The Marcellus Shale | March 2022
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 the Onondaga and the Huntersville.
State Drilling Statistics
Active Drilling Rigs in Basin- 37 (
+1)
Total Rigs in Pennsylvania- 23 (
-3)
Total Rigs in United States- 698 (+ 48)
Total U.S. Rigs 16% YTD
State Permitting Data
Permits Approved – 85
Marcellus Top Producers
Top Producer By BOE – Chesapeake
Basin Highlights
Some experts want Pennsylvania lawmakers to rethink temporary gas tax cuts
Cutting state taxes on gas is a popular move around the country as state level governments try to find ways to help bring the price of gas down for their constituents. In Pennsylvania, lawmakers are deciding on whether to drop the state gas tax from 58 cents to 39 cents. This would result in less revenue for the state, however, it is proposed that those losses are replaced with the $1.15 billion available in federal pandemic relief funds and bonds. This is money that would eventually have to be paid back but would help in reducing the rising gas prices in the near future. Critics of the plan cite the net loss in money meant less for road and bridge repairs and even for state police.
Is Pennsylvania the answer to the world’s current energy crisis?
Biden’s ban on Russian oil imports leaves room for someone else to step in and while some think the answer lies with Saudi or Venezuela, Pennsylvania says “why not us?” Of all the gas producing states in the U.S., Pennsylvania is the second largest. Supporters of the plan to ramp up production within the state to meet demand cite that reliance on countries with values other than America’s is a poor idea. Critics, on the other hand, say that Pennsylvania is unable to meet demand that was met by Russia. The state peak production was about 7 million barrels per year, a number far less than the 245 million barrels supplied by Russia.
Ohio’s fracking industry – boon as promised or something less?
A report written in 2012 by Cleveland State University proposed an optimistic future for Ohio’s oil and gas industry over the following two years. The report predicted the addition of 66,000 jobs and $5 billion a year to the state’s economy. Now that the numbers are in, how did the state do? One estimate attributes 200,000 jobs and $90.6 billion to the industry, whether that be directly and indirectly related. Some say that the jobs created by oil and gas projects are short lived due to the high amount of workers needed upfront compared to the far fewer needed to keep the operations running on the long run. Either way it seems the industry has far exceeded 2012 predictions both in terms of jobs created and revenue generated.
Operators with Most Permits in PA
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Range Resources | 18 |
| 2 | Chesapeake | 11 |
| 3 | Seneca Resources | 8 |
| 4 | Repsol | 7 |
| 5 | BKV | 5 |
Top Producers By Gas
| Change | Rank | Company | Gas Production (MCF) (2/22) |
| – | 1 | Chesapeake | 92.9 |
| – | 2 | Coterra Energy | 74.3 |
| – | 3 | Range Resources | 56.4 |
| – | 4 | EQT | 54.9 |
| – | 5 | Rice Drilling | 44.4 |
Rig Count
PA Oil Production
PA Natural Gas Production
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