A bill is set to be introduced by Pennsylvania Sen. Gene Yaw. (R-Lycoming) that would update the state’s oil and gas conservation law to match current drilling practices.
The bill will also speed up permit reviews for wells in Utica, Yaw said. The chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Yaw said the measure would ensure wells are treated the same across the state.
“The techniques used to develop Marcellus and Utica shale are the same and it makes no sense for our laws to treat them differently,” Yaw said. “Modernizing this statute will reduce waste, protect resources and ensure Pennsylvania can continue to responsibly develop natural gas, a critical asset that supports jobs, generates revenue and strengthens our energy sector.”
Yaw’s office said the legislation would update laws passed in 1961 before modernized drilling. By bringing the law up to date, he said, the bill would reduce delays in permit reviews, improve well placement and limit unnecessary surface impacts. Curren rules do not reflect how wells are drilled today, he said, and applying old standards to new wells can lead to natural gas being left in the ground. That would undermine the original legislation’s intent to prevent waste.
Because many Utica wells are on land managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resource, the outdated rules can mean billions in lost revenue for the state that would otherwise support conservation work.
Because Utica wells tap into Utica shale – rock formation that lies beneath the Marcellus Shale – well operators are able to use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques which allow them to access large reserves of natural gas that would otherwise be unreachable.