M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Down 1 @ 55; Nat’l Up 7 @ 558
Last week, the combined Marcellus/Utica Baker Hughes rig count maintained its cumulative count of 36 active rigs after dropping 1 rig two weeks ago in the PA Marcellus (see M-U Rigs Down 1 @ 36; Haynesville Down 2 @ 56; Nat’l Up 3 @ 551). The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, dropped 1 rig last week to land at 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. The national count added 7 rigs last week, bringing the total to 558 rigs. That’s the fifth week in a row the national count has added rigs. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Down 1 @ 55; Nat’l Up 7 @ 558”
Well, you knew this was going to happen. Last week, a group of disgusting Big Green groups and the New York State Attorney General both filed separate lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2nd Circuit), challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) decision to resurrect the Constitution Pipeline under the existing (but dormant) docket. NY AG Tish James, representing the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), argues that a brand new review should be done by the state to evaluate the project for compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. You may recall that NY previously lost its right to evaluate the Constitution project by stretching out its review for years, causing FERC to overrule NY (see 
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order on May 21 directing PJM Interconnection and Constellation Energy to keep Units 3 and 4 at Pennsylvania’s Eddystone Generating Station (near Philadelphia, in Delaware County) operational through the summer. Effective from May 25, 2026, to August 22, 2026, the mandate aims to ensure grid reliability. This directive follows four previous 90-day orders that have kept the aging, dual-fuel units online to support energy security. The DOE asserts that despite planned retirements, these 380-MW units remain essential for stabilizing the regional power supply. Big Green wants to close them down. 
Last Thursday (May 21), the commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously proposed significant changes to the agency’s natural gas blanket certificate program, the most substantial overhaul since 2006. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) aims to roughly double the cost thresholds for pipeline companies to build and modify infrastructure without extensive case-by-case approval. It also expands eligible project categories and, for the first time, extends streamlined authorization to certain LNG facility activities. 
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