Nat’l Rig Count Down 1 @ 592; Marcellus Down 1 @ 23, Utica Up 1 @ 12
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count lost one rig last week (after gaining one the week before), now operating 592 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 35 last week. However, there was a notable change in the totals. Rigs focused on the Marcellus were down by one to a combined 23 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica picked up the lost Marcellus rig, now at a combined 12. PA had operated 15 rigs (or more) for 19 weeks straight. That streak was broken last week when PA lost a rig. OH had operated nine rigs for 16 weeks in a row but picked up one last week and now stands at ten active rigs. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. Six weeks ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and operates 11 active rigs. Read More “Nat’l Rig Count Down 1 @ 592; Marcellus Down 1 @ 23, Utica Up 1 @ 12”
Infinity Natural Resources (INR), headquartered in Morgantown, WV, focuses 100% on the Marcellus/Utica. The company went public earlier this year with a $265 million ($20/share) initial public offering, giving INR a $1.18 billion market capitalization (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the March 29 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC gave his approval to or renewed 50 (!) general water use permits in February for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania. 
Last week, Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw (Lycoming County), chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, sounded the alarm for all Pennsylvanians. Yaw said, “We are going to have to suffer some hardships. Meaning, we probably are going to have some blackouts, brownouts.” Why would PA, an electricity exporter, experience blackouts? The plain, simple, and short answer is because of Governor Josh Shapiro’s idiotic energy policies. 
We think the headline of this post pretty much says it all with respect to why it costs five times more to plug orphaned wells in Pennsylvania than in other states (see 
The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), led by West Virginia and Ohio, was one of seven projects to win the Bidenista Hunger Games competition to receive a chunk of $7 billion to build a regional hydrogen hub (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Dimock fractivist hero told by the court to shut up or else; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Judge rules against sale of Gulf of America oil drilling rights; PJM defends itself in NJ energy blame game; General Assembly energy package a mixed bag for environmental groups; NATIONAL: Trump administration cancels clean energy grants as it prioritizes fossil fuels; USA crude oil inventories down 3.3MM barrels WoW; Trump’s trade tactics are driving new LNG deals; INTERNATIONAL: Oil slips despite weekly gain; Microsoft pulls back from more data center leases in US and Europe; It’s the biggest failure in history…nearly $1 Bn lost in hydrogen; India weighs scrapping import tax on US LNG, boosting purchases; Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw chiefs oppose new fracking law, considering legal action; Greta Thunberg — from climate warrior to Israel hater.