Photo from dep.pa.gov A look at all of the oil and gas wells in Warren County. Each dot is one well. The red dot in the middle is the sole unconventional well in the county.

Pennsylvania is the second largest producer of natural gas in the nation — second only to Texas.

That’s one of the highlights of the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2021 Oil and Gas Annual report released last week.

According to DEP, more than 7.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was produced from unconventional and conventional well operations across the state. That marks the largest ever volume produced in the state.

Additionally, 977 oil and gas drilling permits were issued. State permit data shows that 12 conventional well permits were issued in Warren County in 2021.

In total, 648 wells were drilled in 2021 with just 130 of those being conventional.

In Warren County, there are hundreds of conventional wells but just one unconventional that sits in the Irvine area.

DEP specifically highlighted compliance inspections undertaken in 2021 – a total of 34,135.

“In 2021, DEP remained committed to enforcing violations of the oil and gas industry,” DEP Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh said. “Governor Wolf and DEP continued their priority of maintaining environmental protection for Pennsylvania’s residents and visitors.”

The report also details the 14 “active underground injection control disposal wells” in the state, five of which are located in Columbus Twp. and owned by Bear Lake Properties, LLC.

“A Class II Underground Injection Control disposal well is used to dispose of produced fluids,” the report explains. “Currently, there are 14 active permitted Class II Underground Injection Control disposal wells in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for reviewing and approving Class II Underground Injection Control disposal well permit applications in Pennsylvania; however, DEP also conducts a review of these permit applications to ensure state regulatory requirements are met prior to issuing a permit for well usage.”

The report says that most produced fluids not reused in Pennsylvania “are transported to neighboring states, such as Ohio and/or West Virginia, where they are disposed of in Class II Underground Injection Control disposal wells.

Efforts to document orphaned and abandoned wells and state data shows that 8,870 documented wells are unplugged while 3,443 have been plugged.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg though.

“As a result of the oil and gas drilling booms during the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thousands of oil and gas wells were drilled in Pennsylvania,” the report says. “Since the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania more than 160 years ago, many wells have been abandoned by their owners without notifying DEP or other state agencies. DEP estimates there are about 200,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania that remain unaccounted for. These legacy orphan and abandoned wells can lead to pollution and/or pose public safety risks if not properly plugged.”