Natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased by 550,937 MMcf in 2015
The production of natural gas continued to climb in Pennsylvania in 2015 despite lower commodities prices, and a decrease in drilling activity.
A report from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection found Pennsylvania produced 4.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas during the year, maintaining its position as the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. behind Texas.
Pennsylvania’s production skyrocketed nearly 52-fold from 2009 to 2014, and increased by an additional 550,937 MMcf last year even as operators faced the first full year of the oil and gas price downturn. The state reported total production of 4,602,364.1 MMcf in 2015 compared to 4,051,427.0 in 2014.
Source: DEP
This came about despite a 35% drop in the number of unconventional well drilling permits issued by the state. Permits decreased to 2,081 from 3,182 year-over-year due “primarily … to the overall curtailment of oil and gas drilling operations in Pennsylvania,” the report said. The Department of Environmental Protection expects those numbers to remain low during 2016 as well.
Source: DEP
The top 25 producers in Pennsylvania
Along with the overall production numbers, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection also released a list of the top 25 producers in the state. At the top were Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, Cabot Oil & Gas (ticker: COG) and Range Resources (ticker: RRC), which produced 675,870.6 MMcf, 636,021.8 MMcf and 415,052.3 MMcf, respectively, in Pennsylvania last year.
Source: DEP
A number of Pennsylvania’s top producers will be presenting at EnerCom’s The Oil & Gas Conference next week, including Cabot, Range, EQT (ticker: EQT), Anadarko (ticker: APC) and Carrizo (ticker: CRZO). To learn more about the conference and presenters, click here.
