Marcellus shale well proposed on Arconic property in Upper Burrell

Olympus Energy LLC will present its plans for a new Marcellus shale gas well in Upper Burrell township during a hearing before the township supervisors on Wednesday.

Drilling a Marcellus shale gas well requires a controversial natural gas extraction process known as fracking.

Arconic owns the property, at 4806 Seventh Street Road, for the proposed well.

It’s zoned industrial, but a conditional use hearing is required in the township for all oil and gas development.

Supervisors could vote on final approval of the well after the hearing Wednesday.

Olympus, based in Canonsburg, has been working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to secure the necessary permits for the pad, known as the Selene Well Pad, according to Kimberly Price, company spokeswoman.

This will be Olympus’ third Marcellus shale well in the township. The other two well sites are the Calliope well, off White Cloud Road, and the Zeus well, off Guyer Road.

“We knew from the beginning Olympus would be doing three or four wells in the township,” said Ross Walker, chairman of the township supervisors.

Walker said there haven’t been any reported problems with the existing Marcellus shale wells.

If approved by the supervisors, Price said the proposed schedule for well development includes construction of the well pad in late 2022 and drilling in 2023.

However, the schedule could be accelerated by one year, she added.

The route for hauling equipment and materials to the site includes Route 380 and Route 780, Price said.

No township-owned roads will be used for the project, she said.

The primary source of water for the project, which is needed for fracking, will be piped to the site.

“This will result in a significant reduction in associated truck traffic,” Price said.