US-based energy developer Seneca Resources and Ensign Drilling have set up two GE Jenbacher gas engines to power the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled drilling rigs in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, US.

The gas engines are expected to cut down the environmental impact and improve the economic performance of Seneca’s unconventional gas production activities in the US.

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By converting the power plants of two existing diesel-powered rigs, Seneca uses cleaner-burning LNG in GE’s 1MW Jenbacher J320 turbocharged natural gas engines.

The electricity required by each drilling rig will be provided by combining the gas engine units with rig packages designed by Ensign Drilling.

J320 is GE’s first US Environmental Protection Agency-certified technology for mobile and stationary drilling applications.

Seneca and Ensign Drilling converted their first rig located in Lycoming County to LNG, in October 2012, while the second rig was converted in November 2012 and was allocated to Seneca’s Marcellus Shale gas leases in Forest, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties.

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Located in sections of Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland, the Marcellus Shale formation is rich in gas.

Ensign Drilling president and CEO Robert Geddes said that the pioneering project using LNG in GE’s proven Jenbacher gas engines will help to cut down environmental impacts of energy production, as well as provide opportunity for communities in Pennsylvania to share economic benefits of developing the Marcellus Shale gas reserves.

Drill rigs powered with natural gas instead of diesel can reduce fuel costs by up to 60%.

Ensign Drilling operates 15 drilling rigs on natural gas in the US, of which 11 use GE’s Jenbacher gas engines.