Drilling was down in McKean County for the first six months of this year, but the number of permits issued for oil and gas wells for the month of June was up, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The department’s Office of Oil and Gas Management tracks the number of permits issued and wells drilled, and makes the reports available on its website.
As of July 1, there had been 102 wells drilled in McKean County so far this year, 99 conventional and three unconventional wells. At the same time last year, there had been 174 wells drilled, of which 173 were conventional and one was unconventional. As for permits, there have been 211 issued as of July 1 for McKean County — 55 for combination wells; 27 for gas wells; 128 for oil wells; and one undetermined. For the same time period last year, there were 188 permits issued — eight for combination wells; seven for gas wells; and 173 for oil wells.
In contrast, Elk County’s drilling has more than doubled from last year to this, with 14 wells drilled in the first six months of 2012, to 37 wells drilled as of July 1, 2013. No drilling had been done this year in Cameron or Potter counties as of July 1. In the first six months of last year, one unconventional well was drilled in Potter County. No wells were drilled in Cameron County during the first six months of 2012, according to DEP data.
As of July 1, there were two permits for gas wells issued so far this year in Cameron County, as compared to one last year in the same time frame. In Elk County, there were five permits for gas wells issued as of July 1, one for an injection well and 25 for oil wells. Last year during the same time, there were 26 permits issued for gas wells, four for injection wells and 21 for oil wells. In Potter County, there were five permits for gas wells issued as of July 1; last year during the same time frame, there were 16 permits for gas wells issued.
As for the one-month period of June 1 to July 1, there were 82 drilling permits issued in McKean County; six for Elk County; two for Cameron County; and none for Potter County.
The Cameron County permits were for Seneca Resources Corp. to drill two unconventional gas wells in Shippen Township. In Elk County, one permit went to Hunt Marcellus Operating Co. to drill one unconventional gas well in Jones Township; while five were for William H. Brawand for oil wells in Jones Township.
In McKean County, seven permits were issued to Armstrong Gas Co. for oil wells in Foster Township; one to Chesapeake Appalachia for an unconventional gas well in Keating Township; six to Remington Capital Holdings for oil wells in Keating Township; 15 for oil and one for gas to Catalyst Energy, all in Lafayette Township; 21 to Enervest for oil wells in Lafayette Township; 10 for combination wells to Horizontal Exploration, all in Lafayette Township; 16 to MSL Oil & Gas Corp. for oil wells in Lafayette Township; two for unconventional gas wells to Seneca Resources in Sergeant Township; and three to SWEPI for unconventional gas wells in Wetmore Township.
From June 1 to July 1, one injection well was drilled in Highland Township, Elk County by ARG Resources. There were 18 wells drilled in McKean County — Catalyst Energy drilled four oil wells in Wetmore Township, three oil wells in Hamilton Township and one oil well in Otto Township; D&S Energy drilled four combination wells in Hamilton Township; Lake Erie Energy drilled four oil wells in Keating Township; and Howard Drilling drilled two oil wells in Wetmore Township, according to the DEP.
