Majority of Marcellus Well Operators Fail to Meet Production Reporting Deadline

DEP News Release

HARRISBURG — More than half of the natural gas drillers operating in the Marcellus Shale missed the deadline to report the production levels of their wells in violation of state law, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP Secretary John Hanger said today that 41 of the 74 oil and gas companies operating in the Marcellus Shale, or 55 percent, failed to submit reports on the past 12 months of production by the Aug. 15 deadline.

“When the General Assembly approved this law and the Governor signed it, they did so because they believed this requirement provided much-needed transparency into the industry’s operations,” said Hanger. “The fact that so many companies failed to meet the deadline for providing this information is troubling. We plan to follow-up with each non-compliant firm and pursue whatever enforcement action is necessary to get them to follow the law.”

The public can track a Marcellus operator’s compliance with Act 15 production reporting requirements online at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/OGRE_production/Marcellus_Report_Submissions_8-26-10.xls. The site includes a complete list of operators that did not submit production reports by Aug. 15. The list will be updated on a weekly basis as production report submissions are made. The list of the Marcellus operators that submitted production reports on time is also provided.

The new law, Act 15 of 2010, required gas companies drilling into the Marcellus formation to report production totals from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 by Aug. 15. Subsequent to this deadline, companies will be required to report production every six months, making the next report due Feb. 15.

Prior to Act 15, DEP was required by law to keep production reporting data confidential for five years.

For more information or to view the production reports of companies that met the deadline, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us.

Media contact: Helen Humphreys, 717-787-1323
Editor’s Note: A list of companies that failed to meet the Aug. 15, reporting deadline follows. Those with asterisks submitted after the deadline:

Alpha Shale Res LP
Alta Operation Co. LLP
American Oil & Gas LLC
Atlas Resources LLC
Anschutz Exploration Corp.
*Blx Inc.
Burnett Oil Co. Inc.
*Carrizo (Marcellus) LLC
*Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.
Consol Pa Coal Co.
*D. E. LTD Family Partnership
Dominion Exploration and Production Inc.
East Resources Inc.
East Resources Management
*Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc.
Enervest Operating LLC
Flatirons Development LLC
Hess Corp.
Interstate Gas Marketing Inc.
Jr Resources LP
M & M Royalty LTD
*MDS Energy LTD
Mieka LLC
Mountain V Oil & Gas Inc.
Newfield Appalachia Pa LLC
Novus Operating LLC
Penn Virginia Oil & Gas Corp.
Petro Dev Corp.
Rex Energy Operating Corp.
Rice Drilling B LLC
*Seneca Resources Corp.
Schrader Kevin E
Snee & Eberly & People Natural Gas
SM Energy Co.
Special JHR Corp.
*Talisman Energy USA Inc.
Tanglewood Exploration LLC
Triana Energy LLC
Turm Oil Inc.
*Ultra Resources Inc.
US Energy Exploration Corp.

A list of companies that submitted the production report on-time follows:

AB Resources Pa. LLC
Anadarko E&P Co. LP
Antero Resources Appalachian Corp.
Baker Gas Inc.
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.
Chesapeake Appalachia LLC
Chief Oil & Gas LLC
Citrus Energy Corp.
CNX Gas Co. LLC
Consol Gas Co.
DL Resources Inc.
Energy Corp. of  Amer.
EOG Resources Inc.
EQT Production Co.
Exco. Resources Pa. Inc.
Great Oak Energy Inc.
Guardian Exploration Inc.
J W Operating Co.
Longfellow Energy LP
Marathon Oil Co.
Pa. Gen Energy Co. LLC
Phillips Exploration Inc.
Range Resources Appalachia LLC
Samson Res. Co.
Snyder Bros. Inc.
Southwestern Energy Prod. Co.
Stone Energy Corp.
Texas Keystone Inc.
Vista Opr. Inc.
William McIntire Coal Oil & Gas
William S. Burkland
Williams Production Appalachia  LLC
XTO Energy Inc.