Baker Hughes: $3B Data Center Bet Boosts Marcellus/Utica Gas
Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes (BKR), a company with its fingers in many different energy pies (not just OFS) and operations in over 120 countries worldwide, issued its fourth-quarter 2025 update last week. We scoured the update, the conference call, and the latest slide deck. The company did not explicitly mention the Marcellus or Utica shale regions. However, several items from the update directly impact the outlook for the M-U region. Read More “Baker Hughes: $3B Data Center Bet Boosts Marcellus/Utica Gas”
Winter Storm Fern triggered a sharp decline in U.S. LNG feedgas demand, which plummeted to 11.5 Bcf/d on Sunday from a previous weekly average of 17.2 Bcf/d. The storm caused production freeze-offs and price spikes, forcing Elba Island to shut down, and Cove Point inflows fell below 0.2 Bcf/d. Sabine Pass and Freeport (along the Gulf Coast) were down 50% and 30%, respectively. 
Last weekend, EQT CEO Toby Rice showcased the shale gas industry’s resilience during a major winter storm, taking to social media to highlight field efforts to maintain natural gas production at a well pad in Washington County. Despite record price spikes and the looming threat of “freeze-offs,” major producers like EQT, Range Resources, and CNX currently report stable operations. With natural gas fueling 40% of the PJM grid, maintaining pipeline pressure is critical to preventing regional power outages. Industry leaders emphasize that proactive winterization and dedicated crews are essential to ensuring energy security and keeping furnaces running during extreme cold. 
In 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) achieved “historic success” by eliminating a longstanding permit backlog of over 2,400 applications. The DEP acted on more than 40,000 permits and conducted 116,364 inspections to ensure environmental safety. Key initiatives included the launch of the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) program. The DEP is celebrating its success by creating a brand new bureaucracy: the Bureau of Permitting Coordination. Kind of a bureau of coordinating bureaus. (You know, the word bureaucracy comes from bureau, meaning a government department, and cracy, meaning rule. Literally, to be ruled by government bureaucrats who are not elected.) 
In an op-ed appearing in the Jamestown Post-Journal, New York State Senator George Borrello argues that New York’s energy crisis, marked by potential blackouts and high costs, stems from the politically motivated closure of facilities like the Dunkirk NRG plant. Initially promised a natural gas conversion, the plant was shuttered, forcing the state to import power and damaging the local economy. Borrello contends that while nuclear energy is a viable long-term goal, the state must immediately embrace natural gas to restore energy independence. He urges Governor Hochul to bypass radical interests and reopen the Dunkirk plant to provide reliable, affordable power and vital tax relief for Chautauqua County. 
To manage a historic surge in electricity demand caused by an arctic chill, PJM Interconnection has issued maximum generation alerts across 13 states. The regional grid operator anticipates record-breaking winter peaks, prompting calls for deferred maintenance and the potential deployment of backup power from data centers. While utilities in Western Pennsylvania, such as FirstEnergy and Duquesne Light, report stable operations, PJM is preparing industrial customers for demand response programs to reduce usage. In response, U.S. Steel has already increased internal power generation to reduce grid strain. These proactive steps aim to ensure regional reliability amid persistent extreme temperatures throughout the week. 
We simply could not believe this when we read it. We had to re-read it several times to be sure our eyes weren’t lying. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is responsible for blocking new natural gas pipelines from entering her state, as she previously bragged but then denied (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Efforts to kill PA’s gas industry disguised as environmental protection; How WV natural gas development benefits local communities; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Woodside provides 4Q update for Louisiana LNG project; Virginians can expect to see electricity costs skyrocket by $1,100 per household; Tractor-trailer carrying LNG overturns in Maryland; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas extends weather-driven rally; Alpha Generation advances commitment to long-term contracting efforts; Data centers are the physical internet; Big Banker Larry Fink abandons renewables for AI; M&A – Rise of the oil and gas serial acquirer; Democrats are shying away from climate messaging; INTERNATIONAL: Crude gains as geopolitical risks grow; EU warns against over-reliance on USA gas; Mexico shelves planned shipment of oil to Cuba.