Marcellus Shale Explained
By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director
The Marcellus Shale rock formation hasn’t had much of an impact in McKean County yet, but experts expect that to change.
During a statewide television call-in show – Pennsylvania's Gas Rush – a panel answered questions about gas and oil drilling in general, and Marcellus Shale in particular.
Marcellus Shale is a layer of black shale 6,500 to 7,000 feet underground. It covers about 34 million acres in parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.
With new drilling techniques, it may be possible to produce 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation. That's about how much natural gas the United States uses in two years.
The Allegheny National Forest is rich in Marcellus Shale. But Ron Giiius of the Department of Environmental Protection said at this point there's no interest in drilling for Marcellus Shale in the forest, but there's no telling what the future holds.
"Right now," Gilius said, "primary interest is in Lycoming, Susquehanna, Wayne and Tioga (counties) and the upper northeast corner.
As for private landowners, attorney Lester Greevy Jr. of Williamsport said attention to details is important when negotiating a contract with a gas drilling company.
He said landowners will be given a standard lease that favors the industry. The way to change that, he said, is by putting addendum in the contract.
Among the addendum could be the company's right to put pipelines on your property or using your property for storage.
He also talked about an option to extend, explaining that a lease typically lasts for five years with an option on the part of the gas company to extend for another five years.
"If you look at what prices were five years ago," Greevy said, "and what prices are now, and you imagine what price may be five years from now – you certainly would not want that option."
Another part of the contract should include how you can use your land.
"It should be tailored for your use of the land," Greevy said.
He said it's important that landowners use an attorney who is well-versed in oil and gas rights.
Another important aspect of land ownership is knowing how much land you actually own.
"When you're getting paid 2,500 bucks an acre," Greevy said, "you might wanna go out and make sure all your acres are counted."
The phone lines were full during the entire hour-long program, which did not surprise Gilius. He said DEP currently spends most of its time answering telephone calls about Marcellus Shale.
Penn State Cooperative Extension is holding a series of informational meetings on Marcellus across the state, but none have been scheduled yet in this region.
WESB/WBRR News Director
The Marcellus Shale rock formation hasn’t had much of an impact in McKean County yet, but experts expect that to change.
During a statewide television call-in show – Pennsylvania's Gas Rush – a panel answered questions about gas and oil drilling in general, and Marcellus Shale in particular.
Marcellus Shale is a layer of black shale 6,500 to 7,000 feet underground. It covers about 34 million acres in parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.
With new drilling techniques, it may be possible to produce 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation. That's about how much natural gas the United States uses in two years.
The Allegheny National Forest is rich in Marcellus Shale. But Ron Giiius of the Department of Environmental Protection said at this point there's no interest in drilling for Marcellus Shale in the forest, but there's no telling what the future holds.
"Right now," Gilius said, "primary interest is in Lycoming, Susquehanna, Wayne and Tioga (counties) and the upper northeast corner.
As for private landowners, attorney Lester Greevy Jr. of Williamsport said attention to details is important when negotiating a contract with a gas drilling company.
He said landowners will be given a standard lease that favors the industry. The way to change that, he said, is by putting addendum in the contract.
Among the addendum could be the company's right to put pipelines on your property or using your property for storage.
He also talked about an option to extend, explaining that a lease typically lasts for five years with an option on the part of the gas company to extend for another five years.
"If you look at what prices were five years ago," Greevy said, "and what prices are now, and you imagine what price may be five years from now – you certainly would not want that option."
Another part of the contract should include how you can use your land.
"It should be tailored for your use of the land," Greevy said.
He said it's important that landowners use an attorney who is well-versed in oil and gas rights.
Another important aspect of land ownership is knowing how much land you actually own.
"When you're getting paid 2,500 bucks an acre," Greevy said, "you might wanna go out and make sure all your acres are counted."
The phone lines were full during the entire hour-long program, which did not surprise Gilius. He said DEP currently spends most of its time answering telephone calls about Marcellus Shale.
Penn State Cooperative Extension is holding a series of informational meetings on Marcellus across the state, but none have been scheduled yet in this region.
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