Penn. Moratorium Not a Complete Show-Stopper for Marcellus Shale

摘要

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's decision to place some state-owned lands off-limits to future drilling last week created some uncertainty for the investment climate of the Marcellus Shale gas formation and for producers hoping to expand their acreage positions in the play. It also compounds political complications seen in neighboring New York, which is also placing limits on land access in its portion of the Marcellus — and at the federal level, where the US Environmental Protection Agency is examining whether gas well stimulation techniques threaten groundwater (see p1).