A startling fact to come to terms with is that while production in the Marcellus continues to set records, Pennsylvania continues to lay down rigs. All indications point to producers preferring to wait out announced capacity additions while they focus their efforts in less constrained and more profitable plays within their portfolios.
Producers in the top counties in PA punched roughly 24% fewer wells in 2012/2013 compared to 2010/2011 well spuds. BTU Analytics expects additional drilling activity as new takeaway capacity is within the market’s sights. As noted in our previously blog, the current backlog of wells in PA is nearly enough to fill the upcoming capacity additions. I believe the saying is, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.