Marcellus Shale Development

PGE’s first horizontal Marcellus Shale well in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania General Energy’s 30-plus years of oil and natural gas development experience in the Appalachian Basin has continued with the drilling and completion of the company’s first Marcellus Shale well in Elk County in early 2005, one of the first companies to successfully explore the Marcellus formation. Since that time, PGE has maintained a strong horizontal well drilling program, with plans to add three new state-of-the-art drilling rigs by the end of 2011.

PGE holds leases for more than 439,000 acres in Pennsylvania and New York, and has plans to file necessary permits to drill more horizontal Marcellus Shale wells throughout the region.

PGE is proud of this accomplishment and excited about the contributions natural gas from the Marcellus Shale will make to Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio and the economic boom it will provide to many individuals, families, businesses and communities where these natural gas reserves can be found.

As a company founded in Pennsylvania and focused on treating its landowners as partners in the development of new oil and natural gas wells, PGE strives to be a leader in all aspects of its operations.   This includes a commitment to fairness and a personal approach to property owners that is unmatched in the Appalachian Basin. 

If you are interested in talking with PGE about leasing your property for oil and natural gas development, please send us an email at land@penngeneralenergy.com.

The Marcellus Shale formation is found a mile or more below the ground surface. PGE drills vertically (as shown on left in this illustration) until the shale is reached, then carefully turns the drill (as depicted on the right) horizontally to extract a greater amount of natural gas. The shale is opened along the horizontal shaft through a hydrofracturing process, opening the tight shale layer and allowing the natural gas to enter the well.