Earlier this week, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) published its eighth Recommended Practice. The newest guidance document, focused on Drilling and Completions, aims to ensure that shale development operations continue to be carried out “safely, responsibly and efficiently.”

Here’s what they’re saying about the latest Recommended Practice which will help “get this historic opportunity right, both now and for generations to come”:

  • MSC Working to Ensure Safe, Responsible, Efficient Operations: A Pennsylvania-based trade group focused on promoting development of the Marcellus Shale on Wednesday released new guidelines for drilling wells and engaging in hydraulic fracturing, two of the most critical aspects of the shale development process. The Marcellus Shale Coalition’s newest guidance focuses on the areas of drilling and “completions” and aims to provide guidance to operators. … “While a host of critically important steps are required to bring a shale well into production, the drilling phase and hydraulic fracturing and completions process are certainly two of the most crucial,” MSC Chief Executive Officer Kathryn Klaber said. “This guidance document, along with the commonwealth’s world-class regulatory framework, will help further ensure that these important operations are carried out safely, responsibly and efficiently, and in a way that makes certain we continue to get this historic opportunity right, both now and for generations to come.” (Law 360, 10/10/13)
  • MSC Releases Recommended Practice to “Get this Historic Opportunity Right”: With production, takeaway capacity and employment all on the rise in the Appalachian Basin, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) on Wednesday issued a list of recommended practices for drilling and completing oil and natural gas wells in the play. The four-page document was developed through MSC working committees and designed to guide operators. The recommendations cover planning, health/safety, well control; high pressure equipment; drilling operations, and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and flowback operations. The latest is one of a best practices series that MSC officials have published for more than a year. … [The document] encouraged operators to make plans for water management, traffic and waste management such as maximizing the recycle/reuse of produced water, giving consideration to alternative water sources, multi-well pad drilling, and using closed-loop fluid management systems. (Shale Daily, 10/11/13)
  • MSC Guidelines Aim to “Reduce Potential Impact, Protect Local Communities”: The Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents companies drilling in Pennsylvania, published its recommendations this week for drilling and completing wells. The group calls for drillers to voluntarily follow a series of recommendations: better site planning to minimize the traffic and dust created by drilling, closed-loop systems to eliminate the pits used to store drilling fluids, monitoring to reduce drilling’s potential impact on groundwater, and “green” completions to reduce the amount of air emissions at well sites. … The coalition’s guidelines are intended to complement existing state regulations, said Andrew Paterson, the coalition’s vice president for technology and regulation. … “They give operators flexibility to deal with differing conditions, Paterson said. “If you’re in an urban environment, that’s different than a rural area.” The voluntary guidelines would protect local communities by giving residents a standard to hold drillers accountable, Paterson added. (E&E News, 10/11/13)

For more information about the MSC’s work, please review the full list of our Recommended Practices. For those with questions regarding the safe-production of tightly-regulated shale, please visit LearnAboutShale.org, and be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!