Pennsylvania - Rich in Resources
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been blessed with rich oil and natural gas deposits. The world's first commercially successful production well was drilled in Venango County near Titusville in 1859 by Edwin Drake. Since that time, more than 350,000 oil and natural gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania, and the Commonwealth's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been actively engaged in the monitoring of drilling activity to ensure that drillers comply with all federal, state and local regulations.
Pennsylvania can continue its proud tradition of producing energy for our nation, and has the ability to create 212,000 new Pennsylvania jobs over the next decade as well as billions in state and local tax revenues through natural gas extraction that is trapped over a mile deep in the Marcellus Shale formation. Rural Pennsylvanians are finally experiencing economic growth which has long eluded them.
Pennsylvania’s DEP has successfully regulated the shallow well oil and gas industry for many years and has wasted no time updating regulations to meet the new challenges of the Marcellus deep wells. With new funding provided by the Legislature via increased permit fees, the DEP is aggressively and responsibly overseeing Marcellus Shale drilling and has added excellent Marcellus Shale resources to its website. We have included some links on our site, but please review the DEP website for additional information, including several Oil and Gas Fact Sheets.
