Investment Firm Offers Devon Energy $8B for PA Marcellus Assets
From the very first whisper of the rumor that Devon Energy was sniffing around a buyout and merger with Coterra Energy, we wondered, speculated, and worried about what such a merger would mean for Coterra’s considerable Marcellus assets in northeast Pennsylvania. From the outset, activist investor Kimmeridge (with a stake in both Coterra and Devon) has pressured Devon to consider selling the Marcellus assets (see Kimmeridge Hints Devon Energy Needs to Sell M-U After Coterra Merger). Reuters is reporting the rumor, based on super-secret inside sources, that investment firm Stone Ridge Asset Management is offering Devon $8 billion to take the Marcellus off its hands. Read More “Investment Firm Offers Devon Energy $8B for PA Marcellus Assets”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality permit on May 18, 2026, to MarkWest Liberty Midstream, authorizing the expansion of its Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant in Washington County. The MarkWest name is still used, although the company is now MPLX. The DEP permit approval allows the addition of a third cryogenic plant and a second de-ethanization plant. A number of Big Green groups colluded in an attempt to block the permits, but their demands were ignored. 
U.S. shale producers face limited ability to rapidly boost crude output because drilled-but-uncompleted wells, or DUCs, have fallen to record lows. DUCs can bring production online in six to nine weeks, faster and cheaper than drilling new wells, making them a key industry buffer during supply shocks. Since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle Eastern oil flows, U.S. exports and refinery runs have surged, drawing down crude inventories sharply. But years of DUC depletion have reduced shale’s flexibility. Operators are now adding rigs and completion crews, especially in the Permian, to rebuild inventories as higher future oil prices support new drilling. 
Last week, the combined Marcellus/Utica Baker Hughes rig count remained at 36 active rigs for the third week in a row. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. The national count added 4 rigs last week, bringing the total to 562 rigs. That’s the sixth week in a row the national count has added rigs, driven by new oil-focused rigs. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by four to 429 last week, their highest since June 2025, while gas rigs held steady at 125 and other miscellaneous rigs held steady at 8. 
NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures end month with gains; Hedge funds are bearish on natural gas for first time since 2024; US’ oil, natural gas production could be maximized with new method; INTERNATIONAL: Oil settles at six-week low; Mitsui eyes LNG expansion as data centers drive power demand; America’s LNG boom is real — but China is planning beyond it; The climate house of cards is finally collapsing; The UAE’s OPEC exit has ramifications for global oil market, U.S. producers.