PA DEP Signals Recommendation on Shale Drilling Setbacks by Year End
It’s time to make a LOT of noise with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) if you care about Marcellus drilling continuing in the Keystone State. In December, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) accepted a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State, which is no exaggeration (see EQB Votes to Consider Ban on Marcellus Drilling Via Crazy Setbacks). Yesterday, the Shapiro DEP told the EQB it is actively reviewing the rulemaking petition and will have a recommendation on setbacks for the board by the end of this year. Read More “PA DEP Signals Recommendation on Shale Drilling Setbacks by Year End”
Yesterday, March 10, 2026, Repsol held its Capital Markets Day at its headquarters in Madrid, Spain, where the company unveiled its new Strategic Plan for 2026–2028. Repsol is leaning into its U.S. natural gas assets, even as its total company-wide spending is slowing. Repsol reiterated that the United States is a “core country” for its Upstream (Exploration and Production) business. Repsol is specifically “high-grading” its portfolio to focus on high-value areas like the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. 
We’ve recently begun to highlight flow restrictions along pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. When flows slow or stop (because they can’t reach other markets), the price typically falls because local supply exceeds local demand. In the middle of Winter Storm Fern in January, outages and freeze-offs led to significant stress with production dropping 10-12% due to pipeline and well issues (see 
Wastewater injection wells are an essential, safe, and highly regulated component of Southeast Ohio’s fracking industry. Banning these wells would trigger an economic catastrophe, leading to job losses and reduced public funding, without providing any actual environmental benefits. Yet that’s exactly what the political leaders of Marietta, OH, in collusion with virulent anti-fossil fuel groups, are attempting to do. Opposing injection wells while supporting fracking (as Marietta’s “leaders” are doing) is contradictory, as the two are inseparable for regional energy production and the area’s continued economic stability. 
Wow! What a difference a month makes. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) yesterday. The STEO is the agency’s monthly best estimate of where energy prices and production will head over the next 12 months. There was a major revision to the agency’s prediction about the spot price (at the Henry Hub) for natural gas in 2026. Just last month, EIA predicted the HH spot price would average $4.31 per million British thermal units (see 
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced the construction of a new 168,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, backed by India’s Reliance Industries. Developed by startup America First Refining, this facility marks the first new U.S. refinery in half a century and is specifically designed to process American “light sweet” crude oil from shale plays. Reliance has committed to a 20-year offtake agreement, helping to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with India. While Trump emphasizes the project’s role in boosting energy production and national security amid rising gasoline prices, some industry analysts remain skeptical of the need for additional Gulf Coast capacity. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Wind turbine catches fire in Wayne County; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Atlas Energy, Caterpillar partner on private grid power through 2029; Exxon set to move legal home to Texas from New Jersey; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas settles lower on mild March outlook; Annual U.S. crude oil exports decrease for first time since 2021; NETL partner project advances flexible, low-NOx fueling; INTERNATIONAL: Oil drops most since 2022 on Hormuz chaos; Sparta CEO says ‘products, not crude, are the real story’; Aramco CEO warns of oil market catastrophe in prolonged war.