For the first time since drilling began in the Marcellus Shale formation, data on production at natural gas wells in Pennsylvania is now available. The information is on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's website (www.depweb.state.pa.us). DEP Secretary John Hanger says this is a result of legislation passed in March that did away with portions of the Oil and Gas Act.............."that required production data to be kept confidential for five years, removing a much-criticized layer of secrecy and giving the public and government unprecedented access to this information. This action modernizes our data collection and reporting processes and gives the public and policymakers a clear picture of how much natural has is being generated by the rapidly-growing Marcellus Shale industry."
However, 18 of the 7 4 gas operators in the Marcellus Shale failed to report to the state the information that was required of them by the August 15 deadline. Hanger says he will pursue legal action to get those companies in line.
Statewide information on oil and gas production will be available to the public on November First and will be updated every six months. Residents of Pennsylvania will then be able to track how much drilling waste and drilling wastewater is being generated at drilling sites.
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