Natural gas production up 60 percent in Pa.

Pennsylvania’s natural gas production jumped 60 percent in the past six months, according to a state Department of Environmental Protection report.

Meanwhile, the Marcellus Shale Coalition says the number of statewide wells has grown by more than 400 since December.

Counties at the head of the gas-producing pack include Bradford, Susquehanna, Tioga, Greene and Washington.

Kathryn Klaber, president of the coalition, said there’s no surprise there–that’s where the most wells are.

“The way this development is going to occur, is there will be concentrated development in the areas that already have infrastructure,” she said. That infrastructure includes “gathering lines, the roads that have been built, the field offices that have been set up and staffed.”

More than 1,600 active wells in the state produced more than 432 billion cubic feet of natural gas between January and July.

According to the federal Department of Energy, that’s more than half of what Pennsylvania consumes in natural gas over an entire year.