PUC: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fees To Drop By 25% For Fees Due On 2023 Wells; Total Revenue To Drop By Nearly $105 Million

The Public Utility Commission published notice in the January 27 PA Bulletin the Calendar Year 2023 Act 13 per well drilling impact fees will drop by 25% for unconventional shale gas wells.

On December 13, the Independent Fiscal Office estimated 2023 Act 13 shale gas drilling fee revenues will drop by $104.8 million to $174 million from last year's record $278.9 million due primarily from the reduction in the price of natural gas.  Read more here.

The formula for the Act 13 fee is established in law and is based in part on the price of natural gas and the consumer price index.

The price of natural gas decreased from $6.644 in calendar year 2022 to $2,737, according to the PUC notice.

The consumer price index went down from 6.4 percent in 2022 to 3.9%, also according to the notice.

The number of new unconventional wells drilled also dropped from 576 in 2022 to 423 in 2023.

As a result of these changes, the calendar year 2023 Act 13 fees will be--

Year of Well     Horizontal  Vertical—Producing

Year 1         $51,800              $10,400

Year 2         $40,200              $8,000

Year 3         $34,500              $6,900

Year 4—10 $17,200   $3,400

Year 11—15 $5,600 N/A

The calendar year 2022 fees were--

Year of Well Horizontal    Vertical—Producing

Year 1               $69,100             $13,800

Year 2               $63,200             $12,600

Year 3               $57,500             $11,500

Year 4—10       $23,000             $4,600

Year 11—15     $11,600                N/A

Visit the PUC's Act 13 Impact Fee for more information.

PA Weekly Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 20 to 26 - 15 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Plugging Abandoned Shale Gas Wells; Revolution Pipeline Land Slip; Brief Compressor Fire; Crypto Mining?  What's That Pink Stuff?  [PaEN]

-- 5 Months Later, Roulette Oil & Gas Still Has Not Resolved Violations For Abandoning A Shale Gas Well Without Plugging It In Potter County  [PaEN]

-- XTO Energy Begins Plugging First Of 4 Abandoned Shale Gas Wells At Butler County Well Pad [PaEN]

-- 66 Months Later, DEP Worked With Conventional Well Owner, But Multiple Spills At A Well  Site Have Still Not Been Cleaned Up; No Protections In Place For Operators Or Taxpayers  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - January 27  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 84 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 27 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

2023 Oil & Gas Compliance Reports:

-- DEP Issued At Least 512 Violations To 95 Conventional Oil & Gas Operators For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them In 2023; 10 Shale Gas Operators Were Issued NOVs For Abandoning Wells  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Record 6,860 Notices Of Violation To Conventional Oil & Gas Operators In 2023-- Nearly 52% More Than In 2021; ‘Culture Of Non-Compliance’ Continues  [PaEN]

-- 2023 Shale Gas Operator Compliance Report: 1,310 Violations; Explosions; Pad Fire, Evacuation; Uncontrolled Gas Venting; Frack-Outs; Polluting Water Supply; Spills; Pipeline Crashing Thru A Home; More  [PaEN]

-- PA Environment Digest: Articles On Oil & Gas Facility Impacts

Related Articles This Week:

-- Senators Santarsiero, Comitta Introduce SB 581 Increasing Setback Safety Zones From Natural Gas Drilling Sites, Other Infrastructure, Based On Latest Science  [PaEN]

-- DEP To Require Unconventional Shale Gas Operators To Disclose Chemicals Used In Drilling, Fracking Operations Earlier In Well Drilling Process Thru PPC Emergency Plan Changes  [PaEN]

-- DEP Extends Deadline Of First Methane Pollution Report From Oil & Gas Facilities To June 1, 2024  [PaEN] 

-- Marcellus Drilling News: DEP Approves Catalyst Energy Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County  [Jan. 26 Inspection Found Gas Bubbling From Well]  [PaEN]

-- PUC: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fees To Drop By 25% For Fees Due On 2023 Wells; Total Revenue To Drop By Nearly $105 Million  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Lackawanna Energy Center Power Plant Motion To Dismiss Boro Of Jessup’s Appeal Of DEP Air Permit  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Liberty Twp., Citizens Group Appeal Of DEP Tri-County Landfill Permit Over Threats Posed By Birds, Radioactive Oil & Gas Waste In Mercer County  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- The Energy Age Blog: The Story Of Bryan & Ryan Latkanich In Washington County

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Tells Frackers To Disclose Chemicals, But It’s Not  Clear Exactly What Changes The Public Will See

-- The Energy Age Blog: Reality - ‘Proprietary’ Fracking Chemicals Remain Secrets, But What About The Bigger Picture?  

-- White House Announces Temporary Pause On Pending Approvals Of LNG Natural Gas Exports

-- DelcoTimes.com: Chester Mayor Says LNG Natural Gas Export Plant ‘Dead In The Water’  

-- AP: Liquefied Natural Gas: What To Know About LNG And Biden’s Decision To Delay Gas Export Proposals  [No Impact On LNG Now Going To Europe, Asia, DOE Can Allow Exemptions On Natural Security Grounds]

-- PA Marcellus Shale Coalition And Natural Gas Industry Partners Urge Biden Administration To Maximize US LNG Economic, Environmental And Security Benefits

-- Reuters: Texas Freeport LNG Natural Gas Export Unit Faces Month-Long Outage After Winter Storm

-- TribLive: 3 More Range Resources Shale Gas Well Pads Approved By Fawn Township, Allegheny County

-- TribLive Letter: Public Water Resources Should Not Used By Shale Gas Companies In Westmoreland County During Declared Drought - By Tom Pike, Protect PT

-- WKBN27: Environmental Advocate Appeal Of Tri-County Landfill Permit Denied By EHB, Citizens Concerned About Disposal Of Radioactive Oil & Gas Waste

-- Marcellus Shale Coalition: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fees Breathe Life Into County & Municipal Projects [Fee Revenue To Drop By Nearly $105 Million In 2024 ]

-- Bloomberg: Diversified Energy Faces Short-Seller Attack From ESG-Focused Snowcap; Faults Environmental, Asset-Retirement Practices  [Largest Conventional Oil & Gas Operator In PA]

[Posted: January 26, 2023]  PA Environment Digest