Preparing a pad

Chesapeake eyes Sandstone Shale, not Marcellus Shale

By TOM KANE

OREGON TOWNSHIP, PA — Chesapeake Appalachia is currently preparing a gas-drilling pad along Fox Hill Road in Oregon Township near Brill Road, about four miles north of Honesdale.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) told The River Reporter that the well is targeting a deposit called Sandstone shale and not the Marcellus Shale and does not require a large amount of water for drilling because the rock that holds the gas is not as dense. Because of this, DRBC was not approached for a water withdrawal permit.

For the last few days, the landscape along Fox Hill Road has been changing as trees are being cut down and large earth-moving equipment is leveling the ground in preparation for the erection of a gas-drilling tower on the property owned by Christopher and Betty Ann Robson. The Robson’s have designated two parcels for drilling on the 152-acre property.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the permit to begin preparing the site on February 28. The permit to begin drilling, however, has not yet been given, said Mark Carmon, DEP spokesman.

The site is at the far end of the Robson property away from the house and very near a neighboring house, owned by David and Diane Richter. The Richter’s have a lease with Chesapeake as do James and Beverly Ludwig, who live across the road from the earth-moving activity.

The Richter’s did not return phone calls. The Ludwig’s have no objection to the nearby drilling operation, according to Beverly Ludwig.

The Pennsylvania Gas and Oil Act prohibits any drilling within 200 feet measured horizontally from any existing building or existing water well. It was not clear whether the Richter home falls within the 200 feet limit, although from the road it appears very close.

DEP spokesman Carmon said that DEP staff planned to visit the site soon with Wayne County Conservation District personnel and would contact this paper with any information on the distance of the well from the nearby homes.

This will be the second gas drilling operation in Wayne County. The first, aiming at the Marcellus Shale field, occurred near Creamton in Clinton Township on the property of Lou Matoushek, which was cleared and vertically drilled but never drilled horizontally, which is the procedure followed for active gas recovery.

The Stone Energy Corporation that drilled the Matoushek well ceased operation there as it never sought permission from the DRBC, as required, to withdraw the large quantities of water needed to drill such a well.

Chesapeake Appalachia did not respond to phone calls in the preparation of this article.