Montgomery News By Linda Finarelli MONTGOMERY COUNTY >> A bill by a local legislator to enact a severance tax on natural gas drilling was aired before the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Feb. 8, but no committee vote has been taken to date. HB 82, sponsored by state Rep. Kate Harper, R-61, calls for […]
Read More
Antero to drill first Utica well in West Virginia in 2015
The Exponent Telegram by Jeremiah Shelor CLARKSBURG — Antero Resources will drill its first Utica natural gas well in West Virginia in the third quarter of 2015, the company announced this week in a presentation to investors. Al Schopp, Antero’s chief administrative officer and regional vice president, said the Utica well will be drilled in […]
Read More
Gas Production Will Continue Soaring
Times Leader Online By Casey Junkins In a Marcellus shale region already flush with fracking, pipelining and processing, federal officials believe the formation will yield 147 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from now until 2040. That compares to a total of only 8 trillion cubic feet produced in the region from 1990-2014, according to […]
Read MoreWolf’s severance tax would set a minimum value on gas produced
philly.com By Andrew Maykuth Gov. Wolf’s proposed severance tax on Marcellus Shale natural-gas production contains a unique feature that sets a minimum taxable level, guaranteeing that the state would capture its share no matter how low the gas price sank. The severance tax, dubbed the Pennsylvania Education Reinvestment Act, would set a minimum value of […]
Read MoreIllinois oil train derailment involved safer tank cars
Power Source By The Associated Press GALENA, Ill. (AP) — The two rail cars that split open and burst into flames during a western Illinois oil train derailment were retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard than federal law requires, the railroad said. Thursday’s accident in a rural area south of the […]
Read More‘Safer’ rail cars fail again as calls grow for even stricter standards
By The Associated Press GALENA, Ill. — The rail cars that split and burst into flames during a western Illinois oil train derailment this week had been retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard than federal law requires, according to railroad officials. The fire continued to burn Friday, a day after the […]
Read MoreTrain derailment could affect 183,000 in Pittsburgh, study says
Power Source By Daniel Moore More than 183,000 Pittsburgh residents — and 3.9 million Pennsylvanians — could be forced to leave their homes if a train carrying crude oil derailed nearby, according to a statewide study released Monday by a partnership of environmental nonprofits. The report coincides with a second report from a local investigative […]
Read MoreRail safety is a central issue for central PA
Lebanon Daily News Feb. 16, 2015: Nineteen rail cars carrying Bakken crude oil derailed 30 miles from Charleston, W. Va. The oil ignited and sent a fireball hundreds of feet into the air. Hundreds were evacuated, and several homes damaged or destroyed. Miraculously, there were no serious injuries or deaths. The derailment comes as regulatory […]
Read MoreWolf says Pennsylvania severance tax ‘not a partisan idea’
Power Source By Laura Legere Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a tax on natural gas production in his budget Tuesday that would raise money for education and environmental protection programs, while maintaining funding for communities at roughly the same level they are expected to receive this year from the current Marcellus Shale impact fee. Mr. Wolf’s […]
Read MoreWolf’s budget plan calls for new tax on natural gas industry
State Impact By Marie Cusick Following through on his campaign pledge, Governor Wolf made taxing the natural gas industry a central part of his budget proposal Tuesday. Wolf wants to model it on West Virginia, with a tax on both volume and sales. Drillers would pay a five percent tax on the value of the […]
Read More