WELLSBORO Three natural gas companies, East Resources Inc, Chesapeake Energy and Fortuna Energy, are anticipating having permits on more than 100 wells in Tioga County by the end of 2009.
This is what representatives from three of the companies told a group of about 100 people gathered at the Wellsboro High School Auditorium for an informational meeting Thursday night by the Marcellus Shale Committee, a joint committee of state gas associations and 35 local and national natural gas developers.
East Resources will have permits on about 60 wells; Fortuna, 49; and Chesapeake Energy, 14 to 16.
Scott Blauvelt, regulatory compliance coordinator with East Resources, said his company is focusing on two major areas within the Marcellus Shale, a deep geologic formation stretching more than 95,000 square miles through parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. The first is in Greene and Washington counties in the southwestern corner of the state and between Williamsport and Elmira, N.Y. in primarily Tioga, Bradford and Susquehanna counties.
Blauvelt said based on exploratory tests, thicker accumulation of organic content is greatest in these areas.
According to the committee, the high-volume reservoir of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is estimated to hold more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that is worth more than one trillion dollars.
Asked by one resident how long wells will be on each property, from excavation to reclamation, Brian L. Grove, director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy, said while it will change over time, 18 to 24 months is a conservative estimate. He said Chesapeake has no immediate plans to drill within Tioga County, with most of its work concentrated in Bradford County.
Statewide, last year in August and September, natural gas producers were operating between 1,700 and 1,800 rigs, according to Louis D'Amico, executive director with the Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania, who gave a presentation at the meeting on Marcellus Shale, in particular, and natural gas, in general. That number now is under 600 rigs, he said, with the number expected to decrease under 500 by the end of June, citing a decrease in prices.
Grove said Chesapeake was looking at developing recycling for fracing fluids.
The state Department of Environmental Protection cited a natural gas company earlier this year for allowing natural gas to enter fresh groundwater in the Carter Road area of Dimock Township in Susquehanna Township, where an explosion was reported in an outside water well pit. D'Amico noted though that investigation into where the natural gas originated was still under investigation.
"No one knows for sure where the gas came from, it's not from the Marcellus Shale, though," he said.
Also of concern is contamination of drinking water from the fracing fluids, used to crack open the underground formation to allow oil or gas to flow more freely and increase production.
