A group has been formed in support of the development of the Marcellus Shale Formation with hydrofracking.

The organization is calling itself Clean Growth Now, and comes as the debate over hydrofracking is heating up in Albany.

A formal roll out of the group is expected Thursday November 10, 2011.

It comes as the Department of Environmental Conservation is reviewing whether to allow permits for hydrofracking, a natural gas extraction process that involves blasting a mixture of chemicals, sand, and water underground in order to access the gas. Read more »

Enterprise Products Partners L.P and Chesapeake Energy Corporation today November 2, 2011 announced they have entered into a long-term contract whereby Chesapeake would anchor Enterprise’s proposed long-haul ethane pipeline from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Read more »

Maryland’s attorney general is urging people in the western part of the state to check with their mortgage lender before signing a mineral-rights lease.

Douglas Gansler says some federally approved mortgages have requirements that conflict with mineral-rights leases. He says property owners who are considering a mineral-rights lease should have their bank or mortgage lender sign off on it to avoid potential legal problems. Read more »

More than 1,200 new Marcellus Shale natural-gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania this year. Because each well requires many workers to build and operate, there's no shortage of new jobs in the drilling regions - at least a certain kind of job.

The problem is that not enough high school graduates from southwestern Pennsylvania want the jobs, allowing workers from the nation's oil-rich South to capitalize on Pennsylvania's bustling new industry. Read more »