M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Even @ 56; Nat’l Count Down 3 @ 545
Last week was status quo for the rig count. The Marcellus/Utica combined count maintained the same number of 37 active rigs, the third week in a row after Pennsylvania lost two rigs in March (see PA Loses 2 Rigs from Marcellus, Combined M-U Lowest Since Nov. 2025). The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 56 active rigs, some 19 rigs more than the M-U. The national count lost three rigs last week and now operates 545 rigs. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Even @ 56; Nat’l Count Down 3 @ 545”
Williams Companies is breaking ground tomorrow on the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline in Brooklyn — the first new pipeline in New York in over a decade — signaling a broader national natural gas infrastructure boom. Driven by AI data center power demand, LNG export growth, and population expansion, the U.S. is tracking over 150 pipeline projects representing roughly 150 Bcf (billion cubic feet) of daily capacity. 
In March, South Carolina regulators approved Duke Energy’s proposal to build a 1.4-gigawatt (GW) natural gas-fired power plant in Anderson County, marking the utility’s first new generation project in the state in a decade (see 
Despite being the nation’s leading electricity exporter and a top producer of natural gas, nuclear power, and coal, Pennsylvania residents pay significantly more for electricity — 45% more per kilowatt-hour than in 2018. Why? Sleazy politicians blame “greedy” utility companies and AI data centers, even though the rise in electric prices predates the current data center boom. If you dig just a little, you will find the real answer: it’s due to the policies put in place by the same sleazy (Democrat) politicians who blame others. 
PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest electric grid system serving 65 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., is pursuing an emergency plan to secure 15 gigawatts (GW) of new power supply to avert electricity shortages driven by surging data center demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI). The grid operator looks to pair proposed data centers with new generation through bilateral negotiations running from September to March 2027. Let’s make a deal! 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Core Natural Resources expands Triadelphia facility to make finished aircraft parts; Shale Crescent USA sells region to the world; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: EPA approves carbon-capture project in Indiana; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures end week lower; The carbon bureaucracy nobody voted for; U.S. E&Ps stay cautious on 2026 capex amidst market volatility; INTERNATIONAL: Oil settles lower ahead of Iran talks; Trump vows Hormuz blockade after failed talks; European gas prices jump as U.S. set to blockade Iran ports; How the Iran war reshapes global gas and LNG this year and beyond.