Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Northeast Gas Pipe Projects Focus on PA, Regional Enhancements
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Rising natural gas demand across the U.S. Northeast and adjacent southern and western regions is driving a wave of pipeline projects that will let Marcellus/Utica producers boost output into the 2030s. A fourth installment of RBN’s series about gas market dynamics in the Northeast groups the planned expansions into five buckets: Pennsylvania projects, regionwide enhancements, MVP/Transco-tied projects, expanded Ohio capacity, and more distant related efforts. Highlights include National Fuel Gas’s Pennsylvania builds, Enbridge’s TETCO “Appalachia to Market II” upgrades that add compression and looping, and the MVP Boost Project, which expands Mountain Valley Pipeline from 2 Bcf/d to 2.6 Bcf/d by mid-2028 (via additional West Virginia and Virginia compression). Read More “Northeast Gas Pipe Projects Focus on PA, Regional Enhancements”
Butler County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | XTO

XTO Energy Looks to Compel Arbitration in W. Pa. Royalties Case
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

In February, MDN told you about the Kriley v. XTO Energy lawsuit (see Long-running Lawsuit Against XTO Energy Over Royalties in W. Pa.). The lawsuit began in 2019 and involves seven landowners in Butler County, PA. The landowners claim that XTO Energy (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) systematically underpaid natural gas royalties. Over the past six years, the lawsuit has evolved and was certified as a class action in late 2025, meaning it has expanded from affecting 7 landowners to over 2,000. XTO is trying to reduce that number significantly by demanding that leases with an arbitration provision be sent to individual arbitration and excluded from the larger class action. Read More “XTO Energy Looks to Compel Arbitration in W. Pa. Royalties Case”
Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | South Carolina

SC PSC Approves Revised Gas-Fired Plant Proposed for Edisto River
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

In February 2024, members of the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a proposed project to build a 1,020-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in the state’s Lowcountry, in Colleton County (see SC PSC Approves Gas-Fired Power Plant Proposed for Edisto River). The project, estimated to cost $2.5 billion, is a 50/50 partnership between Dominion Energy (formerly South Carolina Electric & Gas) and Santee Cooper (South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility). The plant location is at the retired coal-fired plant, Canadys Station. However, both the scope and the cost doubled last fall (see Dominion’s SC Canadys Gas-Fired Power Plant Doubles in Price). The PSC approved the doubled size/cost of the project last Friday. Read More “SC PSC Approves Revised Gas-Fired Plant Proposed for Edisto River”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky

Gas-Fired Power Plant on the Ohio River Proposed for Owensboro, KY
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Owensboro (KY) Municipal Utilities (OMU) is studying a proposed 545-megawatt natural gas power plant on roughly 30 acres at the former Elmer Smith Station site along the Ohio River, where coal generation ended in 2020. The developer, Green River East GenCo, holds an option to lease and has filed a grid interconnection application. OMU hired GDS Associates for a six-month study funded by the developer. OMU General Manager Tim Lyons stressed that the early-stage project isn’t guaranteed and that OMU won’t own the roughly $1 billion plant, citing customer risk. Instead, the plant may pursue power purchase agreements ahead of joining the MISO market in 2027. The plant will employ 15–20 workers. Read More “Gas-Fired Power Plant on the Ohio River Proposed for Owensboro, KY”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Data Shows West Virginia Bucks Trend, Uses More Gas Than Renewables
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Despite renewable energy growth across the globe, fossil fuels still dominate in the U.S. and West Virginia in particular, where EIA data shows natural gas production climbing nearly 20% over five years while renewables stagnate. GO-WV President-Elect Rebecca McPhail attributes this to abundant resources, established infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and surging demand from data centers and manufacturing. West Virginia, the nation’s fifth-largest oil and gas producer, faces topographic and climatic challenges that limit the use of unreliable renewable energy sources. In the PJM Interconnection, gas and nuclear lead, with renewables under 10%. Read More “Data Shows West Virginia Bucks Trend, Uses More Gas Than Renewables”
AI | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

A Commonsense Approach to AI Data Centers for Local Communities
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Pennsylvania has become a hotspot for data center proposals, prompting community backlash, writes Penn State law professor Michael Helbing, whose hometown is Archbald, PA, a suburb of Scranton. You may recall that last week we wrote about another Scranton suburb (virtually next door to Archbald, see the map) by the name of Olyphant, and how the leaders of that borough had developed zoning regulations to protect residents yet allow data center projects to proceed (see 2 PA Towns Show How to Move Forward with Data Center Projects). Archbald is facing the same issues, and the debate is intense. Helbing weighs in on a way forward for communities like Archbald. Read More “A Commonsense Approach to AI Data Centers for Local Communities”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jun 17, 2026
June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Natgas prices at Waha turn positive for first time since February; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures gain as LNG feedgas picks up; Sec. Wright says we will never come remotely close to running out of hydrocarbons; U.S. LNG feedgas bounces back; Enemies of energy – fracking and natural gas; INTERNATIONAL: Oil extends losses as Hormuz reopens; Iran to get major economic relief under US deal; Europe wary of sending Hormuz help as questions linger; 3 Japanese shipbuilders to revive domestic production of LNG carriers; The Hormuz shock didn’t break Europe’s gas market, but time might; Maintaining grid stability in a wind and solar world. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jun 17, 2026”