At a panel during the 2012 Marcellus Summit, George Stark, of Cabot Oil and Gas, said using natural gas from Marcellus Shale could lead to an average of $1,000 savings per household in many states.
Stark was one of many speakers at the summit, which concluded Friday at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. Penn State Cooperative Extension and Penn State Outreach hosted the two-day event.
The summit hosted industry representatives, county and municipal elected officials and other stakeholders, according to the Penn State Outreach Program website.
“The outreach program in this summit lets the gas producers and interstate and local government representative talk about different issues and concerns,” said Douglas A. Sipe, the outreach manager of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
At the Shale Gas Producers panel Friday morning, panelists Stark, Adrian Markocic, of Range Resources and Dean Tinsley, director of the Appalachia Asset Team at WPX Energy, emphasized the importance of Marcellus Shale. They discussed how it could help states become more energy independent.
“With Marcellus Shale, you are putting it where the people are,” Stark said. “You are not relying on gas from other states. More states are now opening up [to Marcellus Shale] since it’s cheaper and burns cleaner.”
Another underlying theme of the panel was to help eliminate the various misconceptions about the Marcellus Shale industry.
“People think that drilling can take place anywhere,” Markocic said. “But in reality, it is highly regulated. There are various legal and operational limitations to where drills can be placed.”
Though there is some distrust about Marcellus Shale usage among members of the public, a lot of people don’t have the knowledge about hydraulic fracturing and how it is achieved, which leads to a lot of misconceptions, Markocic said.
The panelists also thanked Penn State for hosting the annual summit and encouraged more student involvement.
“Penn State students who are interested in the industry should take courses or learn more about the topic,” Tinsley said. “Marcellus Shale are long term projects and are here to stay and can lead students to jobs in the industry.”
