Dan Weaver, president and executive director of Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA), sat down for a policy discussion with Jessica Morales at the recent DUG East conference and exhibition in Pittsburgh.

“Right now, we’re the second largest gas producer in the United States,” Weaver said of Pennsylvania.

“It’s amazing,” he continued. “We have less drilling rigs than we did here say 10 years ago, but yet more and more wells are coming online. As long as we have the ability to get it out of the basin, we’ll keep going.”

Weaver also discussed a number of areas the association is focused on in the Keystone State. From infrastructure, to policy and regulations, Weaver said PIOGA is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. “We are not against regulations, we just want sensible regulations,” he said.

Regarding infrastructure challenges Weaver said, “We are having some permitting issues in some of the areas and there’s some opposition against pipelines, as there is in many areas across the United States. So, we’re working on trying to get out there and educate people … that pipelines are the safest way to move product from one place to another.”