Diversified Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Taxation | Virginia | Wise County
EQT & Diversified Win Va. Supreme Court Case Lowering Tax on Assets
The Virginia Supreme Court issued a ruling last Thursday with far-reaching consequences not only for the plaintiffs who won the case (EQT and Diversified Energy) but also for other conventional and, if it ever develops, shale drillers in the state. EQT and Diversified sued Wise County, VA, alleging that Wise County’s method of valuing their assets in the county overvalued them, resulting in a much higher tax bill. The Supremes agreed and sent the case back to a lower court to rework the valuations. Read More “EQT & Diversified Win Va. Supreme Court Case Lowering Tax on Assets”
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible, safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the May 23rd Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 33 general water use permits in April for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. 
NOTE: MDN will not publish on Friday, May 22, and Monday, May 25, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Therefore, we are publishing the weekly permits report a day early.
If you live in Auburn Township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, it’s a pretty safe bet that either there is or soon will be shale well drilling going on near you. The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published notice in the May 16 Pennsylvania Bulletin announcing it has issued a permit for one aboveground water pipeline for one driller and is seeking comments on a request for a second aboveground water pipeline for a second driller, both in Auburn Township. 
Infinity Natural Resources (INR) shared its first quarter 2026 update yesterday. CEO Zack Arnold said during an earnings call with analysts, “The first quarter was pivotal for Infinity.” How so? INR successfully closed the Antero, Ohio Utica acquisition in late February and added working interest in the company’s Pennsylvania assets through the Chase acquisition. These acquisitions immediately increased INR’s scale (dramatically) by boosting the company’s operated well count from 154 to 395 (more than 1.5 times) and by boosting its midstream system to over 250 miles of gathering and water pipelines. 
Last December, MDN told you that three anti-shale drilling groups—the PA Council of Trout Unlimited, the Keystone Trails Association, and the Responsible Drilling Alliance—requested the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hold a hearing on the Chapter 105 permit requested for a 3.9-mile shale gas access road and staging area proposed by Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) in the Loyalsock State Forest (see 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) is an integrated natural gas company with a regulated utility business, a shale drilling business (Seneca Resources), and a pipeline business (NFG Midstream, Empire Pipeline). The company issued its fiscal second quarter update two weeks ago, which is everyone else’s calendar first quarter update. The good news is that NFG is upgrading its Line N natural gas pipeline to carry an additional 94,000 Dth/d (90 MMcf/d) of Marcellus/Utica shale gas. The bad news is that Seneca produced 102.0 Bcf of natural gas, a decrease of 3.5 Bcf, or 3%, from the prior year, largely due to weather-driven completion delays and “typical natural gas production declines on producing wells.” 
Ascent Resources, formerly American Energy Partners, was founded by Aubrey McClendon and is a privately held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and one of the largest natural gas producers in the U.S. The company issued its first quarter 2026 update last week. First quarter net production averaged 2,132 MMcfe/d, consisting of 1,838 MMcf/d of natural gas, 11,500 bbls per day of oil, and 37,589 bbls per day of natural gas liquids (NGLs), putting liquids at 14% of the overall production mix for the quarter. 
EOG Resources is one of the largest crude oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the U.S., with proved reserves in the U.S. and Trinidad. The company bought and merged with Encino Energy’s extensive Ohio Utica operation last August, making EOG one of the largest drillers in the Buckeye State (see 
In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shell is “exploring a potential sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and the U.S.,” which includes the Monaca (Beaver County, PA) ethane cracker complex (see 
In February, MDN brought you the big news that Devon Energy is buying out and merging with Coterra Energy, paying $21.4 billion in Devon stock (see 
