The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has regularly-updated maps of oil and gas drilling activity available on their website. They also have maps of permits issued and wells drilled with separate tabulations for the Marcellus Shale.

Quebec is a fossil fuel consumer with very little local production. However, some of the first wells are being drilled into the Utica Shale and hundreds more have already been permitted. More at The Globe and Mail.

An explosion of natural gas from shale is swamping the market with an abundance of new gas, upsetting investment models for LNG terminals and making gas cost-competitive with coal. More at The Hill.

Over the past decade the use of renewable energy is becoming more important to people, industry and governments. Why? Renewable energy resources are not depleted, they are becoming less expensive, and they have a softer environmental impact.

Lots of people have leased their acreage for potential gas drilling and are curious about how much their royalties might amount to. We now have a tool to estimate gas royalty income based upon a few assumptions. You just type in your royalty rate, an assumed natural gas wellhead price, an assumed well production rate, the number of acres in the production unit and the number of production unit acres that belong to you – then push a button.

“Penn State announced the formation of an education and research initiative on the Marcellus Shale to work with state agencies, elected officials, communities, landowners, industry and environmental groups to protect the Commonwealth’s water resources, forests and transportation infrastructure while advocating for a science-based and responsible approach to handling the state’s natural gas deposits.” Quoted from the Penn State press release.

A Catholic cemetery association has leased over 1000 acres of land giving Huntley & Huntley a five year option to drill for natural gas. More at the Lebanon Daily News.

The proposed severance tax on Marcellus Shale gas production in Pennsylvania could be a campaign issue in the November governor’s race. More at wduqnews.com.

This article contains a “round up” of items relevant to the Marcellus Shale from country commissioners across Pennsylvania. Some are ready to use zoning to control natural gas drilling and transport. More at AmericanAgriculturalist.com.

West Virginia state government studies their options on opening their 42,000 acres of mineral rights beneath state forest lands to Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Those leases would bring hundreds of millions of dollars in lease and royalty payments. More at Forbes.com.

Chevron continues to find more natural gas off the northwest coast of Australia with two wells in the Carnarvon Basin. These fields are close to their Gogron LNG terminal. (See press releases from August 12 and 16.)

Who owns the mineral rights beneath your property? That can determine what drilling companies can do and what rights a landowner has when drilling begins. More in an article on the ArkTimes.com website.

An article on Businessweek.com reports on a planned pipeline that will transport Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania into upstate New York. The drilling moratorium in New York opens markets for Pennsylvania gas.

Drillers are now starting fewer wells – but those wells are a lot more expensive. State revenues from natural gas drilling are increasing. Electric utilities are switching from coal to gas. An article at Herald-Dispatch explores these and more.

David Paterson, Governor of New York says that hydraulic fracturing will not be done in his state until there is “overwhelming evidence” that it will not damage water supplies. More at PressConnects.