Pennsylvania shale production continued to grow in 2013
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A drill worker covered in Marcellus shale, and drill cuttings seals off a well and cleans the blowout preventer at a Cabot Oil & Gas natural gas drill site in Kingsley, Pa. Washington County has nearly 1,700 Marcellus shale gas wells. (Lindsay Lazarski/WHYY)
Six years into the shale boom, Pennsylvania is producing more natural gas than ever before, according to new data from the state. Last year, drillers in Pennsylvania produced more than 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Production numbers are reported by companies twice a year and aren’t audited by the state. But analysts say Pennsylvania is producing enough gas to supply about 10 percent of what the entire country consumes every year.
Most of that gas is coming from Northeast Pennsylvania where drillers including Cabot Oil and Gas said they’ve hit the “sweet spot.”
Cabot spokesman George Stark said companies are now focused on getting that gas to people in major markets.
“We have one pad site with 10 wells that produces enough natural gas on a daily basis to meet all of Philadelphia’s daily energy needs,” he said.
And as production continues to soar around the country, companies such as Cabot are shifting their gaze abroad, looking to export their gas overseas.
“There is enough there to secure residential needs, electric generation, transportation and having left over for exports,” Stark said.
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