M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Even @ 55; Nat’l Up 5th Week @ 588
Last week was (once again) noteworthy for the Baker Hughes rig count. Although the Marcellus/Utica count hasn’t budged for 10 weeks in a row, holding at a combined 36, the national count increased by 7 rigs, reaching its highest level since April 2025. The national count has risen over the last five weeks by a robust 25 rigs. The new national count was 588. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by seven to 452 last week, the highest since May 2025, while gas rigs held at 126 and other miscellaneous rigs held at 10. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U’s 36. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 36; Haynesville Even @ 55; Nat’l Up 5th Week @ 588”
Thanks to the work of David Hess at the PA Environment Digest Blog, which tracks Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) notices published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, we know of two water pipeline projects (for EQT and Expand Energy) approved by the DEP related to drilling new shale wells in two different northeastern PA counties: Lycoming and Bradford. Water is used for fracking. New water pipelines mean new fracking is on the way in those locations. 
A new wrinkle to report in the case of a South Carolina pipeline, the Elba Express Pipeline, and its quest to build an extension to a gas-fired power plant in Colleton County. In June, we told you that Kinder Morgan, the builder, had been forced to sue some 55 (of the 185) landowners along the proposed route to allow simple access to their property for a survey (see 
Diversified Energy and real estate firm Maverick Holdings have secured an option on 100 acres at Letcher County’s Gateway Industrial Park near Jenkins, aiming to use an existing natural gas compressor station to fuel an off-grid, 100-megawatt power plant that could attract data centers or manufacturers. The Appalachian Industrial Development Authority signed an 18-month joint development agreement in March, though some board members were asked to sign NDAs. Local officials remain cautiously optimistic, citing potential tax revenue and infrastructure funding, but stress the project is still in early, unproven stages. 
Despite claims by anti-fossil-fuelers that the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in southwestern PA would spread disease and death if it were built, it’s been up and running since 2018, producing power and generating revenue for both its builders and the community. Oh, and everyone is in good health. However, the plant has been operating under a state permit since it opened. It needs a federal Title V permit for long-term operation. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issues such a permit. Good news! The DEP recently issued the Title V permit for this power plant. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Golden Pass, Sabine Pass flow shifts complicate US LNG feedgas outlook; New York Democrats’ energy suicide pact; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures settle higher; Kimbell Royalty Partners announces $215.4 million drop down acquisition; DOE appoints members of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB); Data-center debate has one winning argument — sheer panic — and it will backfire; AI data centers are the heroes, not the villains; INTERNATIONAL: Oil jumps on fears of wider Iran war; Canadian activists use disasters to prop up collapsing narrative; Forgotten shale gas play reemerges as Canadian oil hot spot; LNG shipments through Hormuz grind to a halt as conflict escalates.