Entries by Matt Kelso, BA

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 […]

2010 Fines for Marcellus Shale Violations

In yesterday’s Post-Gazette, Don Hopey discussed an analysis by PennFuture which saw a notable decline in fines in the first quarter of 2011, as compared to the same period last year. The implication is that the DEP is not backing up violations with fines under Governor Corbett’s administration to the same degree that it did […]

Issuance of PA Marcellus Shale Violations Over Time and by DEP Region

  Changes Over TimeEvery time I think about the number of violations issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, I am struck on the one hand by the sheer magnitude of them–last year, the DEP issued 2,704 violations(1), a number that everyone would like to see go […]

Bradford County Blowout Frustrates Officials

Towanda Creek, Bradford County, PA On April 19, a well being hydraulically fractured by Chesapeake Energy suffered a blowout, or a loss of control of the wellhead, releasing thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid onto the ground and into nearby Towanda Creek. Actions by officials at the county, state, and federal levels show some […]

PA Marcellus Shale Violations by Operator and County

Earlier this month, I examined 2010 oil and gas violation data for Pennsylvania on a summary level. Now I’m going to focus just on Marcellus Shale wells, and from the perspective of trying to determine the extent that drilling operators and location have on the likelihood of increased violations for any given well. There are […]

DEP Calls on Natural Gas Drillers to Stop Giving Treatment Facilities Wastewater

Reposted from the Department of Environmental Protection website: HARRISBURG — At the direction of Governor Tom Corbett, acting Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer today called on all Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling operators to cease by May 19 delivering wastewater from shale gas extraction to 15 facilities that currently accept it under special […]

How Long Between MS Permit Issuance and Drilling in PA?

2011 Marcellus Shale drilled wells (green circles) and permits issued (red stars). For a larger, dynamic view, please click the image. All Marcellus Shale permits issued (red circles) and drilled wells (green circles). Please zoom in for a closer look in the denser portions of the map. Sometimes it seems like the oil and gas […]

A Look at Horizontal Well Production in Virginia

Horizontal gas wells in Virginia in 2008 to 2009. Note that they are all clustered in the extreme western portion of the Commonwealth. According to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy’s (DMME) Division of Gas and Oil, there are 30 horizontal gas wells that produced gas between January 2008 and December 2009 (1). […]

Abandoned Well Suspected in McKean County Explosion

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) thinks this February 28, 2011 gas explosion might have been caused by one of three abandoned gas wells in the vicinity. Photo by Jay Braddish Luckily, Thomas Federspiel of Bradford Township in McKean County Pennsylvania was outside of his home when it suddenly exploded on February 28, 2011. […]