Rumor Mill Lights Up: Coterra Considers Merger with Devon Energy
The rumor mill is in overdrive today with news that Coterra Energy is in serious talks with Devon Energy exploring a potential merger “that would be among the biggest oil and gas deals in years.” While the primary driver of this deal is gaining massive scale in the Permian Basin, Coterra’s substantial Marcellus Shale assets in northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) are a major point of speculation for analysts and investors. It appears possible (likely?) that a combined company would sell off the PA Marcellus assets. Read More “Rumor Mill Lights Up: Coterra Considers Merger with Devon Energy”
A return to normalcy last week for permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. Two weeks ago, we reported that just one new permit was issued (see 
Sorry, Field of Dreams, but if you build it, they don’t necessarily come. That’s the hard lesson for one of the biggest boondoggles of the Biden years—seven hydrogen hub projects (from 33 finalists) promised a collective $7 billion in federal funding (see 
JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit corporation that works on behalf of the state to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio by attracting business, contracts its economic research to Cleveland State University (CSU) to keep tabs on the Utica Shale industry. JobsOhio released the latest CSU updated report earlier this week (full copy below), showing that more than $114.6 billion has been invested in Ohio across natural gas, natural gas liquids, and petrochemical supply chain industries since 2011. Ohio’s shale energy sector drew approximately $3.5 billion in fresh capital between July and December 2024. 
Duke Energy is considering constructing a 1,360-megawatt natural gas power plant on 1,600 acres in Davidson County, North Carolina. This is the first we’ve heard of this project, and judging by our research, the first anyone has heard of it. Prior to this, we were aware of two Duke gas-fired projects in N.C.—one in Person County and one in Catawba County (see 
At the end of November, Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S. (owns and operates approximately 13.1 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure) completed the acquisition of two gas-fired power plants for $3.8 billion: one located near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the other in Guernsey County, in eastern Ohio (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Luzerne County Community College hosts data center information session; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: From start to finish, ‘The Land of Sacrifice’ misleads on New Mexico oil & gas; Canceling California’s war on U.S. truckers; Hydrogen used to power data centers is taxable in Texas; Virginia no longer the No. 1 electricity importer in the country; Trump Administration sues California over oil and gas drilling regulations; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures settle mixed; Ethane, propane exports diverged in 2025; INTERNATIONAL: Oil falls sharply as U.S. pauses Iran action; European gas price climbs on cold snap, tight inventories.