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32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 16 – 22
There were 32 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 16 – 22, more than doubling the 15 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had nine new permits, with five of them going to EQT in Greene County. The Buckeye State (OH) had 20 new permits. The floodgates opened up! The top recipient in OH was Encino Energy, which received eight permits divided between Guernsey and Carroll counties. EOG Resources received five permits in Harrison County. The Mountain State (WV) had three new permits after getting skunked the prior week. All three were issued to Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) in Monongalia County. Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 16 – 22”
Toby Rice, the Chief Executive Officer of EQT Corporation, currently the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (but about to become second-largest next week, after Chesapeake Energy & Southwestern Energy merge to become the largest, see today’s companion story), addressed the 800 attendees at the Shale Insight event yesterday. He was in Erie, PA, yesterday, just one day after he spoke at an event in New York City at that city’s so-called Climate Week. Rice had some rather blunt words about the capability of renewable energy and the inability of renewables to meet a dramatic increase in demand for energy that will come from AI data centers and a massive expansion in the use of electric vehicles. He said renewables will “not be enough” to meet that demand, especially at the prices needed. Natural gas, on the other hand, IS enough. 
Voters in Pennsylvania have the opportunity to elect a U.S. Senator in November who is a 100% supporter of the state’s Marcellus shale industry: Dave McCormick. Will they? Or will PA voters re-elect Bob Casey for a third term—someone who voted with Joe Biden and his Big Green (anti-shale) agenda 98.5% of the time? A quote often attributed to Woody Allen is this: “Ninety percent of success in life is just showing up.” Dave McCormick showed up, IN PERSON, to deliver a talk at this week’s Shale Insight event in Erie, PA, showing his unreserved support for PA shale. Bob Casey was a no-show. Instead, Casey “mailed it in” by sending a prerecorded message to attendees, mouthing insincere words of support for the industry. Which one do you believe REALLY supports shale? It’s a no-brainer. 
In 2024, natural gas prices have spent almost the entire year under $3.00 per Mcf (thousand cubic feet), including a few months under $2.00/Mcf. You would think such low prices would have a negative effect on the stock prices of publicly traded Marcellus/Utica gas producers. Not so! Stock prices for our drillers have remained “remarkably stable.” In fact, Antero Resources’ price is actually UP this year. Range Resources is flat for the year so far. Others, like EQT and Coterra Energy, are down just a smidge. Given the disadvantages of the M-U basin—primarily the lack of pipeline takeaway capacity and the long distance our molecules must travel to Gulf Coast LNG export facilities—it’s surprising that stock valuations for our drillers have not been negatively impacted. 
In August, MDN told you about a tiny new gas-fired power plant coming to Kentucky (see 
For those of a certain age (or who like to watch reruns), do you remember that iconic song and TV series, The Love Boat? Sing along with us: “The love boat soon will be making another run. The love boat promises something for everyone. Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance…” Princess Cruises is the operator of the ships featured on the Love Boat TV show. The company announced yesterday that finishing work has begun in Italy on its second LNG-powered cruise ship. The Star Princess is due to be based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and will set sail in the fall of 2025. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Digging deep to understand rural opposition to solar power; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Category 3 Hurricane Helene nears landfall, disrupts energy infrastructure; NATIONAL: Harris’ bait and switch on fracking; Shock election forecast gives Trump 11 point lead over Harris; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC+ confirms it has no specific price target for crude oil; Oil sinks amid Saudi output plans and Libyan oil revival; Oil prices to stay depressed through 2025 on global oversupply; Agencies reveal new framework to measure progress on methane reduction; The EU tries to extend its ESG regulatory reach to the U.S.