American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2017 - 20

IndustryDigest
basin (and) most of the activity was
located near headwater streams where
water quality observations and data
were scarce."
In the report released Oct. 12, SRBC
concludes, "The commission's network
of monitors has not detected discernible
impacts on the basin's water resources,
but continued vigilance is warranted."
"This report not only is a vindication
of our industry's practices, but it also
should send a clear message to the
neighboring Delaware River Basin
Commission that natural gas
development can and does occur in an
environmentally sensitive manner,"
responds PIOGA President and
Executive Director Dan Weaver.
The DRBC voted in September to
begin developing regulations that
would permanently prohibit natural
gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in
the Delaware River Basin (AOGR,
October 2017, pg. 16). A de facto ban
has been in place since 2010. Weaver
notes that the Delaware River Basin
includes portions of the Marcellus
Shale region at Pennsylvania's
northeastern tip.
He reports that on Oct. 17, the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
approved a resolution by a vote of 10183 that urged the DRBC to end its
drilling moratorium. HR 515 states that
the DRBC "should follow a similar

regulatory path as the Susquehanna River
Basin Commission and focus on its
mission as a water management agency
to assure the long-term balance between
healthy ecosystems and economic
vitality . . . and abandon any proposed
plans to regulate natural gas drilling
beyond the already established functions
that focus on water quantity, and water
quality data collection and analysis."
SRBC reports its monitors collected
data on pH, specific conductance, water
temperature, dissolved oxygen and
turbidity. The commission notes that
spills or leaks of frac fluids may be
detected as a function of elevated
conductance values, and 24 of its
monitoring stations experienced
statistically significant increases in
specific conductance.
However, "The increase did not
correlate to the presence of natural gas
wells since similar increasing
conductance trends also were observed
in watersheds with no natural gas
development," SRBC acknowledges.
"The SRBC takes very seriously its
role in monitoring water quality
conditions in the basin in order to
collect the data necessary to make
informed decisions," says Executive
Director Andrew Dehoff. "This report
provides more information as part of the
commission's mission to sustainably

manage the water resources of the
Susquehanna River in a way that
supports both ecological health and
economic development."
SRBC's water quality report may be
accessed at http://mdw.srbc.net/remotewaterquality/reports.htm. r

U.S. Crude Production
Reaches 9.5 MMbbl/d
WASHINGTON-U.S. crude oil
production stayed above 9.0 million
barrels a day for the eighth consecutive
month in September, according to the
American Petroleum Institute's Monthly
Statistical Report.
September's 9.5 MMbbl/d average
production was up 2.3 percent from
August, 11.3 percent from September
2016, 6.6 percent from third quarter
2016, and 2.9 percent year to date in
2016, API says, adding that domestic
crude production was the highest
September monthly production since
1970, and was the highest for any
month since April 2015.
For year to date 2017, crude
production was the second highest since
1973, API adds.
Natural gas liquids production also
was up from August, September 2016,
third quarter 2016, and 2016 year to

To showcase the substantial contributions of Texas oil and gas to U.S. gross domestic
product and energy security, the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners
Association and member executives closed the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York on
Oct. 30. TIPRO Chairman Allen Gilmer, co-founder and executive chairman of Drillinginfo
Inc., considered how the state's independents had impacted the world. "Texas 'small oil'
has gifted us all with energy resources that exceed those of Saudi Arabia while creating
the largest number of high paying jobs up and down the educational ladder of any
industry on the planet," Gilmer said. "Through it, we are driving the new U.S. manufacturing
renaissance while simultaneously lowering U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and driving a
revolution in clean water technology."

20 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

http://mdw.srbc.net/remotewaterquality/reports.htm http://mdw.srbc.net/remotewaterquality/reports.htm http://mceeauction.com

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2017

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