House Agriculture Committee Hears Presentation On Marcellus Shale

The House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee heard a presentation on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling this week by representatives of Penn State Cooperative Extension.

 

"Farmland preservation is crucial as landowners consider their leasing options," said Rep. Mike Hanna (D-Centre) Majority Chair of the Committee. "In particular, people need to read the fine print of lease contracts. Most leases are for five-year terms, but some contracts have a 'right to extend' clause in the fine print. That language means a gas company has the right to tie up the land for longer than the initial contract but at the same price."

 

Thomas Murphy provided a basic overview of the resource and drilling methods, noting there is an estimated 363 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. The United States uses about 20 trillion cubic feet per year.
 

Murphy said the average footprint of a drilling site is less than five acres and multiple wells can be drilled on one lot, not including the infrastructure needed for drilling like pipelines, access roads and water.

 

Murphy said one of the biggest issues surrounding drilling is the need for water, which in the Susquehanna River Basin alone is estimated to be about 28 million gallons per day. To put that in perspective, power plants in the basin use 10 million gallons a day and the golf industry uses 51 million gallons per day, he said.

 

In addition to the need for water, there is a need to treat or dispose of water used in the drilling process.

 

Murphy said the economic opportunities surrounding Marcellus Shale drilling are potentially huge and Pennsylvania's educational system must be realigned to provide the necessary technical training.

Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) is Minority Chair of the Committee.