own report earlier this week calling for 17 new fueling stations along the state’s major interstates.  Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said the GOP measures fit well with their goal of both public and private investment: ‘They reinforce the fact that it’s going to take a lot of different players.’” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/7/11)

• Citizens Voice notes consumer, environmental benefits of NGVs. “‘The foundation of a fueling infrastructure needs to come from the fleet vehicles – the long-haul trucks and the come-back-to-base types of trucks,’ [MSC President Kathryn Z. Klaber] said, adding that the envisioned filling stations would be open to the public ‘so the early adopters on the personal vehicle side will have the ability to fuel their vehicles.’  The coalition of natural gas operators drilling in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale wants to grow the market for the gas they produce, but the report details how the expanded use of natural gas in vehicles has broader benefits.  Natural gas costs less than diesel or gasoline, can be sourced from the state rather than foreign oil reserves and creates fewer smog-producing pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions.” (Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice, 4/6/11)

• Tribune-Democrat cites cost savings of clean-burning natural gas. “[Natural gas] has the potential for significant savings to all levels of government, businesses and motorists.  Compressed natural gas could sell for $1.90 per gallon, according to information provided by the coalition.  Diesel fuel currently costs about $3.85 per gallon.  ‘More efficiently using American natural gas as a transportation fuel offers a clear, clean and cost-effective alternative to address air quality challenges while providing a reliable energy source to fuel economic growth,’ Klaber said.” (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, 4/6/11)

An overview of the MSC’s Roadmap For Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air is available here.

Extends Open Invitation for the President to Visit a Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Production Site

Canonsburg, PA – Tomorrow, President Obama is scheduled to visit “a Bucks County wind-turbine plant,” as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. In a speech last week, the president said this about American natural gas production from shale formations, such as the Marcellus Shale – the world’s second largest natural gas field: “Recent innovations have given us the opportunity to tap large reserves – perhaps a century’s worth – in the shale under our feet. The potential here is enormous.”

Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, a strategic advisor to the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), issued this statement in anticipation of the president’s upcoming energy-focused event in Pennsylvania:

“We are very pleased that President Obama will be in the Keystone State tomorrow to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing every family and small business owner across the nation: energy security. In a speech last week, the president underscored the ‘enormous’ potential of clean-burning American natural gas. We remain hopeful that the president will use this opportunity to reiterate the fact that the responsible development of America’s abundant, job-creating shale gas reserves must be central to our nation’s long-term energy security goals.”

Recognizing the fact the President Obama has visited a host of windmill and solar panelfacilities, Gov. Ridge extended an open invitation to the president to visit a Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale natural gas production site:

“American natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale is not only safely delivering affordable and reliable homegrown energy resources for the nation, but it’s also helping to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs across the region at a time when they’re most needed. On behalf of the coalition, we welcome the president back to Pennsylvania, any time, to visit a Marcellus production site and see firsthand the incredible work being done each day in the Commonwealth that’s helping America realize our strategic energy, economic, national security and environmental objectives.”

MORE INFO

• This week’s Time Magazine cover, available HERE, features the Marcellus Shale: “This Rock Could Power The World”
• Pulitzer Prize winning energy expert Daniel Yergin in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal: “Stepping on the Gas”
• Fox News: Gov. Ridge Underscores Benefits of Clean-Burning, American Natural Gas
• MSC Press Release: New Study Outlines Pennsylvania’s Clean Transportation Roadmap
• MSC Issue Alert: By The Numbers: The Mighty Marcellus, A Powerful Job Creation Engine

Copyright: Marcellus Shale Coalition

Natural Gas Vehicles: A Clear, Cleaner, Cost-Effective Alternative

Canonsburg, PA – While it is widely known that the Marcellus Shale’s abundant, clean-burning natural gas resources represent one of the world’s largest energy reserves, a new study — Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air — examines one of the many long-term benefits associated with the responsible development of the Marcellus, in both the natural gas and transportation sectors.

The Roadmap provides a common sense, workable pathway to achieve a host of benefits, such as lower-cost fuel, more robust job creation, expanded energy security, and a cleaner environment for the region and nation. Specifically, the study — sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) — focuses on expanding Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs), which has the potential to provide Pennsylvania with a unique opportunity to achieve a more economically and environmentally sustainable future.

“Leveraging our region’s clean-burning, job-creating resources from the Marcellus Shale, through smarter technologies, will generate huge economic and environmental benefits for Pennsylvania businesses, consumers, and public transportation systems,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC.

Added Klaber: “More effectively using American natural gas as a transportation fuel offers a clear, clean and cost-effective alternative to address air quality challenges, while providing a reliable, homegrown energy source to fuel economic growth. New sources of domestic energy, specifically shale gas, provides this region and our nation with a transformative opportunity. As shown in The Roadmap, the transportation sector will certainly be a part of that transformation.”

MSC members Chesapeake Energy Corporation, EQT Production Company, Range Resources, and UGI Energy Services co-sponsored the study.

“Natural gas continues to prove it will play a significant and necessary role in the Commonwealth’s – and the nation’s – clean-energy future,” noted Barbara Sexton, Director of Governmental Affairs for Chesapeake Energy Corporation.  “This Roadmap is a definitive guide for creating a profitable, sustainable and growing market for vehicles powered by natural gas.”

“This project is an important and effective first step toward achieving energy security for our country and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said David Ross EQT’s Director of Technical Marketing and Business Development. “The cost savings and environmental benefits of transitioning to NGV’s illustrated in the report underscore the importance of natural gas to this country’s energy future.”

Dan Cotherman, Manager of Business Development for Range Resources, noted, “Pennsylvania consumers have a significant stake in the future of clean-burning, abundant natural gas, and Range Resources supports this Roadmap to expand and enhance the use of this resource. Developing forward-thinking and innovative uses of natural gas in this way will further secure our energy future and solidify benefits for the entire Commonwealth.”

“UGI Utilities, Inc. supports the MSC’s Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air report which provides key recommendations for the transportation sector to transition to a cleaner transportation future,” said Anthony Cox, Director of Marketing for UGI Utilities, Inc. “Reducing our reliance on one fuel source with a lower cost, lower emitting, Pennsylvania produced-alternative, will create jobs and further stimulate our region’s economy.”

The Roadmap, available online HERE, projects a more than $200 million investment in the Commonwealth’s economy while yielding other benefits, including:

• A reduction in annual fuel costs for Pennsylvania fleet operators of $9.2 million – savings that can then be reinvested into their businesses, personnel hiring, and the overall Pennsylvania economy.

• A direct impact on more than 1,300 Pennsylvania jobs.

• A reduction of nitrogren oxides (NOx) emissions by 702 tons, particulate matter (PM) emissions by 14.5 tons, and greenhouse gas emissions by 21,000 metric tons each year.

An overview of The Roadmap is available HERE.

Copyright Marcellus Shale Coalition

Natural Gas Vehicles: A Clear, Cleaner, Cost-Effective Alternative

Canonsburg, PA – While it is widely known that the Marcellus Shale’s abundant, clean-burning natural gas resources represent one of the world’s largest energy reserves, a new study — Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air — examines one of the many long-term benefits associated with the responsible development of the Marcellus, in both the natural gas and transportation sectors.

The Roadmap provides a common sense, workable pathway to achieve a host of benefits, such as lower-cost fuel, more robust job creation, expanded energy security, and a cleaner environment for the region and nation. Specifically, the study — sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) — focuses on expanding Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs), which has the potential to provide Pennsylvania with a unique opportunity to achieve a more economically and environmentally sustainable future.

“Leveraging our region’s clean-burning, job-creating resources from the Marcellus Shale, through smarter technologies, will generate huge economic and environmental benefits for Pennsylvania businesses, consumers, and public transportation systems,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC.

Added Klaber: “More effectively using American natural gas as a transportation fuel offers a clear, clean and cost-effective alternative to address air quality challenges, while providing a reliable, homegrown energy source to fuel economic growth. New sources of domestic energy, specifically shale gas, provides this region and our nation with a transformative opportunity. As shown in The Roadmap, the transportation sector will certainly be a part of that transformation.”

MSC members Chesapeake Energy Corporation, EQT Production Company, Range Resources, and UGI Energy Services co-sponsored the study.

“Natural gas continues to prove it will play a significant and necessary role in the Commonwealth’s – and the nation’s – clean-energy future,” noted Barbara Sexton, Director of Governmental Affairs for Chesapeake Energy Corporation.  “This Roadmap is a definitive guide for creating a profitable, sustainable and growing market for vehicles powered by natural gas.”

“This project is an important and effective first step toward achieving energy security for our country and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said David Ross EQT’s Director of Technical Marketing and Business Development. “The cost savings and environmental benefits of transitioning to NGV’s illustrated in the report underscore the importance of natural gas to this country’s energy future.”

Dan Cotherman, Manager of Business Development for Range Resources, noted, “Pennsylvania consumers have a significant stake in the future of clean-burning, abundant natural gas, and Range Resources supports this Roadmap to expand and enhance the use of this resource. Developing forward-thinking and innovative uses of natural gas in this way will further secure our energy future and solidify benefits for the entire Commonwealth.”

“UGI Utilities, Inc. supports the MSC’s Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air report which provides key recommendations for the transportation sector to transition to a cleaner transportation future,” said Anthony Cox, Director of Marketing for UGI Utilities, Inc. “Reducing our reliance on one fuel source with a lower cost, lower emitting, Pennsylvania produced-alternative, will create jobs and further stimulate our region’s economy.”

The Roadmap, available online HERE, projects a more than $200 million investment in the Commonwealth’s economy while yielding other benefits, including:

• A reduction in annual fuel costs for Pennsylvania fleet operators of $9.2 million – savings that can then be reinvested into their businesses, personnel hiring, and the overall Pennsylvania economy.

• A direct impact on more than 1,300 Pennsylvania jobs.

• A reduction of nitrogren oxides (NOx) emissions by 702 tons, particulate matter (PM) emissions by 14.5 tons, and greenhouse gas emissions by 21,000 metric tons each year.

An overview of The Roadmap is available HERE.

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By Michael Bradwell
Washington Observer-Reporter
4/2/2011

CANONSBURG – The head of the Marcellus Shale Coalition said Thursday she is pleased to see President Obama include natural gas as part of a national energy strategy.

But Kathryn Klaber, executive director of the 2-year-old industry group that represents about 180 companies working in the shale strata said policies regarding the use of the fuel must be consistent going forward.

Klaber addressed more than 350 members of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce during the group’s “Executive Series” dinner at the Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe.

“It’s good to see that natural gas is on Obama’s list,” Klaber said, “but policies need to be consistent.”

On Wednesday, Obama called for a one-third reduction in U.S oil imports by 2025, but offered little in the way of new initiatives for an energy policy, instead providing a list of energy proposals he’s already called for, including increasing domestic oil production, increasing the use of biofuels and natural gas and making vehicles more energy efficient.

Klaber, noted that because of the use of hydraulic fracturing and the production of natural gas from several large shale fields around the country, including the Marcellus, the U.S. now has an abundance of natural gas supplies that continue to grow by the month.

After stagnating at 3 trillion to 24 trillion cubic feet between 1970 and 2006, U.S production numbers have pushed to new record levels, reaching 26.85 TCF from 2009 to 2010. Last year, the industry set new records in every month except January, February and July.

At the same time, natural gas prices have declined from $8 to $10 per thousand feet in the middle of the last decade to just over $4 per mcf now.

“The big reason we’re seeing lower prices is supply,” Klaber said.

Closer to home, Klaber said the coalition, which is headquartered in Southpointe, is focused on making the gas industry’s work transparent to Pennsylvanians.

“This is an industry that’s clearly focused on doing this right,” she said, adding that drillers and regulators are dealing with an “incredibly complex set of issues” to put natural gas squarely in the middle of the national energy landscape.

According to Klaber, the industry has made safety its top focus, and she disputed claims that the shale gas industry isn’t adequately regulated in Pennsylvania.

“There’s not a single (area) of the well process that is not covered by a regulation,” Klaber said, showing a slide from the state Department of Environmental Protection website that showed 12 separate regulations for construction of a well site, 18 each for drilling and hydraulic fracturing; 10 for site reclamation; and 11 rules for midstream (processing) operations.

While acknowledging that much of the industry’s current focus is on drilling, the coalition has a longer-term goal of promoting “not just home heating and electric generation from natural gas” but finding markets for the hydrocarbons like propane, ethane and butane that accompany methane extracted from the shale, to helping to grow the use of natural gas vehicles.

Klaber said Washington County stands to benefit from those developments, by virtue of its role as the epicenter of the Marcellus Shale development, now seen as the world’s second-largest gas field.

“We are really sitting in a place that makes it strategic from a headquarters place,” she said, noting that many companies located here are involved with developing the shale across the state.

On the environmental front, she said that the industry is also making strides in recycling the millions of gallons of water required to hydraulically fracture the shale to free the natural gas from the highly compacted rocks a mile or more beneath the earth’s surface.

“We’re driving water use down and it’s making a real difference in this part of the country,” she said.

Federal Economic Data Makes Clear the Marcellus Shale’s Positive Impact Across the Commonwealth

Canonsburg, Pa. –  The Mighty Marcellus Shale – the world’s second largest natural gas field – continues to be a driving economic force in the Commonwealth, helping to create jobs for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, revitalizing rural economies, generating millions in tax revenue, bolstering small business and manufacturing growth and creating opportunities for a host of other industries across the region. Because of the ‘enormous’ benefits associated with clean-burning, American natural gas – as President Obama said in a recent speech – an American Renewal is underway in the region.

And while tens of thousands of good-paying, Pennsylvania jobs, tied directly to responsible Marcellus Shale development, have been created – upwards of 212,000 jobs over the coming years, according to Penn State University experts – data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an arm of the Labor Department and the “the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics,” clearly demonstrates this connection.

What follows is an overview of BLS economic data – specific to “Natural Resources and Mining” jobs [direct natural gas production-related employment is accounted here] – from 2009 to 2010 in key Marcellus Shale producing counties across the Commonwealth, as well as the number of Marcellus wells drilled in each county during that same time period. Of important note, 1,224 construction-related jobs were created in these Marcellus-producing counties during the same period, according to BLS data. This uptick in construction-related employment is attributable to the robust supply chain supporting Marcellus development.

Despite facing a major uphill battle, Democratic Pennsylvania State Senator John Yudichak of Luzerne County has moved a bill that would tax natural gas as it comes out of the ground. The bill calls for a tax on the gross value of the gas.

In the first three years of production, a well would be taxed at 2% and then jump up to 5% in year four. It would stay at that level until production fell below 150 MCF of natural gas per day. Once that threshold is reached, the tax would slip back to 2% as long as it stays above 60 MCF per day. Any well below 60 MCF would be exempt from the tax.

Yudichak says the tax would bring in $125 million in the first year and as much as $400 million a year after five years.

The measure is unlikely to win approval despite having Republican State Senator Edwin Erickson of Delaware County as a co-sponsor. Most Republicans in Harrisburg are against such a tax and the GOP holds a 30-20 majority in the PA senate. Yudichak says it is time to listen to the residents not the party, “The need to enact a natural gas severance tax is obvious to more than 60% of Pennsylvanians.” Yudichak was sighting recent polls that show public support for such a tax. “Gas drilling can potentially impact us all, in every corner of Pennsylvania,” says Yudichak.

Republicans have argued that such a tax will kill the young Marcellus Shale industry before it has a chance to grow. Yudichak disagrees, “We can have a thriving natural gas industry in Pennsylvania but it must be responsibly regulated and taxed to protect our communities, our land and our water.”

Even if it gets past the Republican controlled legislature, it would most likely face a veto from Governor Tom Corbett who made it a campaign pledge to not tax shale gas extraction. However, in recent weeks the governor and much of the rest of the party have begun to indicate that they may be willing to enact an impact fee that would stay with a host municipality.

In an effort to appeal to the Republicans, a third of the tax under Yudichak’s bill would be set aside for water supply and waste water issues, a third would go to an environmental stewardship fund and the rest would stay with local governments.

Originally Posted At: http://wduqnews.blogspot.com