Marcellus Drilling News

Bradford County | Energy Companies | Expand Energy | Pennsylvania

Expand 2Q: M-U Delivers 4.3 Bcfe/d, Pays $5K/Acre in Bradford County
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

Expand Energy, the largest natural gas producer in the country, reported its second-quarter 2026 numbers on Tuesday and held its analyst call Wednesday morning. Headline items: net production of 7.48 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), net income of $522 million, and a reaffirmed full-year guide of 7.4–7.6 Bcfe/d on $2.75–$2.95 billion of capital spending. But the news that matters most to MDN readers isn’t in the headline — it’s buried in the slide deck. Expand quietly paid roughly $5,000 an acre for 3,000 acres in core Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and turned in the best drilling quarter in the history of its Southwest Appalachia business. Meanwhile, interim CEO Mike Wichterich says the search for a permanent boss is in “the back third” and will land inside the promised nine months. Let’s break it down. Read More “Expand 2Q: M-U Delivers 4.3 Bcfe/d, Pays $5K/Acre in Bradford County”
Beaver County | Berkshire Hathaway | Clinton County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Potter County | Tioga County (PA)

Exclusive: Buffett’s EGTS Quietly Plans Project Stratum, All of It in PA
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

Yesterday we told you about Project Oak Leaf, Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage’s (EGTS) 52.5-mile expansion that will carry Leidy gas down to Maryland and Virginia (see Buffett’s EGTS Plans 52.5-Mile Oak Leaf Pipe, Leidy Gas to MD/VA). The folks at EGTS emailed to say thanks for the coverage — and then mentioned, almost in passing, that they have another new project cooking in Pennsylvania. It’s called Project Stratum, and as best we can tell, MDN is the first outlet anywhere to write about it. We searched. Nothing in the trades, nothing in the local papers, nothing. So here you go. Read More “Exclusive: Buffett’s EGTS Quietly Plans Project Stratum, All of It in PA”
Athens County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Iroquois Gas Transmission | National Fuel | Ohio | Pipelines | Texas Eastern

TE Compressor Trips Offline in Ohio While FERC Weighs Replacement
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

We periodically go pipeline-notice hunting to see what’s throttling Marcellus/Utica molecules on any given day (see Up to 8% of M-U Molecules Currently Restricted Due to Pipe Issues). This morning’s sweep through PipeRiv — the free clearinghouse that aggregates critical notices from nearly every interstate pipeline in the country — turned up something with a nice bit of timing attached. The affected pipes include Texas Eastern, Iroquois Gas Transmission, and National Fuel Gas. Read More “TE Compressor Trips Offline in Ohio While FERC Weighs Replacement”
AI | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky | NextEra Energy

NextEra to Build 2 GW of New Gas Plants to Power $100B KY AI Campus
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

A coalition of energy and utility companies announced on Wednesday (July 29) that they’re turning a chunk of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) old Paducah uranium enrichment site in far western Kentucky into a massive data center campus. The gas angle: NextEra Energy will build and own up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of new natural gas-fired generation to power the thing. That’s 2,000 megawatts (MW) of brand-new, on-demand gas burn dropped into a state sitting at the western end of a pipeline system that reaches back toward Appalachia. Here’s the deal in brief… Read More “NextEra to Build 2 GW of New Gas Plants to Power $100B KY AI Campus”
Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | North Carolina | Pipelines

Enbridge NC Pipe Update: Landowner Settles, Greens Swarm Open House
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

Back in May, we told you about a new 28-mile intrastate natural gas pipeline Enbridge Gas North Carolina (EGNC) wants to build in Chatham and Lee counties, running from Siler City southeast to Moncure (see Enbridge Plans New 28-Mile Gas Pipe in Chatham & Lee Counties in NC). At the time, we had almost no details. Three months later, we have plenty — including an answer to the question we couldn’t answer in May: which regulator actually blesses this thing? The short answer: none of them, at least not the way you’d expect. Read More “Enbridge NC Pipe Update: Landowner Settles, Greens Swarm Open House”
Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Grant County | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia

Dominion’s Mt. Storm Gas Plant Is Real – And Bigger Than Announced
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

Two days ago, we brought you word of a big new gas-fired power plant headed for Dominion Energy’s Mt. Storm complex in Grant County, WV (see Big New Dominion Gas-Fired Plant Coming to Mt. Storm, WV). At the time, we had politicians talking and no paper. We flagged it with an asterisk the size of a cooling tower. The asterisk is gone. On Tuesday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey made it official, and it turns out Dominion had already filed the paperwork — a 435-page Major Source Construction Permit application submitted July 24 to the WV Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality (permit application R14-0043, facility ID 023-00003). We’ve read it. Here’s what’s in it, including a couple of things the news coverage got wrong. Read More “Dominion’s Mt. Storm Gas Plant Is Real – And Bigger Than Announced”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Jul 30, 2026
July 30, 2026July 30, 2026

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Garrity uses farm plan to knock data centers, distances herself from Trump tariffs; Huge solar farm in 4 Erie County townships nears final approval stage; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Michigan legislature draws the line on climate lawfare; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures steady in early trading; Lower crude oil prices reduced U.S.-Canada energy trade value in 2025; INTERNATIONAL: Oil surges as tensions erupt; Oil, gas sector is cash rich, capital cautious; QatarEnergy buys 33 US LNG cargoes to offset Hormuz disruption; Hormuz traffic shows defiance. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Jul 30, 2026”
Berkshire Hathaway | Centre County | Clinton County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Juniata County | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Buffett’s EGTS Plans 52.5-Mile Oak Leaf Pipe, Leidy Gas to MD/VA
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

There’s a brand-new pipeline project on the board for our region, and it’s a good one. Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS) — a BHE GT&S company, which means it ultimately belongs to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy — is proposing Project Oak Leaf, a 52.5-mile expansion of its PL-1 system that will move an extra 250,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas from Clinton County, Pennsylvania down to customers in Maryland and Virginia. (A dekatherm is a heat measurement roughly equal to one thousand cubic feet of gas, so call it about 250 MMcf/d — 250 million cubic feet per day.) EGTS plans to file its application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the fourth quarter of this year, with construction starting in early 2028 and gas flowing by the end of 2029. The Frederick (MD) News-Post picked up the story yesterday. Four public open houses are already on the calendar, the first one next week. Read More “Buffett’s EGTS Plans 52.5-Mile Oak Leaf Pipe, Leidy Gas to MD/VA”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Rockies Express Pipeline | Tallgrass Energy

REX Waste Heat Now Powers Univ. of Dayton – Let’s Do More of This!
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

Waste heat to power facility in Washington Court House, Ohio.

Back in March we told you Tallgrass was bolting waste-heat-to-power gear onto three Rockies Express (REX) compressor stations in Ohio and Indiana (see Rockies Express Compressor Stations Turn Waste Heat into Power). Those three were the sequel. Yesterday we got word the original is now up and running. Tallgrass, Kanin Energy, AES Ohio, and the University of Dayton announced that a waste-heat recovery system tied to the REX compressor station at Washington Court House (Fayette County), Ohio, is now generating electricity — enough to cover 100% of the university’s power needs under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The system is expected to crank out roughly 78,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) a year, trim about 55,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, and cut UD’s carbon footprint by 71%. Construction started in October 2024 and wrapped up in early 2026. Read More “REX Waste Heat Now Powers Univ. of Dayton – Let’s Do More of This!”
DTE Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Michigan

DTE Energy 2Q: Coal Exit by 2032 Means New Gas Plant and M-U Demand
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

DTE Energy reported second quarter 2026 results yesterday, and before we dig in, one piece of housekeeping. DTE used to be an M-U player in a big way — it owned gathering systems in the Marcellus and Utica plus half of the NEXUS pipeline. That business walked out the door on July 1, 2021, when DTE spun it off as DT Midstream (see DT Midstream Plans to Expand Organically, Decarbonize). So when you see “DTE” attached to Appalachian midstream news, that’s DTM, not DTE. What’s left at DTE Energy is a Michigan utility: DTE Electric (2.3 million customers in southeast Michigan) and DTE Gas (1.4 million customers statewide), plus a non-utility arm called DTE Vantage that does renewable natural gas (RNG) and custom energy projects. So why should MDN readers care? Two words: demand and pipe. Read More “DTE Energy 2Q: Coal Exit by 2032 Means New Gas Plant and M-U Demand”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | NextEra Energy | North Carolina | South Carolina | Virginia

Dominion/NextEra File to Merge; Greens Try but Fail to Stop Clock
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

Back in May we brought you the news that NextEra Energy is buying and merging with Dominion Energy in a deal valued around $66.8 billion (see NextEra Energy Buying, Merging with Dominion Energy for $66 Billion), followed by our rundown of the Marcellus/Utica projects that may be affected (see M-U Projects Potentially Impacted by NextEra/Dominion Merger). On July 15, the two companies stopped talking and started filing. They submitted applications to five separate regulators: the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Virginia filing is the big one — it started a statutory clock that runs out January 11, 2027. And the anti-fossil fuel crowd in Richmond immediately tried to jam that clock. Read More “Dominion/NextEra File to Merge; Greens Try but Fail to Stop Clock”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Transco

Shovels Hit Dirt: GA Power Breaks Ground on Plant Bowen Expansion
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

Back in March, we told you about two radical green groups — the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club — running to court to block new gas-fired turbines at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen in Bartow County, Georgia (see Big Green Sues to Block Clean-Burning Gas Plant in Bartow County, GA). Yesterday, July 28, the shovels went in the ground anyway. Georgia Power, joined by two senior U.S. Department of Energy officials, formally broke ground in Euharlee on a project that adds roughly 1,485 megawatts (MW) of combined-cycle natural gas generation plus a 500 MW battery storage system using Tesla Megapacks. The new units are expected to fire up in three to four years — before the end of the decade. DOE tied the project to a $26.5 billion federal loan to parent company Southern Company. Big Green showed up too, but only with a press release. Read More “Shovels Hit Dirt: GA Power Breaks Ground on Plant Bowen Expansion”
Energy Companies | INR/Infinity Natural Resources

INR Discloses $57.5M Q2 Derivative Gain Ahead of Earnings
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

Infinity Natural Resources, the Morgantown, WV-based operator running Utica Shale acreage in eastern Ohio and stacked dry-gas Marcellus/Utica positions in southwestern Pennsylvania, put out a preliminary hedging update on July 17th, giving the market a first look at its second-quarter derivative results before full Q2 earnings land. We thought that we would take the opportunity to try and explain (decode) what all of this hedging (derivatives) stuff is about. The headline number: a net derivative gain of approximately $57.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. That figure is a combination of two very different things, and it’s worth separating them. Read More “INR Discloses $57.5M Q2 Derivative Gain Ahead of Earnings”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

15 Dem AGs Rush to Defend Pipeline Cost Limits Frozen Since 2006
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

Back in May we told you about FERC’s proposal to modernize its natural gas “blanket certificate” program (see FERC Seeks to Fast-Track Gas Infrastructure with Blanket Permits). We called it a REALLY big deal. Turns out 15 Democrat attorneys general agree with us. They just don’t like it. The comment deadline in Docket No. RM25-12-001 was this past Monday (July 27). Right on cue, the AGs from 14 states plus the District of Columbia filed a joint comment letter telling FERC to drop the plan. Washington AG Nick Brown and Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell co-led the effort. The rest of the roll call: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and D.C. Read More “15 Dem AGs Rush to Defend Pipeline Cost Limits Frozen Since 2006”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jul 29, 2026
July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: The Rapid announces 8 new natural gas-powered buses to launch in 2027; Cheniere gets approval to introduce natural gas into final LNG expansion plant; Filled crude pipelines could cap Permian gas growth; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures extend decline; Spot gas broadly lower as prices retreat across most regions; U.S. enters a new cycle of natgas power development, but execution challenges loom large; Baker Hughes posts nearly 50 percent YoY increase in orders; U.S. LNG feedgas demand continues to rise; Private equity-linked asset sales to fuel US oil M&A; INTERNATIONAL: Oil tumbles on diplomatic optimism; Iran launches surprise missile attack on U.S. forces; UAE LNG exports via Gulf press on. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jul 29, 2026”
Energy Companies | Expand Energy | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Expand Buys Gas Marketer Twin Eagle for $1.25B – Why M-U Should Care
July 28, 2026July 28, 2026

Expand Energy, the largest natural gas producer in North America and a giant in the Marcellus/Utica, announced yesterday that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy Twin Eagle Holdings for $1.25 billion in cash from private equity owner Five Point Infrastructure. Twin Eagle is not a driller. It doesn’t own a single well. It’s a physical gas marketer — a middleman that buys gas from producers, moves it through pipelines and storage, and sells it to utilities, power plants, and factories. Twin Eagle markets more than 5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day), controls 44 Bcf (billion cubic feet) of storage and roughly 2 Bcf/d of firm pipeline capacity, and serves over 1,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. When it does, Expand becomes the country’s biggest gas seller as well as its biggest gas producer. Read More “Expand Buys Gas Marketer Twin Eagle for $1.25B – Why M-U Should Care”