M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Even @ 55; Nat’l Way Up 10 @ 573
Last week was noteworthy for the Baker Hughes rig count. Although the Marcellus/Utica count didn’t budge, the national count increased by 10 rigs, the largest one-week increase since June 2022 (four years). The new national count, 573, is also the highest the combined count has been in well over a year. The combined M-U rig count remained at 36 active rigs for the seventh week in a row. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Even @ 55; Nat’l Way Up 10 @ 573”
Earlier this month, MDN brought you the news that Talen Energy would file an application to expand its power generation facility with two new gas-fired power units in Montour County, PA (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible, safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 27th Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 34 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, McKean, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. 
Last September, MDN told you that two major Kinder Morgan pipeline projects that will flow Marcellus/Utica molecules in the southeastern U.S. took a big step forward at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with FERC actively working on an environmental impact statement (EIS) for both projects (see 
In mid-April, MDN brought you the great news that a major lawsuit had been filed against New York State, alleging a “taking” of private property by the state through its ban on fracking (see 
It never ends well for landowners who believe they can block pipeline surveyors from accessing their land. In April 2025, MDN told you about a new greenfield expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Elba Express pipeline into South Carolina to serve growing demand for natural gas in the state (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Fire extinguished at Monroe Energy’s Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas data center to use Cummins natural gas generators; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures slip as July contract expires; USA oil, gas workforce rises from April to May; New name, new mission at the Justice Department; U.S. banking on ‘co-innovation’ for its trillion-dollar energy build; INTERNATIONAL: Crude falls on rising Gulf supplies; Hormuz traffic ebbs as attacks stoke fresh concerns; The IGU calls on EU to “urgently rethink” methane regs; Oil prices and lessons for the press from a failure of expertise. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received 31 new drilling permits last week, June 15 – 21, up from the pathetic 2 permits issued two weeks ago. However, not all 31 permits reported last week were issued last week. Ohio, which is increasingly tardy in updating its public reports, included permits in last week’s report that should have been in the previous week’s. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 18 permits. Ohio issued 9 new permits, all of which should have been reported two weeks ago. West Virginia issued 4 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits included: EOG Resources, EQT, Gulfport Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, JKLM Energy, LOLA Energy, Northeast Natural Energy, PennEnergy Resources, and Sabre Energy. 
In early May, Devon Energy completed its buyout of and merger with Coterra Energy, paying $21.4 billion in Devon stock (see 
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) is set to vote on Monday to open roughly 23,000 acres of publicly owned wildlife preserves in eastern Ohio to fracking. The panel will weigh accepting bids on about 15,000 acres split between Jockey Hollow and Egypt Valley, plus opening another 8,000 acres of Egypt Valley. Approval would bring Ohio’s leased public land to more than 30,000 acres across Salt Fork State Park and six wildlife areas, mostly in the Belmont-Harrison-Guernsey region. Ohio has already collected roughly $57 million in signing bonuses, plus 18–20% royalties. 
In October 2025, we reported that Ohio Republican Senators had introduced Senate Bill (SB) 219, the first significant update to Ohio’s oil and gas laws since the Kasich administration more than a decade ago (see 
In early 2024, we reported that Penn America Energy CEO Franc James, the potential builder of the proposed Penn America LNG export facility in the Philadelphia area, said that he “pumped the brakes” on the project but that it wasn’t dead yet (see 