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Posts Tagged ‘Marcellus Shale’

Appalachia leads the nation in natural gas production! OCS continues to lag.

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Marcellus drill site, Lycoming County, PA

Per EIA data, the Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville regions accounted for 67% of the total marketed gas production in the US in 2025 and 81% of the growth last year.

In 2025, more natural gas was produced in the Appalachia region of the Northeast than in any other US region, accounting for 31% of marketed natural gas production. (See the chart below.) Were it not for pipeline capacity limitations, recent growth in Appalachia production would have been greater.

Appalachia production is primarily from the Marcellus and Utica shales in PA, WV, and Ohio.

OCS gas production, 80% of which is now associated gas from deepwater oil wells, continues to lag the shale basins. This is a big change from 25 years ago when the OCS produced more gas than any state but Texas. (See the chart below.) Interest in ultradeep (subsurface) OCS shelf gas prospects remains scant despite favorable demand forecasts and technological advances.

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Meanwhile, New York continues to block development of the State’s ample shale gas resources. foregoing the economic and environmental benefits.

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BOE energy quiz: What do Iraq and Massachusetts have in common?

Posted in energy policy, natural gas, tagged , , , , , , , on October 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Both are (or in the case of Iraq will soon be) LNG importers.

Excellerate Hull 3407, the company’s newest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), will be delivered to Iraq in 2026.

Why would a major oil and gas producer like Iraq be dependent on LNG imports?

  • Pipeline infrastructure limitations
  • High flaring rates: Iraq flared 625 bcf in 2023 which is almost equal to their total gas consumption (682 bcf). Iraq plans to eliminate routine flaring by 2028 (delayed from earlier targets).
  • Risks associated with gas imports from Iran.

And the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Why would a state in the world’s no.1 gas producing country and not far removed from the massive Marcellus Shale reserves be importing LNG?

  • Firstly, Massachusetts is a wonderful place in many ways: beaches, mountains, islands, history, arts and culture, universities, charming villages, commercial fishing, recreational and professional sports, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed living on Cape Cod and was blessed to meet my wife there.
  • Unfortunately, Massachusetts energy policies have been misguided in recent years, in part because of unrealistic expectations regarding renewable energy, most notably offshore wind. Except for California and Hawaii, MA has the nation’s highest residential electric prices (Aug. 2025 data), 74% above the US average.
  • Pipeline restrictions have limited the flow of gas from Pennsylvania (Marcellus) and elsewhere.
  • Massachusetts is the only state with significant LNG imports.
  • Per EIA data, Massachusetts imported 13.2 bcf of LNG in 2023, accounting for about 87% of total U.S. LNG imports that year.
  • Most imports are through the Everett Marine Terminal near Boston. Imports through the offshore Northeast Gateway LNG terminal have been limited in recent years. (See map below).
  • Imports are seasonal, peaking in winter months, with most supply originating from Trinidad.
  • Recently, Governor Healy has made more encouraging statements regarding natural gas policy. She says she never stopped gas pipelines from entering the state and calls natural gas an “essential energy source.”
  • Perhaps the net-zero flip-flop my Bill Gates and other tech leaders is contagious.

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Private land + technology powers US oil and gas production

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, natural gas, tagged , , , , , on January 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »

A friend owns land in the Texas Permian. His family gets a nice royalty check every month that has helped them get through some difficult times. Texas Permian production is almost entirely from private land, which is a big part of the success story. Payments to private land owners by responsible producers engender public support, access to resources, and growth in production. Add to that the continuous improvements in horizontal drilling, well stimulation and completion practices, and you have the success story that is the Texas Permian.

Similarly, private and state land plus technology launched the natural gas boom in my native state of Pennsylvania. When I was a student, we looked back at the Titusville/Colonel Drake glory days, and no one dreamed that the state would become a major natural gas exporter. Today, pipeline constraints, particularly in NJ and NY (which has managed to prevent access to the state’s substantial Marcellus and Utica shale resources) are preventing PA from further increasing gas sales.

The offshore lands on the US Outer Continental Shelf are a different story. Unfriendly, bordering on hostile, leasing policy (and not just during the current administration) has been partially overcome by advances in deepwater well and facility design that have lowered costs and increased productivity. However, OCS oil production is a fraction of what it could be.

OCS gas production has fallen dramatically since the turn of the century. Ultradeep (subsurface) gas production was not economically viable and production was fading even before onshore shale gas began to dominate US gas markets. Most of the current OCS gas production is associated with deepwater oil production.

The charts below tell the story.

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Shale gas production, mostly on private lands in TX, PA, and LA, made this possible

Posted in energy policy, gas, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , on August 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Elements Newsletter

Where would we, and the world, be today without the shale gas revolution? 12.5 years after posting about this amazing success story, I’m still waiting for the national celebration!

For a reminder about the environmental advantages of natural gas in general, and nonassociated offshore gas in particular, see this post.

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Lithium shortage? Petroleum engineers to the rescue!

Posted in climate, drilling, energy, tagged , , , , , on May 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Through her research of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale play, Lee found that highly concentrated lithium was found in the produced water (water produced as a byproduct during the extraction of oil and natural gas) along with produced natural gas and oil.

“We found lithium in the petroleum-based rock brines, which opens new pathways to address the shale plays as a substantial source of lithium, given that they are ubiquitous in the U.S.,” Lee said.

University of Houston

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Reminder about the massive natural gas resources in the eastern US

Posted in energy, natural gas, pipelines, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Linked is a good article by geologist Gregory Wrightstone about the stunning non-conventional natural gas resource potential of the Appalachian Basin of the eastern US. Unsurprisingly, development of these resources is constrained by pipeline capacity and the legal and administrative challenges associated with new pipeline construction. Also note that New York has blocked development of its natural gas resources. Fortunately, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio have shown better judgement.

According to Bill Zagorski, who was given the moniker of the “Father of the Marcellus,” the gas-in-place of the Marcellus dwarfs all conventional fields in the world. The size is so large that the ten largest conventional fields in the world combined do not equal the in-place reserves of the Marcellus. 

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Shale gas well blowout reported in Pennsylvania

Posted in accidents, natural gas, well control incidents, tagged , , , , on April 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Per the Citizens Voice, no injuries were reported

The Atgas 2H well operated by Chesapeake Energy in Leroy Township blew out at around 2 a.m., according to Bradford County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Skip Roupp.

The well was in the process of being hydraulically fractured and Roupp characterized the spilled fluid as “mostly water … with some contaminants” but he did not know the exact composition of the fluid.

“Evidently the crack is in the top part of the well below the blowout preventer,” he said, referring to a device used in emergency situations to choke off flow from a well. “They don’t really know what happened yet because they don’t have it controlled yet.”

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How NOT to manage an inspection program

Posted in energy, natural gas, tagged , , , , on April 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Shale gas is important to the economic future of states like Pennsylvania. However, there are legitimate public concerns about environmental issues including the potential for contaminating freshwater supplies. Significant impacts are preventable with prudent operating practices and effective regulatory programs. So what directive does the responsible State agency issue to its inspectors?

Field inspectors and regional directors for the state Department of Environmental Protection have been told they must obtain approval from DEP Secretary Michael Krancer before issuing permits or enforcing regulations pertaining to Marcellus Shale drilling.. PostGazette.com

How would you like to be an inspector for an organization like that?

Unless this decision is promptly reversed, expect the following:

  1. The public will assume that politicians are micromanaging critical field inspection programs, and confidence in the regulatory program will be eroded.
  2. Inspectors will be unable to respond quickly when violations are observed. Morale will suffer. Skilled personnel will leave or lose motivation.
  3. Regulatory efficiency will decrease while costs increase.
  4. The operating companies will deal directly with the Secretary’s office, leaving field personnel out of the loop.
  5. The industry’s image will suffer. Effective regulation identifies those who are willing to cut corners and protects the leading companies.

Former DEP Secretary John Hangar commented on the State decision on his blog.

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Cleaning up their act, but where was the leadership?

Posted in drilling, tagged , , , on January 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Associated Press story forwarded by Cheryl Anderson:

In the two years since the frenzy of activity began in the vast underground rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale, Pennsylvania has been the only state allowing waterways to serve as the primary disposal place for the huge amounts of wastewater produced by a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

State regulators, initially caught flat-footed, tightened the rules this year for any new water treatment plants but allowed any existing operations to continue discharging water into rivers.

Pennsylvania shale gas producers seem to be getting the message, but the industry is once again in a reactive mode. Where was the leadership during the critical first two years?  Why were new regulations needed to address the obvious?

Records verifying industry claims of a major dropoff in wastewater discharges to rivers will not be available until midwinter, but John Hanger, secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, said he believed that the amount of drilling wastewater being recycled is now about 70 percent — an achievement he credits to tighter state regulation pushing the industry to change its ways.

“The new rules, so far, appear to be working,” he said. “If our rules were not changed … we would have all of it being dumped in the environment, because it is the lowest cost option,” Hanger said.

That last sentence must be painful reading for industry’s true safety and environmental leaders. The Marcellus Coalition, and the rest of us, need to remember this message:

We’re all in this together. We’re all only as good as whoever had a mistake this morning.

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Shale Gas: What are the implications for US and Canadian offshore exploration? Alaskan gas? Is LNG dead?

Posted in natural gas, tagged , , , on October 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

All told, I think Pennsylvania is sitting on the largest gas reserve in the entire world. Scott Perry, director of the state’s Bureau of Oil and Gas Management at the 2010 Marcellus Summit

Rash statement? Hyperbole? Possibly, but shale gas is a game-changer for the northeastern US.  How effectively will the resource be exploited?  Will the true potential be realized?  Stay tuned.

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