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28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24

For the week of Nov 18 – 24, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be strong, with 28 new permits issued, down just two from the 30 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) issued 11 new permits, with five going to CNX Resources, all in Allegheny County. Two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Lycoming County. The remaining four were single permits issued to EQT Corporation (Greene County), Infinity Natural Resources (Indiana County), Range Resources (Washington County), and Apex Energy (Westmoreland County). Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24”

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Murrysville Rejects Antis’ Petition to Cancel Leases Under Parks

Last December, Murrysville (PA) Council members voted to lease land for shale drilling under two town parks—Duff Park and Murrysville Community Park (see Murrysville, PA to Vote in Dec. on Plan to Drill Under Two Parks). Murrysville is located in Westmoreland County, in the southwestern part of the state. Olympus Energy pitched proposals to lease under both parks, using their adjacent leased acreage (on private land) to set up rigs to drill under the parks, which the council approved. The council also approved a lease last year with Apex Energy to drill and frack under Kovalczik Park. Last week, so-called environmental group Protect PT presented a petition to the council asking them to rescind the leases for drilling under the three parks. Read More “Murrysville Rejects Antis’ Petition to Cancel Leases Under Parks”

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Apex Energy Clipped by PA DEP for Not Disclosing Frack Chemicals

According to Pennsylvania regulation 25 Pa. Code § 78a.122(b)(6)(iv), a drilling company must provide a list of the chemicals intentionally added to the stimulation [fracking] fluid by name and chemical abstract service (CAS) number in a Completion Report. The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says Apex Energy failed to provide that information on its reports for 37 shale wells in Westmoreland County drilled between March 20, 2018, and February 17, 2024. The DEP issued a NOV (Notice of Violation) to Apex on Sept. 9. Read More “Apex Energy Clipped by PA DEP for Not Disclosing Frack Chemicals”

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PA Town Rejects Accepting Apex Offer of $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty

In June, MDN told you about a very small lease deal on offer for North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, PA (see Apex Energy Offers $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty in Westmoreland Co.). Apex Energy wants to lease 4.5 acres of town land for a total signing bonus of $6,760 ($1,500/acre). The deal on the table from Apex was “only good” through June 30. Sign now before this offer expires! Town commissioners were not impressed with the high-pressure sales tactic and voted to table a decision on the offer until after June 30 (see PA Town Delays Accepting Apex Offer of $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty). After hearing from constituents and discussing the offer, last week the commissioners voted 5-2 to reject the Apex offer.
Read More “PA Town Rejects Accepting Apex Offer of $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty”

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15 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 24 – 30

We’re playing catch-up following our brief Wednesday through Friday vacation last week. The first order of business is to bring you the list of permits issued for the week of June 24 – 30. A total of 15 new permits were issued, with most (10) issued in Pennsylvania. Ohio issued four new permits, and West Virginia issued one new permit. Both Seneca Resources and Apex Energy tied for most new permits (three each), with Seneca’s permits issued in Tioga County, PA, and Apex’s permits issued in Westmoreland County, PA.
Read More “15 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 24 – 30”

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PA Town Delays Accepting Apex Offer of $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty

Yesterday, MDN told you about a very small lease deal on offer for North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, PA (see Apex Energy Offers $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty in Westmoreland Co.). Apex Energy wants to lease 4.5 acres of town land for a signing bonus of $6,760. The deal on the table from Apex is “only good” through June 30. Sign now before this offer expires! Town commissioners were not impressed with the high-pressure sales tactic and voted to table a decision on the offer until after June 30.
Read More “PA Town Delays Accepting Apex Offer of $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty”

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Apex Energy Offers $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty in Westmoreland Co.

We’re always interested in lease signing bonuses and royalty rates. We don’t see as many references today as we did five and ten years ago. Typically, we learn about lease rates when municipal-owned land is leased, as is the case for a small parcel in North Huntingdon, PA (Westmoreland County). Apex Energy is offering North Huntingdon $1,500 per acre in a signing bonus to lease 4.5 acres of town land for a grand total of $6,760. It ain’t much, but it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye, right?
Read More “Apex Energy Offers $1,500/Ac + 16% Royalty in Westmoreland Co.”

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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 29 – Feb 4

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 29 – Feb. 4, versus 27 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 12 new permits last week. Ohio issued 6 new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. We had a tie for the company receiving the most permits. Seneca Resources received 4 permits to drill in Tioga County, PA, and Ascent Resources received 4 permits to drill in Harrison County, OH.
Read More “20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 29 – Feb 4”

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PA EHB Allows “Narrow” Appeal of 2 Apex Energy Well Permits

A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out legally at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see Penn Twp Frack Ban Case Strikes Out at PA Supreme Court). However, continuing to use Big Green money, Protect PT soldiered on, even after its crushing Supreme Court defeat. Apex Energy proposed drilling two wells on a pad in a rural part of Trafford, PA, straddling Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Protect PT challenged the original permits and a time extension of the permits.
Read More “PA EHB Allows “Narrow” Appeal of 2 Apex Energy Well Permits”

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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 22 – 28

There were 27 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 22 – 28, versus 20 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits last week. Ohio issued 5 new permits. West Virginia issued 3 new permits last week. Olympus Energy scored the most new permits with 7, all of them in Westmoreland County, PA. Apex Energy came in second with 6 new permits, also in Westmoreland. In fact, Westmoreland County, in southwestern PA, received 15 new permits last week, by far the most of any county.
Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 22 – 28”

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24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 18 – 31

We are catching up on permits issued…for the last two weeks of December. Normally we cover permits issued for a single week. This report covers permits issued for the two weeks covering Dec. 18 – 31. Perhaps it’s a good thing we’re reporting on two weeks as Ohio’s ODNR seems to have taken the last two weeks of the year off, issuing just a single permit. There were 24 new permits issued for the final two weeks of the year, cumulatively, versus 35 permits issued for Dec. 11 – 17. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits for the final two weeks of last year. Ohio issued just 1. And West Virginia issued 4 permits. Range Resources took the top spot with 9 permits issued in Washington County, PA.
Read More “24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 18 – 31”

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35 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 11-17

New shale permits issued for Dec 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica continued the trend up over the previous week. There were 35 new permits issued last week versus 27 issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 17 new permits in Pennsylvania, 13 new permits in Ohio, and 5 new permits in West Virginia. The company receiving the most permits last week was Ascent Resources with 8 new permits in two different counties: Guernsey and Belmont counties in OH. Antero was second highest with 5 new permits in Ritchie and Doddridge counties in WV.
Read More “35 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 11-17”

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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 4 – 10

New shale permits issued for Dec 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica were up by 2 over the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued last week versus 25 issued two weeks ago. However, there was a major surprise! Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, 9 new permits in Ohio, and 10 new permits in West Virginia. The pattern is typically the opposite, with PA receiving the most permits and WV the least. The company receiving the most permits last week was EQT Corporation, with all 10 of WV’s permits all on the same well pad in Marion County.
Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 4 – 10”

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23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 25 – Oct 1

New shale permits issued for Sep 25 – Oct 1 in the Marcellus/Utica were up a few ticks from the previous week. There were 23 new permits issued last week, up from 21 permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 10 new permits in Pennsylvania, no new permits in Ohio, and a surprising 13 new permits in West Virginia. Two companies tied for top permittee, one you know, one you may not know. Olympus Energy received 5 permits to drill in Westmoreland County, PA. Consol Mining Company received 5 permits to drill in Monongalia County, WV. Consol used to own CNX Resources before spinning off CNX into its own company. Consol concentrates on coal mining. We were surprised to see Consol wandering back into shale drilling.
Read More “23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 25 – Oct 1”

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 21 – 27

New shale permits issued for Aug 21 – 27 in the Marcellus/Utica decreased once again. Up down, up down, up down. That’s what it feels like. There were 16 new permits issued last week, down nearly half from the 27 issued the prior week. Last week’s permit tally included 11 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia (WV has issued no permits in four of the last five weeks). The top permittee for the week, for the third week in a row, was Chesapeake Energy, receiving 5 permits–1 in Bradford County and 4 in Sullivan County.
Read More “16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 21 – 27”

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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 14 – 20

New shale permits issued for Aug 14 – 20 in the Marcellus/Utica finally turned around. There were 27 new permits issued last week, way up from the 10 issued the prior week. Last week’s permit tally included 21 new permits in Pennsylvania, 2 new permits in Ohio, and 4 new permits in West Virginia (after no permits in WV for three weeks in a row). The top permittee for the week, for the second week in a row, was Chesapeake Energy, receiving 6 permits–5 in Bradford County and 1 in Susquehanna County.
Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 14 – 20”