DEP Releases Preliminary Marcellus Shale Production Data

The Department of Environmental Protection this week released preliminary production data for Marcellus Shale natural gas wells in the state.
Under Act 15 of 2010, Marcellus operators were required to report their well production totals from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 by Aug. 15.
According to DEP, 18 of the state’s 74 Marcellus Shale operators had yet to submit the required information as of September 7. The secretary has said the department will pursue whatever enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with the law.
“Gov. Rendell signed legislation in March that does away with provisions in the Oil and Gas Act that required production data to be kept confidential for five years, removing a much-criticized layer of secrecy and giving the public and government unprecedented access to this information,” said DEP Secretary John Hanger. “This action modernizes our data collection and reporting processes and gives the public and policymakers a clear picture of how much natural gas is being generated by the rapidly-growing Marcellus Shale industry.”
Secretary Hanger added that beginning November 1, the public will be able to search all oil and natural gas production data statewide, including historic production data, and will also be able to track how much drilling waste and wastewater is being generated at drilling sites.
Under Act 15, all other oil and gas production besides Marcellus wells must be reported annually. Updated reports will be made available every six months. A copy of the production data is available online.