Posts Tagged ‘gas’

Pa. DEP: Bradford County-based unit can get to incident anywhere within 5 hours.

Experts trained to deal with catastrophic events at natural gas wells now will be stationed 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Pennsylvania.

Recent high-profile accidents at natural gas wells in Pennsylvania prompted the Department of Environmental Protection to arrange emergency response services with a leading company that is opening a new operation in the state, DEP Secretary John Hanger announced Monday.

CUDD Well Control will locate a new facility in Canton Township, Bradford County, which means a highly specialized emergency response crew will be located about five hours from any natural gas well in the state, according to a DEP press release.

By comparison, it took 16 hours for out-of-state crews to address a June 3 blowout in Clearfield County and 11 hours to extinguish a July 23 fire in Allegheny County. In both cases, well operators had to wait for response crews to fly in from Texas.

“Recent accidents in our state have shown that the natural gas industry lacks the training and equipment to respond quickly to accidents. This creates a tremendous danger to the public and the environment. When an accident occurs, we cannot wait 10 or more hours for a crew to fly in from halfway across the country,” said Hanger, adding that CUDD’s presence in the state will ensure fast, expert response to emergencies at well sites.

Dr. Tom Jiunta, founder of the Luzerne County-based Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, said that although he is happy to hear that expert emergency crews will be located closer to local gas wells, DEP’s response is “an after-the-fact remedy.”

Jiunta said he asked officials at a local zoning hearing how long it would take expert emergency responders to get to a well blow-out in Northeastern Pennsylvania and no one could provide an answer.

“It’s a double-edged sword. It’s good that we’ll have specialty crew in the state, but at the same time, it’s scary that we’re inviting an industrial process that needs to have a specialty response team nearby,” Jiunta said.

CUDD’s new operation will give Pennsylvania 16 specially trained well-control responders and a senior well-control responder in the state at all times. Senior responders can provide an initial assessment of emergency situations, advise local first responders and coordinate emergency response measures with other well control specialists.

Equipment at CUDD’s new facility will include: a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump; heat shields to protect responders as they work near a well fire; pneumatic cutting devices that clamp onto damaged pipe to allow responders to cut it at a safe distance; and a “hot tap,” which will drill a hole into damaged pipe to either relieve the pressure or allow responders to pump material into the well to kill it.

The state will use CUDD’s services as needed through emergency contracts on a case-by-case basis, so there is no cost to taxpayers unless CUDD personnel are mobilized. If that happens, the state will seek to recoup the costs from the well operator.

Hanger said he expects to have a contract with a well-control specialty company through a competitive bid process by Oct. 15.

He said natural gas well emergencies pose a considerable cost to local emergency crews, but enacting a severance tax would offset the additional expenses.

“When accidents happen, the natural gas industry should be bearing those costs, not the public or our fire, EMT and police departments. That’s one of the main reasons we need a severance tax; so taxpayers aren’t shouldering this financial burden and emergency response crews have the funds they need to respond appropriately, as well as get proper training and equipment,” he said.

While finalizing the 2010-11 state budget, lawmakers agreed to vote on a severance tax by Oct. 1 with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2011.

Copyright The Times Leader

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By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: August 23, 2010

DALLAS TWP. – Would local officials be powerless to stop a natural gas company from drilling a natural gas well in the middle of a housing development?

Not according to a new state court ruling, which affirms the right of municipal and county officials to limit natural gas drilling to certain districts, such as agricultural, mining or manufacturing, and out of residential neighborhoods.

“Gas drilling is here to stay, and it affects the Back Mountain region very extensively.” Attorney Jeffrey Malak told members of the Back Mountain Community Partnership as he outlined the new court decision.

Thousands of acres in the Back Mountain have been leased by natural gas companies, and Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. is drilling the second of two exploratory natural gas wells in Lake Township.

Traditionally, local officials have limited say when it comes to natural gas drilling. Technical aspects, such as what kind of materials to use and how the well is drilled, are governed by the state Oil and Gas Act. But local officials are gaining more and more say in where wells can be drilled.

Two previous cases, Huntley & Huntley v. Oakmont Borough and Range Resources v. Salem Township (Westmoreland County) set precedents allowing local officials some leeway in regulating where natural gas companies can drill.

A third, Penneco Oil Co. Inc. v. the County of Fayette, decided in Commonwealth Court on July 22, determined the state Oil & Gas Act does not trump local zoning ordinances, and that local officials can take steps to protect the residential character of neighborhoods.

In the case, Penneco, Range Resources Appalachia LLC and the Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania took Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development to court, saying they did not have to follow the county’s zoning ordinance because the state Oil and Gas Act made it invalid. The court ruled in favor of the county.

“This opens up the floodgates and says municipal zoning is not pre-empted,” Malak said.

The Penneco case allows that gas wells cannot be located within the flight path of an airport runway; that they must be at least 200 feet from a residential dwelling; and that officials can require fencing and shrubs around the well site. It also allows zoning hearing boards to impose any other provisions to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents.

Whether the Penneco case will be appealed is anybody’s guess, but it’s the law unless the state Supreme Court changes it, Malak said.

Dallas Borough already has some of the provisions in its zoning ordinance, Malak said. In Jackson Township, where he also serves as solicitor, the supervisors will put similar provisions in the zoning ordinance when it is drafted over the next couple of months, Malak said.

Dallas Township Supervisor Chairman Phil Walter asked Malak if there was a way to protect a municipality against fly-by-night operators who will leave when something goes wrong.

The case does allow for bonds, even large ones, to be put in place to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents, Malak said.

Kingston Township Supervisor Jeffrey Box asked if local officials can require a land development plan from natural gas companies. Malak said they could, and they can require special exceptions, meaning there has to be a hearing in front of the zoning hearing board to grant permission and to impose any standard planning and zoning fees.

But, he said, there are still aspects of natural gas drilling that will have to be decided in court, such as whether there can be restrictions on hours drillers can operate and whether they can be barred from using roads at certain times.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

View article here.

Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

Sen. Bob Casey wants fracking disclosure exemptions repealed for oil, gas industry.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

SCRANTON – U.S. Sen. Robert Casey returned to his hometown Thursday to extol the economic benefits of a present-day “gas rush” and, recalling the devastating effects of coal mining on the environment, called for more safeguards and federal oversight of natural gas drilling to prevent a “repeat of the mistakes of the past.”

The Democrat from Scranton joined five other panelists at a forum convened at Marywood University to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by development of the Marcellus Shale.

Noting that nearly 600,000 Pennsylvanians are unemployed and 70 percent of the workers employed at Marcellus Shale drilling sites are not state residents, Casey said his Marcellus Shale On-the-Job Training Act would fund training programs to help ensure gas drilling jobs go to Pennsylvanians instead of out-of-state workers.

Recalling a well blowout in Clearfield County in June, Casey said a proper emergency response plan was not in place. His Faster Action Safety Team Emergency Response Act would authorize additional regulations to enhance response procedures as gas and oil wells, he said.

His Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, Casey said, would repeal some exemptions for the oil and gas industry and require disclosure of all chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing – the process of injecting millions of gallons of water with sand and chemicals added into a well bore to stimulate the release of natural gas.

“Pennsylvanians have a right to know what is being injected in the ground. … The intent is not to stop hydraulic fracturing. This is about disclosure,” Casey said, noting that the ingredients of Coke and Pepsi are listed on cans and bottles without revealing “their secret formula.”

“If the chemicals … used in the hydraulic fracturing process are not harmful and cannot compromise health and safety or contaminate drinking water, … why can’t we shine the light of disclosure on that process?” Casey said to applause from the audience.

Boosting Pa. economy

Forum panelist Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, detailed how the gas drilling industry is creating jobs and boosting local economies, making special note of the steel and rail industries in the state.

She also addressed how the industry is working to safeguard public health and the environment and noted that the industry supported the state Department of Environmental Protection significant increase of permit fees to fund the hire of more oil and gas inspectors.

Klaber said the industry is increasing well wastewater recycling; already more than 60 percent is being recycled.

And, she said, the sharing of information between energy companies about best practices is increasing and hydraulic fracturing companies already have a listing of all chemicals used in material safety data sheets at drilling sites.

Timothy Kelsey, a professor of agricultural economics at Penn State University, spoke about the potential economic benefits of Marcellus Shale exploration.

He said a natural gas well can produce royalty income of $2.25 million to $2.8 million over the life of a well but noted that local investment decreases over time as well production declines.

“The lion’s share of the royalty income from each well will occur in the first seven years,” Kelsey said. “So when the drilling is going on, it’s critical that the community think about future.”

Kelsey said research shows that communities with a lack of trust in leadership are no better off following an energy boom than they were before, but those that have strong local leadership and “entrepreneurial support systems” in place fare better.

“Community focus needs to be on the future after the boom, not just the present. Use the Marcellus as a means to improve the economy, social organization … infrastructure. It is not an end in itself,” he said.

State park drilling

John Quigley, secretary of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said more than half of the commonwealth’s state parks are potential natural gas drill sites.

Of the 28 million acres in the state, Quigley said at least 7 million acres are leased for land drilling. The state House passed a resolution putting a moratorium on new large-scale leasing, but the bill has not come up in the Senate.

“We need to draw the line and say enough is enough,” Quigley said.

Quigley said there are currently 10 gas-producing wells on state forestland. Over the next 10 years, that number likely will increase to 6,000. “Add to that 1,000 miles of roadway, pipeline, gathering line … it’s very clear that the environmental impacts will be enormous,” he said.

Quigley also promoted a severance tax on natural gas extraction proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell.

“This is low-cost, high-profit gas any way you slice it. … And facing the imposition of a severance tax, this industry’s not going anywhere. It’s the most productive play in the world. This industry is not going to be taxed out of the state by the very, very reasonable proposal the governor has put in place,” Quigley said.

Jennifer Hoffman, manager of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission’s Monitoring and Assessment Program, explained how the commission is regulating water use by the drilling industry, assuring the audience that commission regulations ensure waterways will not be negatively impacted by industry water withdrawals.

She also detailed a water-monitoring network in place in drilling areas throughout the basin.

Jeanne VanBriessen, director of the Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental Systems at Carnegie Mellon University, said the technology is available for officials and regulators to manage the water consumption and wastewater treatment needs of the gas drilling industry while protecting the environment.

“The question I have for you, for our government and our regulators is: Will we?” VanBriessen said.

Copyright The Times Leader

Experts say area should prepare because drilling is not far off

SCRANTON — Drilling for natural gas in Marcellus Shale in Monroe and Pike counties? It’s not a question of if, but when.

That was the word from around the state Thursday at a forum at Marywood University, where experts said the region is rich in the valuable fossil fuel.

The bulk of the drilling now in northeast Pennsylvania is along the northern tier but could eventually extend into the Poconos.

Kathryn Zuberbuhler Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said areas more conducive to the entire operation — including roads and pipeline — are the first areas that will be drilled. Once more companies get involved and more money is available, drilling could expand to other parts of the state that haven’t seen it yet.

“There’s only so much capital right now,” she said. “By its nature, you’re going to see that concentrated development.”

Currently, there are no Marcellus Shale drilling operations in Monroe or Pike counties. There is only one in Wayne County.

One roadblock from local drilling right now is the Delaware River Basin Commission, which stopped issuing drilling permits in 2009 until it can formulate a list of regulations gas companies must meet.

Clarke Rupert, spokesman for the DRBC, said the commission hopes to have those regulations finalized by the end of the summer and adopted by the end of the year, admitting that’s an “optimistic” schedule.

Marcellus Shale is found in most of Pennsylvania and parts of New York and West Virginia, about 5,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface. It had been considered too expensive to drill, but advances in technology and the rising cost of natural gas made it more attractive, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The new method of drilling — hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking” — uses large amounts of water mixed with sand and other items to fracture the shale and allow the gas to flow, according to the DEP. The water used is then treated before it is released back into the water system.

However, residents near some drilling operations have complained that local water supplies have been damaged. That’s led to some in the state to wonder if this is another coal industry, which ravaged the land of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area before it was gone.

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, called the shale movement “our second chance” to correct the mistakes of the coal industry.

“Don’t exploit us, and we’ll work with you,” he said our message should be to gas companies. “Exploit us, and you don’t know the (bother) we can be to you.”

John Quigley, secretary of the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said about half of Pennsylvania’s state parks are in areas where Marcellus Shale is thought to be present, and about 700,000 of the 2.1 million acres of state forest land already is leased by gas companies.

He called for the state to stop issuing permits to gas companies until there is more known about the industry.

“Frankly, I think we need to take more than a timeout, we need to take a stop,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., encouraged local government leaders who may not have many avenues of protecting themselves to write and even pressure their state and federal representatives to make sure the Marcellus Shale industry is regulated.

“There is almost no area that can look and say, ‘That’s someone else’s problem,’” he said. “We all have to do what we can to make sure this is done the right way.”

View article here.

Copyright:  Pocono Record

Barnstorming Pa., MSC Continues to Educate, Engage “Friends of Marcellus”

The positive and overwhelming benefits associated with the responsible development of the Marcellus Shale’s abundant, homegrown, clean-burning natural gas know no county lines or state borders. Considered to be the world’s second largest natural gas field – second only to one in Iran – the Marcellus Shale’s potential to generate jobs, revenue and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians is real. And it’s a story worth taking on the road.

And so this week, that’s what the Marcellus Shale Coalition and its growing grassroots network did – traveling the length and width of the Commonwealth to continue to educate and engage the 12 million folks that proudly call Pennsylvania home. Along the way, we also took some time to  highlight the economic, supply-chain and job growth opportunities that continue to be created for the local workforce — efforts that will continue at an aggressive pace as the responsible exploration of clean-burning natural gas in Pennsylvania continues to expand.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the ground that the MSC has covered in just the past couple days, along with a run-down of where we’re headed next:

We Started in Philadelphia

The MSC joined the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to educate local businesses last week of the enormous opportunities that exist up and down the Marcellus Shale supply chain. MSC president Kathryn Klaber also met with elected leaders in Philadelphia to discuss the merits of natural gas-powered vehicles, and other benefits that the Mighty Marcellus will continue to deliver to the city’s residents.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• “There’s a lot of safeguards in place…that make sure Pennsylvanians have safe drinking water,” said Marcellus Shale Coalition president Kathryn Klaber. Klaber is also here to talk about the economic benefits of expanding drilling, mainly the estimated 200,000 jobs that would be created in Pennsylvania. (ABC6 TV, 8/13/10)

Then We Headed Back to Pittsburgh

At the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Energy Inc. conference yesterday afternoon, Gov. Tom Ridge – as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – highlighted the benefits of responsible Marcellus development, as well as the safeguards in place and the commitment from the industry to protect the environment.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Gov. Tom Ridge

o    “I think this is a potentially a transformational opportunity for our state. At the same time, we have to – we must – do it in a way consistent with our commitment to retain the beauty and the bounty, and the pristine condition of Pennsylvania.”

o    “I was on site today that 80 or 90 folks working that at the that site, and about 80 percent of them were local residents from Pennsylvania. Of course, the economic sustainability is real. They call it the ‘Marcellus Multiplier.’

o    “At the end of the day, facts are stubborn things. And we just have to get some facts out there so people can better understand what the industry can do – and will do – to build a sustainable economic model and be true to our commitment to the environment.”

And Now We’re Headed to State College – And Beyond

In an effort to further underscore the benefits responsible that Marcellus Shale development is generating for family farmers and Pennsylvania’s agriculture economy, the MSC will attend Penn State University’s Ag Progress Days today. And tomorrow, MSC president Kathryn Klaber will discuss ways that local business can join the growing Marcellus supply chain network with the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) at Lock Haven University; she will also participate in a shale gas forum at Marywood University, alongside U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

Interested in learning more, and joining our fight for a stronger economy and a cleaner and more secure energy future? Become a “Friend of Marcellus” today.

By Joe Napsha, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Published: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Workers looking for jobs in the region’s booming natural gas industry may try their hand as a “roustabouts” — general laborers who work physically grueling 12-hour shifts for 14 consecutive days in all kinds of weather to build and remove drilling pads and assist production.

“It’s demanding labor, working long stretches without days off. You have to be ready to do quality work and do it a long time. Once they start production, they don’t stop,” said Richard Guenther, an employee relations specialist with Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Mt. Morris, Greene County.

Pay can range from $10 to $20 an hour, plus overtime.

The natural gas industry expects to create thousands of jobs in Marcellus shale gas development in this decade, and state agencies and colleges are gearing up to train workers to fill those positions.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade group of about 100 gas producers and suppliers, said the boom created 44,000 jobs in the state last year. It is predicting thousands more this decade — some from gas production and some at suppliers, service companies and the spending of dollars generated by the drilling activity.

One complaint is that many jobs, particularly involving production, are going to out-of-state crews from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Last year, it was estimated that 70 percent of the jobs were being filled by out-of-state workers. Now, more local workers have been hired, and the percentage of out-of-staters has likely fallen to 50 percent to 60 percent, said Danielle Boston, a spokeswoman for the coalition.

Chesapeake has had success hiring workers from the region, which has a history of natural gas operations, Guenther said. The company had to bring in more out-of-state workers for drilling operations in northeastern counties than in Southwestern Pennsylvania, he said.

“We try to hire local workers,” Guenther said.

While Pennsylvania can supply engineering, technical, land acquisition and legal expertise needed by the industry, job training efforts are under way to make sure local workers have the skills needed to land production jobs.

The Western Area Career and Technology Center in Canonsburg has trained more than 100 in a roustabout training program since last year, and the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport graduated about 200 workers from its roustabout program since October. The Westmoreland County Community College plans to begin a three-week roustabout training program for 15 students on Sept. 13.

“We’ve had about 20 companies hire our students, and we’ve been running the program for a year. We’ve got to take care of that work force” by providing training, said Joseph Iannetti, director of Western Area Career and Technology Center.

Community College of Allegheny County is considering how it can tailor programs to meet the job needs of energy companies, said spokesman David Hoovler.

A group of five community colleges — called Marcellus ShaleNet — received a $4.96 million grant from the Department of Labor to conduct a three-year training program for the gas industry. The effort is to focus on low-skilled and low-income workers. The colleges include Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport and Westmoreland County Community College, along with schools in northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western New York.

One worker trying to take advantage of a training opportunity is Jeff White of Delmont, who was laid off this spring from a natural gas industry job. He knows all about the special demands of jobs in natural gas production and wants to get back into the field. He registered for the roustabout program at Westmoreland County Career and Technology Center.

“Once you get the bug of being with the guys, it’s hard to get it out. It’s your second family,” said White, who worked at a drilling site where pipe is lowered 8,000 feet underground to the rich Marcellus shale gas reserves.

Another candidate, Tony Bannister of Masontown, wants to replace part-time work with a full-time job. Bannister, 59, said he has a long career as a heavy equipment operator and hopes that helps him land one of those jobs.

“They make a lot of money, and there is a lot of opportunity for advancement. I’m up for anything,” Bannister said.

The state has identified six high-priority production jobs which local workers can be trained to fill, including roustabouts, rotary drill operators, truck drivers and service unit operators. About one in 10 requires a commercial driver’s license. And about 20 percent will be entry-level roustabout jobs, Boston said.

The drilling of one well can require almost 400 people working in almost 150 occupations.

Wages for roustabouts go up to $20 an hour, plus overtime, said Jeffrey F. Lorson, director of the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. The state estimates that the average weekly wage for an oil and gas production job in Southwestern Pennsylvania is about $1,600.

Some students graduating from Western Area Career and Technology Center in Canonsburg have landed jobs related to gas production and are being paid annual salaries of between $50,000 and $60,000, said Iannetti, director of the career center.

Range Resources Corp., a Texas-based gas producer with offices in Cecil, Washington County, is working with Western Area Career and Technology Center’s roustabout training program. Range hired graduates and placed them with experienced crews to learn on-the-job, said Matt Pitzarella, a Range spokesman.

View article here.

Copyright: PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Former Gov. Tom Ridge this afternoon called Marcellus Shale gas production a “transformative opportunity” for Pennsylvania during an appearance Downtown in his new role as a strategic adviser to an industry group.

Still dressed in the jeans and checkered shirt that he wore to inspect production operations in Washington County earlier in the day, Mr. Ridge hailed the industry’s economic potential but also stressed the need to manage environmental concerns.

“We’re only getting one chance to get it right,” Mr. Ridge said, speaking at an energy conference sponsored by the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Speaking to reporters before and after the speech, Mr. Ridge said he hoped Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields’ call to ban natural gas drilling in the city would be the “first chapter in a broader discussion” about the industry’s future here.

Mr. Ridge said he also opposed a one-year moratorium on new drilling statewide that’s been proposed by state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park. Mr. Ferlo proposed the moratorium to give officials time to ponder tighter regulations of the industry, but Mr. Ridge said the concerns can be addressed without a one-year delay in new permits.

Mr. Ridge and his two consulting firms accepted a $900,000, one-year contract to serve as advisers to the Cecil-based Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Earlier today, Mr. Shields unveiled his bill to ban natural gas extraction in the city, saying he won’t let the city return to its steel-era days as a center of pollution.

Mr. Shields said he knows the bill, if passed, would draw a legal challenge from the coalition of gas producers. But he said at a news conference he wants to assert the city’s sovereign authority to protect itself from a potentially harmful industry and preserve the environmental advances made since the smoky-city era.

“You want that back?” he said of the pollution.

Ben Price, who helped draft the bill as projects director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund in Franklin County, said the city’s right to protect residents from the hazards of drilling should trump any state claim of authority over drilling matters.

“Rights precede the state,” he said. “Rights precede government. Rights precede state statues and are superior to them.”

Mr. Shields plans to introduce the bill Sept. 7. He criticized Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for opposing a ban and wondered which neighborhood the mayor considers suitable for drilling.

In response to Mr. Shields’ bill, Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the coalition, issued a statement saying the industry has a lot to offer.

“At a time when Pittsburghers are feeling uncertain about the current state and future direction of our economy, policymakers and our elected officials should recognize that all economic opportunities should be considered in full,” she said. “The shale gas industry has brought to my hometown new jobs, an expansion of our tax base, and environmental stewardship and a safety culture that pervades our daily work.

“The effort announced today by Councilman Shields furthers none of these tremendous benefits to Pittsburgh residents and taxpayers.”

Joe Smydo: jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548.

View article here.

Copyright: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WNEP-TV
The natural gas industry is booming in many parts of our area and one company is trying to educate the public with a community picnic held Saturday near Montrose. Cabot Oil and Gas has more than 100 gas wells in Susquehanna County and at Montrose Area high school, the company and other contractors brought in equipment, had demonstrations and more to show the community exactly what they do and how they do it.

By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: August 13, 2010

There are no unleased acres left in Pennsylvania’s state forests where Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling sites, pipelines and access roads could be built without damaging environmentally sensitive areas, according to a new analysis by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Nearly 139,000 acres of state forest have been leased for gas drilling since 2008 and money from those lucrative leases – a total of $354 million – has been used to help balance the last two state budgets.

But DCNR Secretary John Quigley said the era of leasing large parcels of state forests for gas drilling is over.

“We may do some little stuff here and there,” he said, “but in terms of large-scale leasing, we’re done.”

The department’s findings, demonstrated in a series of overlain maps on DCNR’s website, show the forests in northcentral Pennsylvania above the gas-rich Marcellus Shale crowded by leased land, parcels where the state does not own the mineral rights and places where development must be restricted.

Of the 1.5 million acres of state forest underlain by the shale, 700,000 acres have already been leased or the mineral rights under them are controlled by an owner other than the state.

An additional 702,500 acres are in ecologically sensitive areas – places with protected species, forested buffers, old growth or steep slopes. Another 27,500 acres are designated as primitive and remote lands, 49,600 acres were identified through a forest conservation analysis as priority conservation lands, and the last 20,400 acres are so entwined with the other sensitive areas that they cannot be developed without damaging them.

The department began to study the limits of the state forest land that can safely be leased to gas drillers as it developed a series of Marcellus gas leases in 2008 and January and May 2010.

Gas drilling has taken place on state forest land for over six decades, and mineral extraction is one of the forest’s designated uses, along with sustainable timber harvesting, recreation and conservation. But, Mr. Quigley said, “There are limits to how much you can develop the resource and maintain balance. And I think we’re there.”

There are currently about 10 producing Marcellus Shale gas wells in the state forest. The department expects there will be about 6,000 wells on 1,000 separate drilling pads when the resource is fully developed in 15 or 20 years.

The secretary said the prime consideration for any future leasing, “if we do any at all,” will be that drilling or associated activities not disturb the forest’s surface – a possibility with horizontal drilling technology that enables drillers to access the mile-deep shale from adjacent properties.

The impact of the DCNR’s findings is unclear.

Gov. Ed Rendell said earlier this year that no additional forest land will be offered for lease during his tenure, which ends in January, but the department’s findings have no legal bearing on the next administration’s ability to change its forest policy.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House passed a three-year moratorium on new leasing of state forest land for gas drilling in May, but the measure has not been taken up by the Republican-led Senate.

Patrick Henderson, a spokesman for Sen. Mary Jo White, R-21, Franklin, chairwoman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said he does not sense “at all” an upswell of support among the members of the Senate to pass it.

Mr. Henderson said the department’s findings “carry some weight,” but he said the claim that there is no forest land left for surface gas development is subjective.

“I think different people can conclude if there may be some tracts of land out of 1.5 million that lie within the fairway to lease,” he said.

A $120 million lease deal DCNR reached with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in May that is expected to have minimal impact on the state forest’s surface could not have been possible if the House’s moratorium bill had been law, he said.

“There’s something to be said for having a fresh set of eyes under the new administration take a look at it and draw their own conclusions.”

Mr. Quigley was optimistic that if future decisions about forest leasing are left to DCNR, his department’s findings will stand.

“The science tells us that we’ve reached the limit,” he said. “The question becomes whether we will face another occasion when economics looms larger.”

ONLINE http://bit.ly/DCNRmaps

Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com

View article here.

Copyright:  The Scranton Times

Clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas production continues to strengthen region’s economy, local workforce

The responsible and environmentally sound development of clean-burning natural gas from the Marcellus Shale continues to have a potent impact on our region’s economy and its workforce. This production is creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, a robust and growing supply chain network, tremendous amounts of economic opportunity, while at the same time helping to deliver affordable supplies of homegrown energy to consumersthroughout the Rust Belt.

“The potential is limitless,” says Gov. Ed Rendell, who underscores the fact that the “economic benefit of drilling in the Northern Alleghenies is welcome news in the midst of a sluggish economy and weak job market.”

Marcellus development is helping to buck otherwise bleak regional economic and job growth trends. This development has been – and continues to be – a boon for energy consumers, the environment, local businesses, and even for Pennsylvania’s state parks. In short, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas is providing benefits to each and every one of the 12 million folks that call Pennsylvania home, in one way or another.

Call it a “Commitment to the Community.” Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president Kathryn Klaber writes this under that headline in the Lock Haven Express yesterday, highlighting the steps shale gas producers are taking each day:

We are committed to working tirelessly each day to be good stewards of our land and waterways. We are also taking steps to ensure our operations minimize disruptions and risks in and near energy-producing communities. After all, our families live in these areas too.

While modern shale gas production involves intricate engineering technologies and techniques, our industry’s top priority is far less complex: Safely developing these clean-burning, job-creating resources in a way that benefits all Pennsylvanians – and protects the environment.

And while Marcellus development is still in the early stages, many of these benefits are already being realized. According to a recent study released by researchers at Penn State, our industry will help create nearly 212,000 jobs across the Commonwealth over the next decade. Last year alone, Marcellus development was responsible for the creation of 44,000 jobs.

And like our industry’s commitment to responsible development, we take very seriously our efforts to create job opportunities for locally trained and hired workers. As Marcellus production continues to expand, these opportunities will, too. Under the headline “Making good on a promise; Halliburton plant creates jobs,” the Williamsport Sun-Gazettehighlights this promise in a story this week:

When ground was broken last August on a cement mixing plant owned by Halliburton off Route 405 in Clinton Township, company officials promised they would bring jobs to this area. The company is making good on that promise, said Perry A. Harris, senior district manager for Halliburton’s northeast U.S. operations. “By year’s end we’ll have 75 to 100 (employees) and (add) another 100 to 150 next year,” Harris said during a recent tour of the plant.

Harris said the company plans to develop another 55 acres nearby that will be home to other Halliburton gas field support operations. “Between the two sites, we’ll (be hiring) 400-plus people over the next two to three years,” Harris said.

And local training programs continue to offer and plan for coursework needed to equip the area’s workforce to join our fight for a cleaner and more secure energy future:

• Educators Tailor Courses For Marcellus Drilling Job Demand. “Local educators are creating additional courses commonly required in the Marcellus Shale drilling industry as the number of rigs is expanding across the Northern Alleghenies. Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology secondary education director Todd Taylor told WJAC-TV that there’s been a recent spike in adult students completing commercial driving license classes to drive vehicles used to haul equipment and liquid in and out of drilling sites. CPI officials plan to add an emerging energy course and expect to see of local job-seekers landing drilling rig jobs. (WJAC-TV, 8/9/10)
• Johnson hopes to build gas drilling workforce. “As development of natural gas from the state’s Marcellus Shale continues, the demand has now increased for skilled welders. Johnson hopes to meet that demand through an initiative by the Center for Sustainability at Johnson College, which is dedicated to offering industry-driven curriculum related to clean, green, and sustainable energy concepts. (Times-Leader, 8/10/10)
• Roustabout training offered. “Information on free training for workers seeking jobs as roustabouts in the natural gas drilling and production industry will be available from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4 to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 in Founder’s Hall, Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. (Pittsburg Tribune-Review, 8/5/10)
• SCCC may train gas-drilling work force. “Now count Sullivan County Community Collegeamong the institutions planning for a future that could include natural-gas drilling. Workforce Development Dean Stephen Mitchell is researching the kinds of jobs gas drilling would make available and what skills those jobs would require. The research could underpin a new job-training curriculum at the college. (Times Herald-Record, 8/3/10)

Copyright Marcellus Shale Coalition’s (MSC)