Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Halliburton | Patterson-UTI | West Virginia | Wetzel County
EQT Sets New U.S. Onshore Record for Deepest & Longest Shale Well
EQT Corporation, the largest driller in the Marcellus/Utica (based on M-U production), recently achieved two records with the same Marcellus well. EQT drilled not only the “deepest” shale well in the continental U.S. (by “measured depth”), but also the longest horizontal shale well (by lateral length). EQT’s Longwell 9H well, located in Wetzel County, West Virginia (near the Pennsylvania border), eclipses a record set by Expand Energy in 2025 in Marshall County, WV. Read More “EQT Sets New U.S. Onshore Record for Deepest & Longest Shale Well”
Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) is a 55-mile, 42-inch-wide pipeline that will run through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties in North Carolina. Construction for SESE started March 2, 2026, according to FERC filings. Transco (Williams) received its final federal authorization and a Notice to Proceed, and crews mobilized in early spring. Initial activities have included tree felling, installation of acoustic barriers, and test drilling in preparation for blasting. Antis finally gave up trying to block construction of SESE in June (see 
We spotted a press release from Hexagon Agility that the company has secured its largest-ever single order for “Mobile Pipeline” modules from Certarus, valued at about $100 million, with an option for up to $25 million more by 2028. It triggered a “connect the dots” moment for us. Mobile pipelines are another term for virtual pipelines, which is a euphemism for trucking natural gas via CNG (mostly) and sometimes LNG. The Hexagon press release indicates strong new demand for such technology in the AI data center market. No pipeline? No problem! Just truck it in via a virtual pipe instead. 
Global research firm Wood Mackenzie warns that a decade of cheap U.S. natural gas is ending, with Henry Hub prices—historically stuck between $2 and $4 per MMBtu—expected to approach $5 by 2035. The shift is driven by surging demand from LNG exports and AI data centers. U.S. LNG exports jumped from 0.5 Bcf/d in 2016 to 15.0 Bcf/d in 2025, with capacity expected to nearly double by 2031. Meanwhile, power-sector demand could require an additional 17 Bcf/d by the mid-2030s. Supply-side tailwinds—prime drilling acreage, cheap associated gas, and annual productivity gains—have largely run their course. WoodMac says $5 gas remains globally competitive. 
Over the past two weeks, just prior to heading out on summer vacation, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a number of extremely important decisions. One of them was Slaughter v. Trump, a 6-3 decision in which the Supremes overturned the 91-year-old Humphrey’s Executor precedent, granting the president broad authority to remove members of independent federal agencies for any reason. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the president must have trusted subordinates to ensure accountability, though the Court exempted the Federal Reserve to preserve its independence. This ruling permanently solidifies President Trump’s earlier removals of Democratic appointees, significantly expanding executive control over critical regulatory bodies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Trade Commission, and most importantly for MDN readers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 
Last week was (once again) noteworthy for the Baker Hughes rig count. Although the Marcellus/Utica count didn’t budge, the national count increased by another 7 rigs. The national count has risen over the last three weeks — by 18 rigs! The new national count, 580, is also the highest the combined count has been since May 2025. The combined M-U rig count remained at 36 active rigs for the eighth consecutive week. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. 
NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures slip ahead of holiday; INTERNATIONAL: Oil fluctuates as crude flows surge through Persian Gulf; Qatar LNG ship traffic through Hormuz resumes after brief pause; Oil, gas tankers cross Hormuz via Oman-side route after U-turns; China urges ‘unimpeded passage’ of Hormuz as fee chatter mounts; Oil glut calls may be getting ahead of reality. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received 31 new drilling permits last week, June 22 – 28, the very same number issued two weeks ago! Can’t remember the last time that happened. Last week, Pennsylvania issued just 5 new permits. Ohio issued 13 new permits. West Virginia also issued 13 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits included: Antero Resources, EOG Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, Laurel Mountain Energy, and Pennsylvania General Energy. 
Ohio’s Utica shale boom ignited around 2011 in northeastern counties, with Carroll County emerging as the epicenter of early drilling. Operators like Chesapeake Energy targeted the oil and liquids-rich “wet gas” windows in Carroll, Columbiana, and Harrison counties. However, as operators refined their geologic understanding, they discovered the formation’s most prolific “dry gas” window lay to the southeast. Development steadily migrated toward Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, and Guernsey counties, where deeper, overpressured rock formations yielded massive volumes of natural gas. By the mid-2010s, these southern counties dominated Ohio’s Utica production, eclipsing the northern pioneers that first proved the play’s potential. However, three years ago, Encino Energy “cracked the code” on Ohio Utica oil drilling, and activity began migrating north again (see 
Data center growth is rapidly reshaping Northeast power and natural gas markets, with projects clustering near transmission lines, substations, gas-fired power generation, and pipeline corridors. Virginia remains the epicenter, led by Northern Virginia’s massive hyperscale hub and tens of gigawatts of planned capacity. Ohio is emerging fast around Columbus, with more than 15 GW proposed. Pennsylvania could become a major growth story, pairing Marcellus/Utica gas resources with large campuses such as Homer City’s planned 4.5-GW gas-fired/data center redevelopment. However, PA is attempting to shoot itself in the foot with talk of both short- and long-term moratoriums on new data center construction. So, the jury is still very much out on how successful PA will be with data centers. 
Yesterday, pipeline giant Williams announced the appointment of Lloyd W. “Billy” Helms Jr. and Robb E. Turner as its newest board members, expanding its board from 10 to 12 members. Helms brings more than 40 years of oil and gas experience, including senior leadership roles at Utica driller EOG Resources, where he served as president and chief operating officer. Turner brings 35-plus years of experience in energy operations, finance, and investing, including co-founding ArcLight Capital Partners and serving as chair of The Madava Group and Revenant Energy. The question is, how do these two additions connect to and impact Williams’ Marcellus/Utica operations? 
In April, MDN reported that PowerTransitions, an independent power producer specializing in redeveloping legacy power facilities, had agreed to acquire five New York gas-fired power plants — Batavia, Hillburn, Massena, Shoemaker, and Sterling — totaling 323 megawatts (MW) from Alliance Energy Group affiliates (see 
Wow! Where did the last 10 years go? In June 2015, MDN brought you the news of two Pennsylvania business groups, the Delaware County Chamber and the Washington County Chamber, along with two labor unions, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) with 25,000 members and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 66 with 7,000 members, joining forces to form the 
Like most proud Americans, MDN is taking a break tomorrow, July 3rd, to celebrate Independence Day. It is a day to enjoy parades, barbeques, fireworks, and baseball! Or camping, gathering with family and friends, and many other ways to celebrate. We hope you have a great day! And a shout-out to those who won’t be taking off Friday (or even Saturday) from work—firefighters, police officers, EMTs, nurses and doctors working in our hospitals, and even those toiling away drilling shale wells (it’s a 24/7/365 job). We salute them all and hope they get double pay!
All we can say is, get the heck out of New York while you still can. Sooner or later, property values in the “Empire” State will crash. (Probably sooner rather than later.) Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2nd Circuit) ruled in support of New York State banning natural gas from being used in new home (and business) construction across the entire state. If it stands, it is the beginning of the end for NY. The end will eventually come when Wall Street firms finally give up and move from New York City to Texas or Florida, completely bankrupting the state from lost revenues.