As Big Drillers Move In, Safety Goes Up

[longknife]

by Dow Jones Newswires, Daniel Gilbert & Russell Gold, Tuesday, April 02, 2013

WELLSBORO, Pa. - A firm called East Resources Inc. was among the first to drill into the Marcellus Shale, a rock layer found to be rich in natural gas. As the small wildcatter drilled, starting in 2008, regulators repeatedly cited it for spills or other environmental infractions, almost two for every shale well it drilled.

In 2010 Royal Dutch Shell PLC bought East Resources. The first thing the oil giant did was shut down the rigs for two weeks and retrain the worke

rs. Since taking over, Shell has averaged less than one violation for every four wells.

Read more @ RIGZONE - As Big Drillers Move In, Safety Goes Up