Entries by Matt Kelso, BA

Historical Production and Waste Data Added to DEP Site

Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Oil and Gas Management has added historical oil and gas production and waste data for non Marcellus Shale wells. This data is now available as far back as 2000. I’ve made a couple of charts to illustrate production values for these wells over time. Gas production […]

Five Month Oil and Gas Inspection Data

Between January and May 2011, the Pennsylvania DEP conducted 977 inspections on oil and gas operations, issuing 1,751 violations to drilling and pipeline operators, and 311 enforcement actions. These totals are for all oil and gas operations, including the Marcellus Shale. Most inspections by operator, January – May 2011 Two of these entries are similar:  […]

EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study to Include Sites in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale

As a part of its study on potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected seven sites to study in two distinct categories, three of which are in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. The EPA will conduct five retrospective case studies nationwide, two of which are from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, including one […]

Well Permit Workload Reports

I am often asked how many Marcellus Shale wells or permits there are in Pennsylvania at the moment. The answers to these queries are growing all the time, and while I try to keep these datasets current on our DataTool to allow for mapping, the quickest way to find these answers is to look on […]

Movement of Pennsylvania’s non Marcellus Waste 2010

One of the biggest concerns about the Marcellus Shale industry in Pennsylvania is how to deal with all of the waste products that are created in the drilling, stimulation, and production of the wells. There are also more than 40,000 oil and gas wells from other formations in the Commonwealth that reported waste production to […]

What if Pennsylvania Had the Same Severance Tax as Texas?

The prolific oil and gas producing state of Texas imposes a 7.5 percent severance tax on natural gas produced within the state, and 4.6 percent levies on both oil and condensate. In a recent post, I mentioned that if Pennsylvania had the same severance tax as Texas, the Commonwealth would have raised about $72.5 million […]

PA Non Marcellus Oil and Gas Well Data Available for 2010

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has recently released 2010 production and waste data for non Marcellus Shale wells. The following datasets have been added to FracTracker’s DataTool (links removed – no longer active): PA Non Marcellus Production by Well, 2010 PA Non Marcellus Brine Production by Well, 2010 PA Non Marcellus Drill Cuttings […]

Problems with Abandoned and Orphaned Wells

Left: Cabin Run orphaned oil well, Morgan County, Ohio. Many of the older oil and gas wells were either perfunctorily plugged, or else not at all. Right: The Pennsylvania DEP thinks this Bradford Township explosion in McKean County, PA might have been due to a nearby abandoned gas well that was drilled in 1881. In […]

Marcellus Shale Violations per Inspection and Enforcements per Violation

Marcellus Shale violations issued by the Pennsylvania DEP from January through April, 2011. Violation information from April was recently posted on the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website, and two new violations datasets have been posted on our DataTool as well, including: PA MS Inspections, Violations, and Enforcements: 1-11 to 4-11, and PA MS Inspections, […]

Year to Date Drilling Activity in Pennsylvania

Year to date drilled wells in Pennsylvania. Click the map for a larger, dynamic view. I have updated the 2011 drilled wells information on FracTracker’s DataTool. There are several interesting trends to point out, including: Percentage of wells from the Marcellus Shale formation Drilling operator trends Non Marcellus horizontal well data Marcellus Shale and Other […]