According to analysts at Evercore ISI, natural gas (and oil) permits to drill new shale wells dropped dramatically in April from previous months in both the Marcellus/Utica and other shale plays. Evercore tracks new drilling permits and says Marcellus permits fell by 25%. The M-U’s main competitor, the Haynesville, saw an even bigger 40% drop. We did a bit of analysis ourselves, and while new permits did drop quite a bit in April, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
