Liquids Drive Pa Production
Pennsylvania’s marketable natural gas production reached a record 15bn ft3/day in 2017, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported in its Today in Energy release for April 23. It is the biggest state gas producer behind Texas having overtaken Oklahoma in 2012 and Louisiana in 2013.
And the increase appears to be driven by a focus on Appalachian gas rich in natural gas liquids, the EIA said, citing Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection statistics on drilling activity.
In 2017, the state issued 2,038 natural gas drilling permits, up from 1,352 in 2016. Of the three Pennsylvania counties with the highest concentration of permit activity, two – Washington and Greene counties – are in the southwestern part of the state, where Appalachian gas has a high level of natural gas plant liquids (NGPL).
“NGPLs have tended to sell at a higher price than the natural gas,” the EIA said. “By comparison, natural gas production in Susquehanna County (the third high-activity county) is relatively dry, meaning the natural gas has less NGPL content.”
In 2017, Washington, Greene and Susquehanna counties accounted for half of all the natural gas drilling permits issued by the state and two-thirds of the rigs active in Pennsylvania.