Frac Sand: Does Size Really Matter?
Today, we introduce you to a new advertiser on Marcellus Drilling News: MS Industries. Below is a sponsored post from MS Industries. Such posts on MDN are extremely rare. We only accept sponsored posts if we believe the content is (a) very high quality and (b) directly relevant to MDN readers. This post on frac sand hits the bullseye. Among MDN’s audience are many who work for drillers (i.e., producers) and those who work for the oilfield services companies that work for those drillers. Believe it or not, frac sand is one of the keys, one of the closely-guarded secrets of drillers, that determines the success of their drilling programs. MS Industries, serving the Marcellus/Utica (and other plays), offers a range of high-grade frac sand, including whole grain silica microproppant. Matt Henry, one of the principals of MS Industries, writes about the role of microproppants in fracking. Click to learn more about the critical role of frac sand and why size *does* matter… Read More “Frac Sand: Does Size Really Matter?”
For the week of Mar 31 – Apr 6, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells increased by two from the previous week. Last week, 21 new permits were issued, with 12 going to the Keystone State (PA). Expand Energy, via its merged companies Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, scored five permits, with three permits for Southwestern in Susquehanna County and two for Chesapeake in Bradford County. Greylock Energy received three permits for drilling in Potter County. Range Resources also received three permits to drill wells in Lycoming and Washington counties. 
Last week MDN brought you the great news that Boardwalk Pipeline Partners launched an open season to offer an extra 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of capacity along its 5,975-mile Texas Gas Transmission pipeline network that stretches from Ohio to Louisiana, running through Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Arkansas along the way (see 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook yesterday, the agency’s monthly best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. In this latest assessment, EIA boosted its estimates for the Henry Hub price. The agency now expects the HH price to average $4.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2025, ten cents higher than last month’s forecast. EIA expects the annual average price in 2026 will be $4.60/MMBtu, also ten cents higher than last month’s forecast. The basis for the rise in the price forecast is lower storage levels. Inventories of stored gas are 4% below the five-year average. 
A month ago, MDN told you about a meeting held in northeastern Pennsylvania between newly-appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Congressman Rob Bresnahan, several state elected officials, as well as labor and others (see 
Does Donald Trump ever sleep? He just keeps churning out the hits, day after day and week after week. Two days ago, President Trump signed two more executive orders (EOs) and a memorandum related to energy. On April 9, the President issued a new executive order requiring agencies to adopt one-year sunset dates on any existing regulations affecting energy. A second order requires agencies to identify regulations that limit competition. The President also signed a memorandum implementing a previous EO, directing the repeal of unlawful regulations under 10 recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including the Supreme Court decision overturning the “Chevron doctrine.” 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PJM, Google, Tapestry join forces to apply AI to regional planning, interconnection; NATIONAL: U.S. shale faces toughest challenge since the 2020 oil price plunge; U.S. crude oil exports reached a new record in 2024; AI-driven power demands are creating a ‘strange bedfellows’ energy alliance; AI needs natural gas to survive; CEOs say sub-$60 WTI ‘a mess’ but tariffs ‘had to happen’; America can dominate global hydrogen by leveraging natural gas; Bill to protect consumer choice in water heaters moves to President’s desk; INTERNATIONAL: EU states set to back more flexibility for filling gas storage; EU ready to buy more U.S. LNG to make Trump happy; Oil tumbles as tariff jitters return; Equinor forms new unit to capitalise on soaring power demand.