If successful in the bidding that will take place later this year, the exploration companies will be able to take a shot at two deep gas reservoirs, the Marcellus Shale formation, some 6,000 to 8,000 feet underground, and the Trenton-Black River, which is more than 10,000 feet deep.
Both are thought to contain large quantities of natural gas, and have drawn the interest of exploration companies from Texas to Canada. Many of the companies are scouring for drilling opportunities on private land in Pennsylvania and throughout Appalachia, while pressing for access to all of Pennsylvania's 2.1 million acres of state forests.
"We're very excited about the opportunity," said Stephen W. Rhoads, the president of the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association. "We just wish it were larger; 75,000 acres is not a whole lot of land."
For decades, geologists and energy companies have known about the gas in the Marcellus Shale - but only recently have developed a way to extract it.
Much of the land to be leased is in north-central Pennsylvania, and department officials argue that the deeper wells, spaced farther apart, inflict less forest damage than shallow wells, which are typically drilled closer together.
New shallow wells may only be drilled if gas is found during the development of deeper gas fields, officials said.
Jeff Schmidt, who directs the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club, said the department gave in to pressure from oil and gas company lobbyists, as well as legislators sympathetic to the industry.
"These are publicly owned lands and we don't believe the average citizen supports turning over these lands to the oil and gas industry," Schmidt said.
Department spokeswoman Chris Novak defended the decision, calling natural gas the cleanest-burning fossil fuel and saying the agency recognizes the need for energy independence, as well as the need to protect the forests.
The department imposed a moratorium on shallow drilling in 2003 in response to concerns that roads, well pads and pipelines were destroying wildlife habitat. Schmidt and other environmental advocates had supported the move.
The department's last auction also met considerable criticism from the industry for the restrictive lease arrangement, and no wells were drilled as a result. At the time, companies were interested in drilling the Trenton-Black River.
Novak also pointed out that the agency's forest management is certified to the principles of the Forest Stewardship Council and that, in light of its tougher environmental guidelines on exploration, the department's citizen advisory council approved of new shallow well leasing.
Department officials say new leases will contain provisions to protect state parks, areas designated as natural or wild, and environmentally sensitive areas. Payments on leases and royalties from gas production are put toward buying new forest land and improving facilities and programs in state forests, state officials say.
Currently, about 650 wells are in place on more than 200,000 acres of state forest that are under lease for gas production, the department said.
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On the Net:
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources oil and gas position: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oil-gas.aspx
