Top Stories

Pennsylvania’s gas-well revenue down as price, drilling drop

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s counties and municipal governments will see the lowest level of annual fee revenue they get from Marcellus Shale gas wells, as drilling slowed and prices sank during the pandemic.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said Monday that impact fee revenue from Marcellus Shale wells sank to $146 million from drilling activity in 2020, down $54 million from the year before.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WPXI apps for alerts as news breaks]

Lawmakers authorized the fee in 2012. But the average price of natural gas in 2020 was $2.08 per unit, down from $2.63 in 2019.

Pennsylvania also saw the fewest number of new wells drilled than in any year since the law was enacted.