Gassed Up
Butler County and Pennsylvania have become energy powerhouses due to the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling industry.
Dave Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said that in 2008 the state produced 182 billion cubic feet of natural gas, which represented about 24 percent of the state’s gas demand.
Today, he said, the state produces 5 trillion cubic feet, which represents about 20 percent of the United States’ demand for gas.
“We’ve moved from being an importer ... to being a net exporter,” Spigelmyer said.
The state is ranked second in the U.S. in production of natural gas, after Texas.
He said that the county, as well as the southwestern and northeastern parts of the state, are proven areas of investment for gas companies.
Rex EnergyThe largest producer in the county is Rex Energy, based in State College.In Rex’s Butler operating area, which is primarily Butler County but also contains small parts of Beaver and Lawrence counties, it has 70 wells and has 75,900 acres leased, primarily in southwestern Butler County.For 2014, Rex plans to drill 40 to 45 wells in the Butler area, said Mike Endler, director of civil and environmental engineering in Appalachia.Although Rex has some drilling and leasing activities in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, as well as some western and central counties in Pennsylvania, the Butler area is the priority.“This is definitely our key focus,” Endler said.The company began operating in the county in 2008 and drilled its first well in January 2010 in Connoquenessing Township.The company’s Appalachian headquarters has been in Cranberry Township since April 2013. Before that, Rex had offices in Butler and Seven Fields.Endler said Rex has a partnership with MarkWest, which operates two processing plants in the county and plans on building a third this year. Pipelines that Rex uses are managed by MarkWest.“I think the future is very bright. We continue to grow and develop,” Endler said.The company has 300 employees, 43 of them at the Cranberry office.“I think our (relatively small) size ... has definitely allowed us to establish a great reputation in the area,” Endler said.He said being a state-based company with employees from Pennsylvania has really helped when it works with landowners and municipalities.Endler said the company tries to be active in the community“That helps maintain the strong working relationship with the area first responders,” Endler said.He also said the company has worked to improve some infrastructure in the county, with two public water line extensions and a third about to begin. Over the past three years, Rex also has spent about $6 million on road improvement projects.
XTO EnergyXTO Energy of Fort Worth, Texas, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, has 70 wells in the county, with 50 of them producing gas.Mike Johnson, vice president for the Appalachian Division for XTO, said the company has 57,000 acres leased in the county and has 56 miles of pipeline.XTO’s biggest facility in the county is its cryogenic plant in Penn Township. Johnson said the plant separates the gas from other materials.The company also has two compressor stations, which decreases the pressure of the gas so it can travel through the pipeline.In 2014, XTO plans on constructing eight new well pads and add 16 miles of pipeline.He said that expansion will continue in the county.“We anticipate staying very busy,” Johnson said.The company has 270 employees at is Appalachian Division headquarters in Marshall Township, Allegheny County.He said that XTO is contributing to a “manufacturing renaissance” in the U.S., and said it tries to use local contractors and service providers.Johnson said the company has 30 years of expertise in different regions of the U.S., which he said helps it deal with situations as they arise because it has likely dealt with such issues in the past.
EdgeMarcThe “new kid on the block” for drilling in the county is EdgeMarc.The company, based in Canonsburg, Washington County, has 50,000 acres leased, with 25,000 in Butler County.In 2013, EdgeMarc drilled three shale gas wells in the county, and started a fourth. It also bought 12 shallow gas wells for another project.Its wells are focused on the central to northeastern part of the county. Callum Streeter, operations manager, said that area has a lot of “wet” natural gas, which includes byproducts that are useful in other industries, such as propane and butane.For 2014, the company plans to drill 15 to 20 wells.“This is going to be a large growth year for us,” Streeter said.EdgeMarc also is working on an 18-mile, $40 million pipeline. It will run from Concord Township to the MarkWest processing plant in Evans City.“It’s a big project for us,” Streeter said.The company is working on buying right of way agreements, and will soon be seeking environmental permits. Streeter said he expects pipeline construction to begin this summer.He also said EdgeMarc plans on opening a field office in the county this year, likely near West Sunbury.Streeter said that he thinks the company could end up drilling more than 100 wells in the county.He also anticipates extending the pipeline from Concord Township to Allegheny Township in the future.Streeter said EdgeMarc has some advantages as a smaller company.“We can be more nimble,” he said.Stacey Lucas, EdgeMarc regulatory affairs manager, said having only 35 employees is good when it comes to leasing because land owners seem to like being able to talk to the same people.
