About MDN

MDN is very excited to announce the publication of the Marcellus & Utica Shale Upstream Almanac 2018. The Almanac is a deep dive into the numbers, designed to answer the questions: “Who’s drilling where and how much?” and, “What are the trends? Is drilling going up, down, or maintaining?” It has taken us nearly one year to research and produce this 397-page report. Using data from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, and West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection, MDN has produced the only report of its kind, looking year by year at (1) how many Marcellus/Utica wells were spud (drilled or begun to be drilled), (2) how many wells are actually producing, (3) how many permits have been issued for new shale wells, (4) how much production was generated for methane, oil and NGLs. This information is available year by year for 2011-2017–not only by each individual county where there was any kind of M-U activity, but also by individual driller. We even show detailed data down to the town level. Because we analyze the data year by year using charts to map the data, important trends become obvious. If Marcellus/Utica drilling activity is important to you, the Almanac is THE critical tool that will help answer many of the questions you have…
Read More “MDN M-U Upstream Almanac 2018 – Who’s Drilling Where & How Much?”

Believe it or not, today is a New York Stock Exchange holiday (i.e. bank) holiday. MDN rarely takes a day off, so we tend to track with those holidays observed by the NYSE. Have no fear, we are monitoring the news and if anything earth-shattering happens, we’ll bring you the latest.  Otherwise, look for full-strength MDN to return tomorrow. In the meantime, we have issued the weekly calendar of events.

– Jim Willis, Editor

MDN is please to announce the completion of improvements to our website. We began a journey last fall when Google (the 800-pound Internet gorilla) informed us that we needed to begin serving all of our webpages at an https (i.e. secure) address. That’s not to say there was anything inherently unsecure or bad about the way we were serving our webpages, but Google wanted it done. And what Google wants, Google gets. So we embarked on a path to both update the look and feel of the website and make our pages 100% secured. We launched our updated look and feel in early October, the first such update since the site began in 2009 (see MDN Launches Redesigned Web Site – We’d Like Your Feedback). The secure pages part took a bit longer that we expected. We finally got that part operating in early December (see Important Information About MDN Login). Since then we’ve been working (with a programmer) to iron out some of the issues that cropped up in switching to a new look and feel. It is those new elements that are now done, including (very importantly) a new mobile version of the site–making it easier to use on your smartphone, full excerpts on the home page, a return of the oil and gas price widgets, and the return of our Pinterest widget. We explain below…
Read More “Recent (Important) Upgrades to the MDN Website”

Dear MDN Reader:

Since it is a stock exchange holiday, and to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., MDN is taking today off, Monday, Jan. 15. We are sending along an updated calendar of events relevant to the Marcellus/Utica for the next 90 days. Full strength MDN will return Tuesday!

We wish you a Merry Christmas..and a Happy New Year! This is rare. MDN will take off (i.e. no new stories posted) between Christmas and New Year’s Day in observance of the holiday season. Don’t worry, we’ll still keep an eye on the news and if anything earth-shattering happens, we’ll post about it. However, our intent is to take a break from writing for an entire week–it won’t be easy! We will see you again on Tuesday, January 2nd.

A brief note to thank you, our loyal readers, from the bottom of our heart. Thank you for subscribing and resubscribing year after year. We take our responsibility seriously to bring you the news–in context–throughout the year. We look forward to 2018 with eager anticipation for what it will bring in the Marcellus/Utica.

Enjoy this Christmas carol (and our wish to you) from the inimitable Celtic Women:
Read More “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from MDN”

A quick note about the Marcellus Drilling News website. Two months ago I began a journey of updating the MDN website. The site has not had a major redesign since it began in 2009 (shame on me!). Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? The technologies that power the internet have profoundly changed since MDN was launched. It’s time to keep up with the changes. So in early October I launched a new “look and feel” for the website. The feedback was positive–thank you! However, the changes are not yet done. One such change is being forced by Google…
Read More “Important Information About MDN Login”

Marcellus Drilling News typically takes Thanksgiving and the day after off to rest and relax with family. We will be sure to keep an eye on the news and if there is anything earth-shattering, we will bring you that news. Otherwise, we’ll see you next Monday. Have a great Thanksgiving! – Jim Willis, Editor

Starting today you will notice changes on the MDN website. A new “look and feel” for the site. The overall architecture remains the same–same menu items, same layout of where stories are located, etc. The fonts and colors and use of white space has changed, hopefully making it easier to read on your computer screen. Please note there are likely a few issues with the new site. As much as we test and review, it seems like something always slips through the cracks. So we want your feedback. Have a look around, and tell us what you like/don’t like about the new look. And if you find any problems/issues, please alert us right away. Send your comments to: jim@marcellusdrilling.com.

Also note that this is not the end, but just the beginning. We promise to “go slow,” but there will be more changes coming in the months ahead as we work to drag the MDN website into the 21st Century. Any recommendations you have for adding new features or changes, send those to Jim as well. Thanks for your patience as we work to improve the MDN-reading experience.

Jim Willis, Founder & Editor

MDN is about to get a face lift–long overdue and badly needed. When you click on a headline in the daily email to visit the site to read full stories today, you will notice the font styles have changed. That’s a temporary change. Fonts, colors and more will be changed starting next week. We have selected a new, cleaner (more modern) “theme” for the site, that will launch sometime next week.

Why the change? A variety of reasons–the biggest being that we haven’t changed the look and feel of the website since it began in 2009. MDN looks like an eight-year-old website! A lot has changed since then, most noticeably, half or more of our readers now read MDN on a smart phone (or tablet, or other non-computer device). The site needs to automatically change and respond to whatever device is being used to read it–something called “responsive design” in the business.

What will change? The overall structure will, for now, not change. We hate it when we arrive at a favorite/familiar website to see everything is rearranged, with no prior warning. That won’t happen with MDN. The same overall architecture remains, with stories on the left of the page, links to various things on the right. Same drop-down menus along the top. Basically what we are doing is giving the site a new coat of paint. The fonts will change, and the font colors will change (a darker font, to make it easier to read). Better use of white space. The date of a post, which has always been part of the post (but hard to find at the bottom) will be moved to the top, much easier to spot. Little things, basically, will be tweaked and changed to make reading full articles a more pleasant experience. At least, that’s what we hope!

We will alert you when the changes roll out. As always, we appreciate your feedback and ideas on how to make it a better site. Stay tuned for what’s coming next week!

It doesn’t happen often, but MDN editor Jim Willis will take a day off on Friday, Aug. 25, to enjoy a quick getaway with his lovely bride. Heading to beautiful Lancaster County, PA. MDN will be back on Monday bringing you all the non-fake news about the Marcellus/Utica that’s fit to electronically print.