Pennsylvania Gas Activity Climbs Along With Marcellus Production

Gas production from the Pennsylvania portions of the Marcellus field reached a record high in October, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported November 2, dragging the state’s permitting, drilling and infrastructure activities right along.

Pennsylvania gas production reached a new high of 15bn ft³/day in October, a 25% increase from a year ago and 80% higher than in January 2013. The state now accounts for 19% of total US natural gas production, the EIA said in its Natural Gas Weekly Update, noting total Marcellus production averaged about 20 bn ft³/day in October, double what it was in January 2013.

With higher production and additional pipeline capacity to move Marcellus gas to markets, activity surrounding gas drilling is also climbing in Pennsylvania. In all of 2016, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection issued 1,371 natural gas drilling permits, but the department has already surpassed that number, issuing 1,447 permits through the end of October. Last year, the state’s daily rig count averaged 20 rigs, according to Baker Hughes; this year, the daily count is averaging 33 rigs.

Elsewhere in the Update, the EIA reported total marketed US gas production in the week ended November 1 increased to 84.2bn ft³/day from 83.2bn ft³/day the previous week. US consumption jumped to 64.5bn ft³/day for the week, up from 56.4bn ft³/day the previous week, as residential heating demand soared to 21.5bn ft³/day from 12.4bn ft³/day in the face of colder temperatures.

Dale Lunan