Accidents | Energy Companies | HG Energy | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County | Wastewater
HG Energy Washington Co. Pad Leaks Up to 1,000 Barrels of Wastewater
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reports that the failure of equipment near HG Energy’s WFN-6 shale gas well pad in West Finley Township, Washington County, released an estimated 500 to 1,000 barrels (21,000 to 42,000 gallons) of brine. Discovered by drone on July 8, the spill reportedly began when equipment failed inside a cement vault (connected to a pipeline), causing wastewater to flow downslope toward an unnamed tributary of Robinson Fork Creek. DEP inspectors documented dead and dying vegetation marking the wastewater’s path. Read More “HG Energy Washington Co. Pad Leaks Up to 1,000 Barrels of Wastewater”
Infinity Natural Resources announced the appointment of Timothy Dugan to its Board of Directors, effective July 13, 2026. Dugan brings more than four decades of experience in the Appalachian energy industry, spanning upstream operations, midstream infrastructure, capital allocation, and strategic transactions. He most recently served as President and CEO of Olympus Energy, leading its sale to EQT Corporation for $1.8 billion in July 2025 (see 
Here’s a new gas-fired power plant project not previously on our radar. Beaufort Rosemary, a Virginia-based company, wants to build a 500-megawatt (MW) dual-fuel natural gas and propane power plant on 50 to 80 acres of land in Bethune, South Carolina, in Kershaw County. Officials say the project would bring more than $900 million in economic impact, hundreds of construction jobs, and 15 to 20 permanent jobs once fully operational. After hours of public debate, Kershaw County Council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to approve a 40-year tax incentive deal. 
In June, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill (SB) 219 into law. The new law, the first significant update to Ohio’s oil and gas laws since the Kasich administration more than a decade ago, reforms Ohio’s orphaned oil and gas well program and other elements of Ohio’s O&G laws. One aspect of the new law establishes an expedited drilling and plugging permit process. The law prevents the state from rejecting expedited permit requests (capped at 10 per owner annually), shortens timelines for leasing and drilling on public lands—including 30-day permit approvals—and limits landowners’ ability to challenge expired lease renewals. Anti-fossil fuelers are fuming. What’s new? 
The Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) investment group 2PointZero, via its subsidiary ePointZero, closed on its deal to acquire U.S. natural gas infrastructure firm Traverse Midstream Partners for $2.25 billion. This acquisition includes stakes in the Rover Pipeline and Ohio River System, which connect the productive Utica/Marcellus shale region to major demand centers and export hubs. The all-cash transaction gives the Abu Dhabi-based energy infrastructure platform a 35% non-operated stake in the Rover Pipeline and a 25% interest in the Ohio River System (ORS), both of which are operated by Energy Transfer. 
There’s been a change in the Marcellus/Utica. Despite fewer visible rigs and water trucks across Pennsylvania, the Marcellus Shale isn’t declining—it’s maturing. Counting wells or permits no longer measures success, because fifteen years of learning have made modern wells dramatically more productive. Longer laterals, better geologic mapping, and refined completion techniques enable operators to produce more gas from fewer wells, reducing land disturbance, road construction, and traffic while improving economics. This shift from expansion to optimization arrives as demand surges from manufacturing, LNG exports, and AI data centers. For Appalachian communities, the takeaway is clear: the Marcellus isn’t slowing down—it’s getting better. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Data center hysteria in Pennsylvania; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Why New York’s data center moratorium feels all too familiar; Trump skewers Hochul’s ban of data centers in NY as ‘terrible decision’; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures inch up ahead of storage data; Waning heat in forecast sends physical natural gas prices lower; Elon Musk bought a gas turbine company; How gas and power markets are inextricably linked in 2026; Gas plant acquisitions remain well below newbuild costs; False optimism, broken promises of wind and solar advocates; Socialist candidates want to resurrect Green New Deal corpse; INTERNATIONAL: Oil narrowly extends gains as US launches fresh Iran strikes; Asian oil refiners scoop up US crude as Iran war intensifies. 
After months of deliberation, Steubenville (Jefferson County), Ohio, City Council voted to accept a bid and proceed with leasing the city’s mineral rights to the oil and gas industry, including areas near residential neighborhoods and Beatty Park. Some residents voiced strong opposition, citing threats to the park’s ecosystem, health concerns, and insufficient public involvement, urging the council to reject bids or form a resident-inclusive committee. Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo voted against it, questioning fracking’s health effects. First Ward Councilman David Albaugh supported it, noting that surrounding areas are already fracked and that no well pad would be built in Steubenville. The money (over $1 million!) is expected within 90 days. 
What a disappointment. We don’t know why, but at yesterday’s U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure meeting on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), an amendment to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) authority to ban fracking was NOT introduced. The WRDA passed and now goes to the House for a vote — without the amendment that would have overturned the DRBC frack ban, which illegally strips landowners’ property rights in Wayne and Pike counties (in Pennsylvania). The only conclusion we can draw is that the Republican leadership, for whatever reason, didn’t want it attached to the bill. Meaning they caved. Again, what a disappointment. 
Northeast natural gas demand could rise by up to 10 Bcf/d by the early 2030s, supported by power generation, LNG, industrial growth, and advancing pipeline projects. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) says regional operators increasingly expect 5–8 Bcf/d of growth by 2030, although the firm models only 3 Bcf/d. The interesting aspect of TPH’s prediction is *where* the increase in gas supply will come from, and which drillers will most likely provide it. 
Last year, we reported on a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued in the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Game Commission v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust (see 
New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday had the ignominious distinction of signing an Executive Order establishing the nation’s first statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, temporarily pausing state environmental permit issuance for up to 1 year. New York is CLOSED for business. We wonder if this decision jeopardizes a $100 BILLION project in the Syracuse area: a new chip-making plant by Micron. The Micron plant will build the chips used by hyperscale data centers — the same data centers Hochul just banned. How’s that for a kick in Micron’s teeth? 
A little over two weeks ago, MDN reported that THE Delaware Riverkeeper was sounding the alarm (the perennial “sky is falling” group) that the Penn America LNG export facility had come back to life and is planning a new LNG export project near Philadelphia (see 
The far-left activists who occupy and control the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) are shocked and dismayed that their iron grip on power is slipping away. As we reported yesterday, Congress is close to adopting an amendment to the federal Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that would block the DRBC and its sister organization, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), from banning hydraulic fracturing (and shale drilling) within their respective jurisdictions (see