Unconventional natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased 14.2% in 2018, exceeding 6 Tcf for the first time and notching the largest annual increase since 2014, according to Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO).
Based on data collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, unconventional operators produced 6.1 Tcf last year. IFO said from 2011-2018, production volumes increased at an average rate of 28.6%.
In the fourth quarter, statewide production rose 17.7% from the year-ago period and 5% higher than the third quarter of 2018. Much of that increase can be attributed to the availability of new pipeline capacity, including Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise expansion which was placed into service in the fall of 2018.
To further keep up with this production growth, last year Williams announced its Leidy South expansion which a proposed expansion of Williams’ existing Pennsylvania energy infrastructure to further connect robust supplies of natural gas in northern and western Pennsylvania with growing demand centers along the Atlantic Seaboard in time for the 2021-22 winter heating season.
The Leidy South project will help the existing Transco pipeline system transport an additional 582,400 dekatherms of natural gas supply per day – enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of approximately 2.5 million homes.