Land Area

A Marcellus well pad will be 3 to 6 acres, with the possibility of additional water storage pits or parking lots for tanker trucks.

But that’s just for one well pad. If the well is productive, there will be a gas field developed. How many wells can be drilled in a given area or how close they can be to each other depends on whether they are classified as deep or shallow wells. The actual depth in feet is not what classifies a well as deep or shallow in WV; it is the formation that the well penetrates. If it goes into the Onondaga formation, which lies just below the Marcellus, it is a deep well; if not, it is a shallow well, and well placement can be every 40 acres.

Jonas Basin gas field in Wyoming on 40 acre spacing (where it’s flat)