PENNSYLVANIA

Oil & Gas Data

13,220 Unconventional Wells

100,688 Conventional Wells

17,968 Violations at Unconventional Well Sites

(As of November 2021)

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About this map

This map contains data related to unconventional oil and gas drilling in Pennsylvania, as well as several data layers intended to enhance the viewer’s spatial reference.

In Pennsylvania, unconventional wells include wells drilled into both the well-known Marcellus Shale, the emerging Utica Shale and a number of less well known formations. Oil and gas wells are marked as unconventional by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) if the following conditions apply:

An unconventional gas well is a well that is drilled into an Unconventional formation, which is defined as a geologic shale formation below the base of the Elk Sandstone or its geologic equivalent where natural gas generally cannot be produced except by horizontal or vertical well bores stimulated by hydraulic fracturing.

Due to the large file sizes, this map also contains generalized layers for five oil and gas related datasets: pits, compressor stations, violations, drilled wells, and permits. They show the location of their respective content when the map is zoomed out past 1:500,000, but do not include specific well or facility data. To access these data, zoom in to 1:500,000 (about the size of a county) or beyond, at which point the generalized layers will disappear, and the data for the specific facility or event will become available in popup boxes by clicking on the map icons.

Map contents

Name: Disposal Wells

Source: Pennsylvania DEP and US EPA

Date: 2-2021

Notes: This layer contains information on Underground Injection Control Class II Salt Water Disposal (SWD) Injection wells. These wells are designed to dispose of oil and gas liquid waste beneath the surface, but are associated with numerous problems, including earthquakes and introducing toxic, radioactive waste beneath people’s homes where it can sometimes communicate with aquifers and even surface water, polluting the environment. In the past, Pennsylvania’s geology was considered unsuitable for this type of well, but due to the increasing amount of liquid waste produced by unconventional wells in the state, they are increasingly being permitted anyway. The EPA data included here comes from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by FracTracker Alliance. There were numerous inconsistencies between the DEP and EPA datasets in this small inventory.

Name: Unconventional Violations

Source: PADEP

Date Range: 1-1-2005 through 11-1-2021

Notes: For the original data, follow link above to “Oil and Gas Compliance Report”. The original data does not include latitude and longitude coordinates. We obtained those with a two step process of matching API numbers with the Unconventional Wells and Proposed Locations (below), netting 12,691 matches. Violations assessed to the well pad itself (instead of an individual well) were matched using the Site ID number, yielding another 5,317 matches. Altogether, there have been 17,938 violations assessed to unconventional well sites since 2005, or about 1.36 violations per well drilled. Due to the large number of records, this layer isn’t visible until users zoom in to 1:500,000, or about the size of a small county.

Name: Unconventional Wells and Proposed Locations

Source: PADEP GIS Portal

Date Range: 1-1-2000 through 11-1-2021
Notes: This data layer contains unconventional well data in Pennsylvania. However, not all of these wells have been drilled. This layer is categorized by well status, which includes Abandoned, Active, Operator Reported Not Drilled, Plugged OG Well, Proposed but Never Materialized, and Regulatory Inactive Status. To determine whether the well has been permitted, drilled, or plugged, look for the presence of an entry in the Permit Date, Spud Date, and Plug Date field, respectively. Altogether, there are 22,862 wells in this inventory, of which 12,285 currently have an active status. Note that an active status does not mean that the well has been drilled. Altogether, 13,220 wells have spud dates, and 1,167 (8.8%) have plug dates. The plug dates do not exactly match the plugged well status, which only includes 1,096 wells. Pennsylvania started replacing blank dates in the permit, spud, and plug fields with the date January 1, 1970; FracTracker removed those dummy dates to help minimizing confusion. Due to the large number of records, this layer isn’t visible until users zoom in to 1:500,000, or about the size of a small county.

Name: Digitized Pipeline Routes

Source: FracTracker Alliance, digitized from various sources

Date: 8-2020

Notes: This data layer includes pipeline routes that were digitized by FracTracker Alliance from a variety of sources. The locational accuracy of these routes are believed to be reasonably accurate, and in some cases very accurate. This is not a full inventory of pipelines in the state, but a reflection of recent projects. Statuses as August 2020 are included.

Name: SkyTruth Pits (2013)
Source: SkyTruth
Date Range: 2013
Notes: Prior to December 2014, this map contained a layer of pits that were contained in Oil and Gas Locations file available on PASDA. However, that layer was far from complete – for example, it included only one pit in Washington County at a time which news reports mentioned that seven pits in the county were scheduled to be closed. Therefore, we have opted to include this crowdsourced layer developed by SkyTruth, where volunteers analyzed state aerial imagery data from 2013. SkyTruth’s methodology for developing the dataset is detailed in the link above. 529 pits have been identified through this effort.

Name: Compressor Stations Emissions (2019)
Source: Pennsylvania DEP Air Emissions Report
Date: 2019
Notes: This compressor layer includes data from the Pennsylvania DEP Air Emissions Report. It has been modified from the original to summarize total emissions of each pollutant type in tons for the year 2019.

Name: Environmental Justice Areas

Source: PADEP, via PASDA

Date: 2015

Notes: Environmental Justice (EJ) areas are Census Tracts where over 20 percent of the population is in poverty, or over 30 percent of the population is non-white. The program is designed to monitor whether there is a fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. In Pennsylvania, EJ areas tend to be clustered in urbanized areas, particularly near Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Name: Counties

Source: US Census Bureau, FracTracker Alliance

Date Range: 2011
Notes: This file was created by dissolving the Municipalities layer (below) to the county level. This method allows for greater detail than selecting the Pennsylvania counties from a national file.

Name: Municipalities

Source: US Census Bureau
Date Published: 2011
Notes: Viewer must be zoomed into scales of 1:1,500,000 (several counties) or larger to access.

Name: Watersheds – Large

Source: USDA/USGS
Date Published: 2008
Notes: Clipped to outline of Pennsylvania.

Name: Watersheds – Small

Source: USDA/USGS
Date Published: 2008
Notes: Clipped to outline of Pennsylvania. Viewer must be zoomed into scales of 1:1,500,000 (several counties) or larger to access.

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PA Oil & Gas Activity Over Time

GIF of unconventional wells drilled between May 2002 and March 2017

PA unconventional oil and gas wells drilled over time 2002-17

YOU ARE HERE MAP

MAPPING LOCAL FRACKING INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES OF RESISTANCE

The You Are Here Map visualizes local fracking infrastructure connections in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The map is intended to connect people to local grassroots groups fighting gas infrastructure, and to be used as an educational tool for elected officials and community groups. Click below to explore, learn and share. Made in collaboration with Sane Energy.

DOWNLOAD DATA

COMPRESSOR STATIONS

Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia compressor stations, April 2021

MAPS & ARTICLES

PA is Discharging Radioactive Fracking Waste- Investigation by Public Herald – August 2019
Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Waste: report & map – Earthworks Last Updated: September 2019
Who Pays? Health & Economic Impacts of Fracking in PA– May 2019
Report: Delaware River Basin Risks – March 2018
Conventional & Historical Wells in PA – Updated: June 2017
PA O&G Complaint Map & Investigation with Public Herald– January 2017

Population density along Mariner East 2 route – November 2016
You Are Here Map w/Sane Energy – October 2016
PA Population Near Active Freight Lines– March 2015
Proposed Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest– November 2014
Unconventional Production & Waste – Jul-Dec 2013 – March 2014
Unconventional Drilling & Bird Habitat in PA– January 2014
PADEP Determination Letters for Groundwater Complaints – July 2013
Proposed Development in Loyalsock SF’s Clarence Moore Tracts– May 2013
Trout Unlimited water quality testing areas in PA– February 2013
Production Jul 2010 through Dec 2012 – December 2012

PENNSYLVANIA Oil & Gas Imagery

FracTracker’s oil & gas imagery collection contains aerial and eye-level photography and video, free for you to use according to our copyright.

Explore FracTracker Imagery

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