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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 27 – May 4

For the week of April 28 – May 4, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica was down two from the previous week. Last week, 22 new permits were issued in the M-U. In the Keystone State (PA), 10 new permits were issued. The top permittee was NFG’s Seneca Resources, which had four permits in Tioga County. PennEnergy Resource received two permits in Butler County. Expand Energy (SWN) received two permits in Lycoming County. Finally, both Coterra Energy and EQT (Rice Drilling) received a single permit, in Susquehanna and Washington counties, respectively. Read More “22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 27 – May 4”

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Nat’l Rig Count Down 9 @ 578; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Down 3 @ 10

We’re catching up on two weeks of changes in the rig count, and wow! Things changed. And NOT in a good way. The national count lost nine rigs over the past two weeks, going from 587 on April 25 to 584 on May 2 and then down to 578 on May 9. But it was the Marcellus/Utica that caught our attention. Two weeks ago, for the May 2 Baker Hughes rig count, Ohio dropped three rigs in a single week, going from 12 on April 25 to nine on May 2. The Ohio count remained at nine on May 9. Consequently, the combined M-U count went from 38 two weeks ago to 35 and has remained at that level. Both Pennsylvania and West Virginia kept their same counts of 18 and 8, respectively. Read More “Nat’l Rig Count Down 9 @ 578; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Down 3 @ 10”

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Coterra Says Constitution Talks Back On; May Add $50M to Marcellus

Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its first quarter 2025 update last week. There was a lot of news coming from the update. However, two things stood out for us: (1) Coterra confirmed that talks to revive the Constitution Pipeline project are underway now, and (2) the company is drilling again in the PA Marcellus and may add another $50 million to 2025’s planned $300 million budget for the Marcellus. Read More “Coterra Says Constitution Talks Back On; May Add $50M to Marcellus”

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Olympus Energy Sale to EQT Results in 105 Layoffs at Leviathan

A few weeks ago, MDN told you that EQT Corporation, the second-largest natural gas producer in the country (and the largest producer in the Marcellus/Utica) is buying out and merging in Olympus Energy for $1.8 billion (see EQT Buying Olympus Energy for $1.8 Billion; 90K Acres, 0.5 Bcf/d). Olympus uses another company, Leviathan Energy, to manage operations and provide other services. Leviathan filed a WARN notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry that all of its 105 employees will be laid off in July, and the company is closing down because of the sale to EQT. Read More “Olympus Energy Sale to EQT Results in 105 Layoffs at Leviathan”

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CNX Expands Partnership with Gov. Shapiro to Monitor More Wells

In November 2023, CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). Over the past year-and-a-half, CNX has delivered on its promises to Shapiro and has, as it claims, been “radically transparent.” That transparency is about to grow. Last week, CNX and Shapiro announced they will expand the partnership by monitoring the air quality in and around a future drilling site in Washington County. Read More “CNX Expands Partnership with Gov. Shapiro to Monitor More Wells”

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Williams Announces Transco Expansion to Flow More M-U to Virginia

During last week’s first quarter update from Williams, management announced a new project called the Transco Power Express expansion. The project will expand Transco capacity by a whopping 950 MMcf/d (nearly a full Bcf) to flow more Marcellus/Utica molecules to the power-hungry Virginia market. The Virginia market is power hungry because of the data centers already built there, and the many more planned for the state. The Power Express project, if built, is expected to go online in the third quarter of 2030 (five years from now). Read More “Williams Announces Transco Expansion to Flow More M-U to Virginia”

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, May 12, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Shell’s chemical division, including Monaca, poised for rebound; Nighttime flaring at Shell plastics plant lit up Beaver County ‘like dawn’; 34 organizations sign letter urging Pa. to adopt measures to protect against shale drilling; Pennsylvania weighs how to manage power-hungry data centers; Shale coalition leader knows the drill, advocates for it; GOP lawmakers, energy stakeholders push for natural gas expansion to boost jobs, bolster grid; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Mass. orders utilities to spend less ratepayer money on natural gas pipelines; Commonwealth LNG inks 20-year offtake; NATIONAL: Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claims he’s preaching ‘climate realism’; U.S. exports of natural gas liquids touch record high in April; Strong European demand pushes U.S. LNG exports up by 20%; US LNG exports surge to new highs on strong buying by Europe; DOE announces new leadership to tackle challenges of growing energy demand. [NOTE: We have not included comments on each story summary below in the interest of time. We’re still digging out from under a mountain of news that happened over the past nine days we’ve been away. MDN’s commentary will return tomorrow.] Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, May 12, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”