BUFFALO – The natural gas production company Norse Energy Corp. has commenced drilling into the Herkimer Sandstone in Chenango County after an almost six month hiatus while it conducted seismic tests to illuminate subsurface prospects.

The company is targeting between seven and nine Herkimer sites by the end of the year, and plans to begin a drilling program of 30 Herkimer wells in 2011 with a new business partner.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Mineral Resources Division has granted permits for at least a dozen Norse applications. The company has about 30 more in various stages of regulatory approval.

“We hope to have ongoing activities from this point forward and continue contributing to the local tax base as a result,” said Norse Vice President Dennis Holbrook.

The drilling in question is not hydraulic fracturing, a controversial process that utilizes large quantities of pressurized water, chemicals, sand and soap to release natural gas from fissures in tight shale formations. Holbrook said the only water used to drill into sandstone is for cooling the pipe.