Antero Resources | Beaver County | Bradford County | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Doddridge County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Expand Energy | Greene County (PA) | Hilcorp Energy | Monongalia County | Monroe County | Northeast Natural Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Sabre Energy | Sullivan County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia
30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 18 – 24
For the week of August 18 – 24, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica nearly doubled from the previous week. There were 30 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, a significant increase from the 16 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued the lion’s share with 14 new permits. Six of PA’s permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Four permits were issued to Expand Energy for a pad in Bradford County. Three permits were awarded to Sabre Energy for a pad in Sullivan County. And a single permit was issued to Range Resources in Beaver County. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 18 – 24”
We finally have some good news to report regarding the NYMEX futures price of natural gas. The price briefly flirted with $3.00 before closing at $2.94 yesterday. However, the cash (spot) price for gas sold at trading hubs around the Marcellus/Utica region didn’t fare so well. We’ll get to that. The NYMEX price went higher due to a lower-than-expected storage build and strong demand from LNG exports. An analyst interviewed by Reuters said the price moved higher because storage numbers were “a little tighter than estimates, which has sparked some short-covering.” The NYMEX has moved up for the last three trading days, up 24.80 cents (9.20%). The $3 level is an important psychological price point. 
The Eddystone Generating Station is a power plant owned by Constellation Energy Corporation, located in Eddystone, PA (near Philadelphia, in Delaware County). Units 3 and 4, each with 380 MW of generation capacity, can run on either natural gas or oil. The Eddystone Units were initially scheduled for retirement on May 31, 2025, but the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) stepped in and ordered both units to remain online and active due to emergency energy conditions in the PJM grid. The original order kept both units online and active an extra 90 days, until yesterday. DOE Secretary Chris Wright sent a new order to Constellation yesterday, extending the operation of the two units for an additional 90 days, until November 26. 
Back in May, a prominent Wall Street fund manager (investor) was skeptical that Williams would be able to revive and build two pipeline Marcellus projects: the Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project. Then he sat down to dinner with Williams executives. He came out of that meeting with his mind changed. “I came out of that dinner pretty optimistic. I went in very skeptical. It changed my mind.” If you had any reservations that maybe, just maybe, antis would once again defeat these two projects, set your mind at rest. People with significant financial stakes don’t invest their money in ventures that aren’t a sure thing. That’s our takeaway. 
Over the past year, gas utilities have increasingly targeted data centers as customers for on-site power generation, driven by rising demand from hyperscale, leased, and crypto-mining facilities, particularly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Companies, including Atmos Energy, Chesapeake Utilities, National Fuel Gas, and Enbridge, have signed agreements to supply gas or build pipelines to co-located gas-fired or converted coal-to-gas plants. Utilities view medium-sized data centers as a “sweet spot,” but face hurdles such as limited pipeline capacity, equipment backlogs, and coordination challenges across the gas value chain. Smaller turbines and fuel cells are increasingly used, though supply constraints remain a concern. 
ExxonMobil issued its annual Energy Outlook yesterday, a report that peers into the crystal ball to predict where the energy sector is headed from now until 2050. The company bets its future on what it thinks will happen. In this latest report, Exxon projects that global natural gas demand will rise by over 20% by 2050, as it replaces coal in industry and meets growing electricity needs in developing countries. Based on that view, the company plans to grow its production by 18% over the next five years. Exxon predicts that global oil demand will plateau after 2030, although it is expected to remain above 100 million barrels per day. The crystal ball suggests that gasoline demand will drop 25% due to the rise of electric vehicles (we beg to differ). However, demand for distillates for transportation is expected to remain strong. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Republicans speak out in opposition of New York’s incoming natural gas ban; Safety inspectors charged with faking gas pipeline checks throughout NYC, Westchester; NATIONAL: Oil climbs as peace talk prospects fade; Pressure heats up on the climate lawfare’s favorite group; Climate inquisition silenced a generation of scientists; School districts revert to diesel because Biden’s electric buses can’t be repaired; U.S. E&P earnings resume slide in Q2 2025 after promising start to year; INTERNATIONAL: Alberta to impose 2 percent levy on hardware at data centers; USA-sanctioned Russian LNG lands in China for 1st time; Europe gas markets escape hectic LNG summer storage race.