Posts Tagged ‘state’

By MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ A top state environmental official says Pennsylvania is ill-equipped to handle the huge influx of interest in drilling for a potentially lucrative natural gas formation.

John Hanger, the acting secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, made the comments during a hearing in Harrisburg before the state House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Hanger told lawmakers that he needs dozens more employees to review drilling permit applications and inspect drilling sites over the Marcellus Shale gas formation.

He also said he is concerned the state will run out of capacity to treat the contaminated water left over from the drilling process, but that state laws are largely adequate for protecting the environment.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press
Posted at: Times Leader

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Five out-of-state companies are the high bidders for the right to drill for natural gas on more than 74,000 acres in Pennsylvania’s state forests.

The high bidders were among 17 companies that competed for the drilling rights over a potentially lucrative natural-gas formation known the Marcellus Shale. The 18 tracts that were put out to bid by the state forestry agency are located in Tioga and Lycoming counties in north-central Pennsylvania.

All together, the high bids total about $190 million.

Three of the companies are from Texas and two are from New York.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Posted at: Times Leader

Penn State study finds money Pa. landowners receive will ripple through state economy.

The Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE — With energy companies rushing to lock up rights to suddenly valuable deposits of natural gas, royalties earned by Pennsylvania landowners will ripple through the broader state economy, according to a Penn State University forecast.

Royalty payments will spur additional spending by landowners throughout the economy and lead to the creation of new jobs that will attract workers, researchers said.

There has been something of a land rush in parts of Pennsylvania recently as energy companies negotiate leases to drill into previously untapped reserves of natural gas.

A rock formation in parts of four states, called the Marcellus Shale, is believed to hold a large reservoir of natural gas. Geologists and energy companies have known for decades about the gas, but only recently have figured out a way to extract it.

In their study, Penn State researchers used $1 billion in annual royalty income as a yardstick to measure potential gains in employment, disposable income, population and other economic indicators in Pennsylvania through 2011. The actual amount of royalty income could be higher or lower; the study did not provide a forecast.

“It’s a real unknown at this point,” David Passmore, director of the Penn State Institute for Research in Training and Development, said Tuesday. “Royalty income only occurs when the asset is lifted out of the ground. When the gas comes out, nobody knows. How much comes out, nobody knows.”

According to the researchers, each $1 billion in royal

Copyright: Times Leader