Marcellus Drilling News

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39 New Shale Well Permits Reported for PA-OH-WV Aug 24 – 30
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

The Marcellus/Utica region received 39 new drilling permits last week, August 24 – 30, up significantly from the 19 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania finally bounced back, issuing the vast majority of the new permits, with 25. Ohio issued 8 permits. And West Virginia issued 6 new permits. The drillers who received new permits were: Antero Resources, Campbell Oil & Gas, CNX Resources, EOG Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, PennEnergy Resources, and Repsol Oil & Gas. Read More “39 New Shale Well Permits Reported for PA-OH-WV Aug 24 – 30”
Berkshire Hathaway | CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland

850 MMcf/d of M-U Demand Vanishes Sept. 19 as Cove Point Shuts
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

It’s that time of year again. Cove Point LNG, the Berkshire Hathaway-operated export terminal on the Maryland shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is heading into its annual maintenance turnaround — and when the plant goes down, roughly 850 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of demand for Marcellus/Utica gas simply evaporates. MDN has obtained the official notice from pipeline operator BHE GT&S laying out exactly what happens and when. Read More “850 MMcf/d of M-U Demand Vanishes Sept. 19 as Cove Point Shuts”
AI | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Research | Statewide PA

Gas Fuels 59% of PA Power as PUC Forecasts Data Center Surge
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

Pennsylvania’s utility regulators just told the General Assembly what Marcellus drillers have been saying for two years: the electricity business is about to get very busy, and natural gas is going to be the one doing the heavy lifting. On Tuesday, September 1, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) released its annual Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania, this one covering 2025 through 2030. The report is required by state law — the PUC has to collect demand forecasts from the state’s 11 electric distribution companies (EDCs, the utilities that run the poles and wires to your house) and hand a summary to the Legislature and the Governor every September. Usually it’s a snoozer. Not this year. Read More “Gas Fuels 59% of PA Power as PUC Forecasts Data Center Surge”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Both Sides of PA’s New Title Washing Law, Act 27 — Who’s Right?
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

click for larger version

In July, we wrote about the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in the Proctor “title washing” case and got an earful from landowners who told us the story was more complicated than it looked (see Revisiting the 2025 PA Supreme Court Decision on “Title Washing”). They were right. Since then, the General Assembly has passed Act 27 of 2026, which effectively reverses that decision, and the fight has moved from the courtroom to the Capitol and back to the courtroom again. There is real money on the table — an estimated $1 billion in natural gas — and, more to the point for our readers, there are Pennsylvania landowners on both sides of this. Below we lay out how title washing works, what the Court actually decided, what Act 27 actually says, and the strongest arguments each side is making. We’re not picking a winner in this one. We’re going to explain it. Read More “Both Sides of PA’s New Title Washing Law, Act 27 — Who’s Right?”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

Record Bets on Winter Gas: A Plain-English Guide for Landowners
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

Henry Hub Natural Gas (NG) Futures Reach New All-Time Open Interest Record (click for larger version)

A funny thing happened in the natural gas market on September 1. With gas trading below $3 per MMBtu, with U.S. storage on pace for an all-time record, and with the heating season still three months away, traders piled into Henry Hub natural gas futures in numbers never seen before. CME Group announced Tuesday that open interest in its Henry Hub contract hit 1,807,497 contracts — an all-time high. Records are usually set in November, right before winter. This one got set at the tail end of summer. Below, we unpack what that number actually means, and why it matters to a landowner in Greene County, PA, who has never traded a futures contract in his life. Read More “Record Bets on Winter Gas: A Plain-English Guide for Landowners”
AI | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Bot Farms & Chinese Cash Fueling Data Center Backlash
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

X (formerly called Twitter) says it caught 200,000 fake Chinese accounts running “influence operations” in the U.S. last week — and roughly 200 of them were aimed squarely at turning Americans against AI data centers. It’s the latest domino in a string of reports and congressional letters this year alleging that a chunk of the anti-data-center movement isn’t as grassroots as it looks. If you’ve been reading MDN’s coverage of Pennsylvania’s data-center fights — the Quinnipiac poll showing 74% local opposition, the South Strabane Township ordinance delays, the general drumbeat of “not in my backyard” — last week’s disclosure adds a wrinkle worth understanding. Read More “Bot Farms & Chinese Cash Fueling Data Center Backlash”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

Net Power Pays $40M Premium to Jump the Gas Turbine Line
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

Two weeks ago, we told you Net Power had pivoted to building plain old gas plants and would worry about the carbon dioxide later (see Net Power Pivot 2.0 – Build the Gas Plant First, Capture CO2 Later). We also said the next 12 months would be simple to score. The first entry is already on the board — and it’s bigger than the press release lets on. Net Power just paid $40 million, as a straight premium, to take over somebody else’s contract to build a 123-megawatt (MW) gas plant in Texas. They paid $40 million not for the equipment, but for the paperwork. Read More “Net Power Pays $40M Premium to Jump the Gas Turbine Line”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Sep 4, 2026
September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Reality check for PA’s failed green energy mandates; Don’t squander Pennsylvania’s AI future; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: How Chevron’s project Kilby aims to rewire the Permian for the AI power era; Williams completes acquisition of Momentum Midstream; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures meet resistance at $3; Prediction market Kalshi to file for US crude oil ‘perps’, source says; Why net-zero policies risk human catastrophe and carbon dioxide doesn’t; Guaranteeing affordable, reliable energy would help tackle our $40 trillion debt; Measuring meaningless climate actions; U.S. LNG exports rose 23% in the first half of 2026 because of higher capacity; INTERNATIONAL: Iran strikes keep oil near $91; Winter is approaching and Europe is running low on natural gas; China’s Order No. 837 adds project-delay risk to U.S. power supply chains; Qatar and UAE turn to rare LNG ship transfers as Hormuz crisis drags on; Climate Majority Project says scientists “freaking out”; Learn to stop worrying and love data centers. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Sep 4, 2026”