CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s bid to tap new sources of natural gas in New York state may be quashed by Governor David Paterson’s political troubles.

Paterson is the most prominent state proponent of drilling in the Marcellus Shale, a formation extending from West Virginia to New York that has helped spur a boom in U.S. shale-gas production. Chesapeake, the second-biggest producer of natural gas in the U.S., is one of three companies that have filed a combined 58 applications for drilling permits in the state.

Paterson’s Department of Environmental Conservation is completing rules for extracting the gas. Applicants had expected permits to be approved this year, said Dave Palmerton, an industry consultant. That was before the governor became the target of probes into allegations that he improperly contacted a woman who had accused an aide of domestic abuse and that he sought free tickets to baseball’s World Series.

“Up until recently, he was in a position to push Marcellus drilling in New York state,” said Palmerton, who is based in Syracuse. “Given the political pressures right now, I’m very concerned the DEC may be pressed to hold this up until after the election, or delay it for some indefinite period of time.”

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