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Drillers Partner with WhiteHawk to Buy M-U Minerals Early
WhiteHawk Minerals (NYSE: WHK), the Philadelphia company that has quietly become one of the largest mineral and royalty owners in the Marcellus, filed its first full quarterly report as a public company this week: $111.8 million of new acquisitions, record production of 70.0 MMcfe/d, and its first real dividend at $2.00 per share annualized. But the most interesting thing WhiteHawk said all week wasn’t in the press release. It came out of CEO Daniel Herz’s mouth on Thursday’s earnings call — some of the biggest drillers in Appalachia are now partnering with WhiteHawk to buy minerals ahead of the drill bit. Read More “Drillers Partner with WhiteHawk to Buy M-U Minerals Early”
On July 30, French environmental services giant Veolia announced it had been picked by “a major project developer” to operate and maintain a 350-megawatt (MW) microgrid that will power an artificial intelligence data center campus in Ohio. The press release carried a New Albany, Ohio dateline. It’s a genuinely big deal — a behind-the-meter power plant that will supply 100% of a data center campus without leaning on the grid at all. Here’s the dots nobody else has connected. This is the same Veolia that Antero Resources and Antero Midstream spent six years suing over a botched frack wastewater plant in West Virginia. And Veolia announced this shiny new Ohio contract exactly six days after wiring Antero a check for $371 million. You can’t make this stuff up. 
Antero Resources, the biggest driller in West Virginia and roughly 11% of all Appalachian production, dropped its second quarter 2026 numbers on July 29 and held its analyst call the next morning. Three things jumped off the page: a record quarter, a dry gas well result that borders on spectacular, and a rare public admission that Antero turned down a power deal in its own backyard because the money wasn’t good enough. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received 26 new drilling permits last week, July 13 – 19, up 19 from two weeks ago (after dipping down 21 three weeks ago). So goes the permitting yo-yo ride. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 23 new permits (after issuing just 1 two weeks ago). Ohio issued 2 new permits. And, West Virginia issued 1 new permit. The drillers who received new permits included: Antero Resources (1), Ascent Resources (2), CNX Resources (2), EQT (1), Expand Energy (3), Formentera Operating (1), Laurel Mountain Energy (5), Pennsylvania General Energy (6), and Range Resources (5). 
Despite rising Northeast gas demand from retiring coal plants and new data centers, plus added Appalachian pipeline capacity, production growth isn’t guaranteed—operators prioritize capital discipline, debt reduction, and shareholder returns over volume. Appalachia has held flat at roughly 33-36 Bcf/d since 2020. Can anything tempt Marcellus/Utica drillers to drill and produce more than they are now? According to RBN Energy, sustained Henry Hub prices above $4/MMBtu (versus the current $3.50-$3.60 long-dated curve) and better takeaway infrastructure could be enough of a temptation. 
After months of deliberation, Steubenville (Jefferson County), Ohio, City Council voted to accept a bid and proceed with leasing the city’s mineral rights to the oil and gas industry, including areas near residential neighborhoods and Beatty Park. Some residents voiced strong opposition, citing threats to the park’s ecosystem, health concerns, and insufficient public involvement, urging the council to reject bids or form a resident-inclusive committee. Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo voted against it, questioning fracking’s health effects. First Ward Councilman David Albaugh supported it, noting that surrounding areas are already fracked and that no well pad would be built in Steubenville. The money (over $1 million!) is expected within 90 days. 
Antero Resources, the largest Marcellus/Utica (M-U) driller in West Virginia, released its Q1 2026 update last week. Antero placed 20 Marcellus wells to sales during Q1 with an average lateral length of 11,652 feet. Thirteen of these wells have been online for approximately 60 days with an average rate per well of 25 MMcfe/d, including 1,457 Bbl/d of liquids per well. Antero’s drilling and completion capital expenditures during Q1 were $222 million. In addition to capital invested in drilling and completion activities, the company invested $25 million in land during the first quarter. Through its land investment, Antero added approximately 5,400 net acres, representing 24 incremental drilling locations at an average cost of approximately $900,000 per location. 
In Antero Resources Corp. v. Stonewall Gas Gathering LLC, the Texas Business Court resolved a contract dispute over a 2014 gas gathering agreement following a bench trial. The court denied Antero’s claims for $200 million in past and future monetary damages. However, it granted Antero “declaratory relief” and specific performance, ordering Stonewall to reduce Antero’s service fees in accordance with the affiliate agreements and to produce the requested contract documents. The court awarded Antero $1 in nominal damages for discovery breaches, while a ruling on attorney’s fees was deferred pending further proceedings. 
Antero Midstream (AM) recently detailed its 2026 growth strategy, targeting an adjusted EBITDA of $1.19 billion to $1.24 billion, representing an 8% year-over-year increase. This growth is driven by Marcellus Shale infrastructure expansion and the integration of recently acquired HG Midstream assets. The company plans capital expenditures between $190 million and $220 million, primarily for gathering and compression infrastructure across its Appalachian footprint. Key focuses include high-return rich gas gathering projects and dry gas infrastructure development. With strong projected free cash flow, Antero Midstream aims to maintain capital discipline, reduce leverage to approximately 3.0x, and pursue opportunistic share repurchases.