Posts Tagged ‘gas’

The law team at Dougherty, Leventhal and Price, LLP has filed a Federal Lawsuit this week against a drilling company and its’ driver who caused a violent accident causing multiple injuries and a fatality.  A Mack Truck loaded with approximately 3,000 gallons of mud was overweight and driving at speeds greater than posted. As a result, it failed to stop at a stop sign. The driver turned into an oncoming lane and violently impacted a Subaru legacy carrying two passengers seriously injuring one and killing the other.

The entire complaint may be viewed here. (PDF)

The number of drilling rigs in the Marcellus Shale regions of Pennsylvania is approaching two thousand (2000).  Reports note that over one thousand and eight hundred gas drilling rigs  (1800) have been placed in operation.  Industry leaders are touting the great positive economic impact of the expanding natural gas industry.  Hundreds of new Marcellus Shale gas drilling rigs are planned throughout Pennsylvania.  Thr thirteen lawyers at DOUGHERTY LEVENTHAL PRICE LLP—DLP—PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK ACCIDENT AND MARCELLUS SHALE GAS DRILLING RIG INJURY LAWYERS, continue to follow this and other Marcellus Shale gas drilling issues in Pennsylvania.

Reports note that construction of the 30 mile pipeline for transporting Marcellus Shale natural gas in Northeastern Pennsylvania is moving forward.  Pipeline clearing, digging, routing under the Susquehanna River and other construction activities remain on schedule.  Opposition in various municipalities continues and meetings are being held.  The thirteen (13) lawyers at DOUGHERTY LEVENTHAL PRICE LLP –DLP–PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK ACCIDENT AND MARCELLUS SHALE GAS DRILLING RIG INJURY AND ACCIDENT LAWYERS continue to follow this and other gas drilling issues in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

A recent trip to New York farm country revealed an anxious number of people waiting for drilling to commence in their state.  Local property owners have signed gas leases, some at rate as high as $6500/acre with 20 per cent royalties.  Discussions elsewhere focused on environmental concerns especially water safety.   A moratorium on gas drilling continues statewide in New York.  the thirteen (13) lawyers at DOUGHERTY LEVENTHAL PRICE LLP—DLP-  PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS AND MARCELLUS SHALE DRILLING RIG INJURY LAWYERS continue to follow this and other gas drilling related issues.

By KEVIN BEGOS

PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday that the Marcellus Shale region contains some 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas, far more than thought nearly a decade ago.

Tuesday’s figure is much higher than the last government assessment in 2002, which suggested about 2 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

The USGS said the estimate came from new information about the gas-rich formation underlying New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, and from technical improvements in how wells are drilled.

Environmental groups have expressed concerns that the process of extracting the gas from deep underground could contaminate the water supply. But gas industry groups welcomed the independent government estimate.

“While some critics continue to question the viability of responsible domestic shale gas development, it is abundantly clear — as laid out by this new data — that the Marcellus Shale will continue to lead the way in meeting American’s energy needs for years to come,” said Kathryn Z. Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an organization of energy companies that says it’s committed to the responsible development of natural gas from the shale formation and the enhancement of the region’s economy.

The agency also estimated there are around 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas liquids. That product attracts a premium price over the natural gas.

The USGS figures represent an average of several possibilities about the gas reserves, located thousands of feet beneath the surface and coaxed out of the ground through high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The new survey suggested that the gas reserves are 43 trillion cubic feet to 144 trillion cubic feet, and the gas liquids are 1.6 to 6.2 barrels, with a 95 percent probability of the low range and 5 percent of the high range.

More than 3,300 wells have been drilled across Pennsylvania in just the last few years. The boom has raised concerns about the use of fracking, which injects chemical-laced water to break up the shale and allow natural gas to escape into the shale to push out the minerals. Environmental groups and the Environmental Protection Agency worry that the process could damage water wells, poison groundwater or harm trout streams. But the industry insists it’s safe.

The USGS Marcellus assessment covered areas in Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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Online: USGS Report: http://bit.ly/pDIv3M

NOTE: Click HERE to view this story online.

6-month figures show 60% increase for Marcellus Shale wells
By Laura Olson, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG — Gas production continues to skyrocket in Pennsylvania, with the latest six-month figures showing a 60 percent increase in output for the commonwealth’s Marcellus Shale wells.

The more than 1,600 Marcellus wells currently in production put out a total of 432 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the first six months of the year, according to the figures provided to the state Department of Environmental Protection by drilling companies.

The data is available on the DEP’s website.

Those numbers likely will be scrutinized by state lawmakers as they return this fall, with debate over how to assess a tax or fee on gas production at the top for their fall agenda.

Counties in the state’s northern tier — Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga — led the pack for most production, followed closely by Greene and Washington.

Those two southwestern counties each produced more than 10 percent of the state total: Greene tallied 51.1 billion cubic feet, and Washington reported 45.9 billion cubic feet.

For Greene and Washington counties, that reflected a boost from the previous six-month period, when both counties had production levels between about 30 billion and 35 billion cubic feet.

It was also a Greene County well that had the highest volume during the reporting period: an EQT Corp. well in Morris produced nearly 3 billion cubic feet of gas.

Combined, the five top counties accounted for more than 80 percent of the gas produced during the first six months of the year.

The total production is up from 271.8 billion cubic feet of gas reported for the state during the final six months of 2010. It’s also more than double the amount of gas produced during the 12 months from July 2009 to June 2010.

“I think what we’re seeing are the kind of production numbers that the report we put out in July projected,” said Kathryn Klaber, Marcellus Shale Coalition president.

“We’re seeing the actual production reflect that strong anticipated growth, and it’s still in the early stages.”

The trade group’s report, released last month, boosted its prior projection for how much gas would be flowing from Pennsylvania wells this year.

Ms. Klaber noted that at the end of 2010, wells were already beating production estimates, and fewer sites than thought were needed to hit those figures. Last year’s average daily production was double what the group had estimated, with 300 fewer wells.

She said that means “a smaller footprint is needed for producing clean-burning energy.”

Penn State geologist Terry Engelder also said the numbers showed promising production levels, particularly in Susquehanna and Bradford counties.

He said those two northern counties are “holding up extraordinarily well” to expectations. According to Mr. Engelder, four wells in Susquehanna County have cumulative produced more than 4 billion cubic feet each.

NOTE: Click HERE to view this story online.

U. of Wyo. Prof: “Pennsylvania is becoming a big gas producer in a major way”

As jobless claims once again ticked upward this past week, it’s no wonder why consumer confidence dropped “in August to the lowest level since the recession.” Yet, despite these broader, national economic trends, there’s a silver lining in the Rust Belt, of all places — and it comes in the form of American oil and natural gas. This from today’s Pottsville Republican-Herald under the headline “Marcellus Gas production continues steady growth in Pa.”:

Marcellus Shale natural gas production in Pennsylvania continued its rapid rise in the first half of 2011, according to figures released this week by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The state’s 1,632 producing Marcellus wells pumped out 432.5 billion cubic feet of gas during the first six months of the year – a 60 percent increase from the amount of gas produced in the second half of 2010. The three counties that led the state in gas production, Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga, pulled 260 billion cubic feet of gas from the shale – slightly less than all of the Marcellus Shale gas that was produced in the entire state in the last half of 2010.

Timothy Considine, a professor of energy economics at the University of Wyoming, said the production numbers are in the ballpark of what the state’s shale gas operators forecast for the year in a report he co-authored this summer.“Pennsylvania is becoming a big gas producer in a major way,” he said. The state is now a net exporter of gas, he added. “That’s changing the entire natural gas market picture in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic region.”

So what does a 60 percent increase in Marcellus Shale natural gas production mean to consumers and small businesses across the region? Well, in addition to saving Pennsylvania consumers nearly $633 million on their utility bills over the past year, according to a recent study by Penn State University researchers, news broke these week that UGI – a Marcellus Shale Coalition member – will be providing even more clean-burning, American natural gas to the region. The Standard Speaker reports this under the headline “NEPA natural gas customers could benefit from Marcellus Shale by 2012”:

By next year, Wilkes-Barre area UGI customers should be getting natural gas from Northeastern Pennsylvania instead of other states and countries. UGI Vice President of Government Affairs Michael Love made the revelation Monday during a hearing in front of the state House Democratic Policy committee at Wilkes University.

“Natural gas is the cheaper fuel today, will be tomorrow and for the foreseeable future because of shale gas,” Love said. Until recently, Pennsylvania imported 75 percent of its natural gas from other states or countries.

More affordable and reliable supplies of American energy is helping to create jobs at a time when they’re most needed. Indeed, our region’s demonstrable shale gas-related economic growth is even making its way to the editorial pages of newspapers in Connecticut. In an editorial today, the Waterbury Republican American notes that responsible Marcellus Shale development has “created 13,000 jobs in Pennsylvania in 2010, according to the state’s Department of Labor.” And as responsible domestic shale gas and oil production continues to expand in earnest, more jobs and more access to homegrown, reliable energy resources are being realized. It’s been called a lot of things: a game-changer; a revolution; and of course, “An American Renewal.”

Posted at marcelluscoalition.org

Marcellus gas has less impact on global warming than coal, according to a recent study by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.

Article was originally published on August 17, 2011 by The Patriot News.

Marcellus gas has less impact on global warming than coal, according to a recent study by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.

The peer-reviewed study published Aug. 5 in “Environmental Research Letters” appears to be a direct refutation of an April study from researchers Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea at Cornell University that indicated that shale gas was worse for global warming than coal.

The Cornell study had a number of faults — acknowledged by its authors — including sketchy data that did not directly apply to Marcellus drilling operations.

The Carnegie Mellon study looks specifically at Marcellus and the “life cycle greenhouse gas emmissions” associated with its production and consumption.

Marcellus gas is essentially no different than conventional natural gas, the study found, and 20-50 percent cleaner than coal for producing electricity.

“Marcellus shale gas emits 50 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than any U.S. coal-fired plant,” said study co-author Chris Hendrickson. “We favor extraction of Marcellus shale natural gas as long as the extraction is managed to minimize adverse economic, environmental and social impacts.”

Former DEP Secretary John Hanger lauded the new study on his blog, saying it “debunks and decimates professor Howarth’s hit piece study that the NYT gas reporter and other media gave so much attention.”

“By contrast,” Hanger said, “the CMU study has received very little press attention so the result remains that many people think Howarth is the final word on this important matter.”

The new study does support “green completions” — in which gas is captured during the earliest stages of production rather than being vented or flared into the atmosphere. Proposed shale gas rules from the EPA would require green completions.

“Green completion… would significantly reduce the largest source of emissions specific to Marcellus gas preproduction,” the study says, but it adds that such emissions are a small portion of the life cycle estimates.

The study’s authors said greenhouse gas emissions are not the only challenge when it comes to extracting shale gas.

“We still need to study other environmental issues, including use of water and disruption of natural habitats,” said co-author Paulina Jaramillo.

Posted at Pioga.org