The Marcellus Shale| March 2021
Field Overview
The Marcellus Shale is the largest gas play onshore in the US. Located in the Northeast, it supplies the high demand markets along the East Coast. Most of the basin’s gas is produced through unconventional methods, while the little oil produced is mostly by conventional means. Some of the top formations include Onondaga and the Huntersville.
State Drilling Statistics (End of March)
Active Drilling Rigs in Basin- 30
Total Rigs in Pennsylvania- 18
Total Rigs in United States- 417
Total U.S. Rigs down 43% YTD
State Permitting Data (End of March)
Permits Approved (PA) – 75
Marcellus Top Producers
Top Producer By BOE – Chesapeake
Basin Highlights
LOLA Energy Acquires Butler County
LOLA will acquire approximately 22,000 net mineral acres of oil and gas leases in the natural gas liquids rich window of the Marcellus and Burkett shale plays in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Pa. Vows to Use 50% Solar for Government Energy Consumption by 2023
Seven solar farms to generate 191 megawatts of energy will be built in six Pennsylvania counties over the next two years to provide roughly half of Pennsylvania’s government power consumption. The solar arrays are expected to begin generating power by Jan. 1, 2023. A European energy company, Lighthouse bp, “will build, own and operate the solar arrays, creating hundreds of new construction jobs for Pennsylvanians and bringing long term economic benefits to local communities through increased tax revenues,” the governor’s office said in a statement. Lighthouse bp is a subsidiary of BP.
Occidental Receives Favorable Ruling in Antitrust Case
The attorney general’s office sued in 2015, accusing Anadarko and Chesapeak of eliminating competition and shortchanging landowners of signing bonuses and royalties by dividing counties in northern Pennsylvania where they planned to lease mineral rights. The lawsuit also accused Anadarko of obscuring how their royalties would be calculated. Anadarko’s defense was simple, they were not selling services and not subject to action under consumer protection laws. They were simply buying mineral rights from those who wished to sell them. Chesapeake was eventually dropped from the case when they entered bankruptcy. In late March, courts sided with Anadarko who is now owned by Occidental. Still, there are new efforts centered around defining what practices amount to unfair competition.
Operators with Most Permits in PA (March)
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Rice Drilling | 13 |
| 2 | Seneca Resources | 10 |
| 3 | EQT | 9 |
| 4 | CNX | 7 |
| 4 | Pennhills Resources | 7 |
Top Producers By BOE (2021 cum)
Rig Count
Marcellus Production
Marcellus Natural Gas
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