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36 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 10 – 16
For the week of Feb 10 – 16, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells soared. Two weeks ago, 24 new permits were issued. Last week, the number increased to 36 new permits issued. The Keystone State (PA) issued the vast majority with 23 new permits last week. Seven permits went to PennEnergy Resources, all on a single pad in Armstrong County. Snyder Brothers received five permits for a single pad, also in Armstrong County (meaning half the PA permits went to Armstrong). Range Resources was third in line with four new permits for a single pad in Washington County. Read More “36 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 10 – 16”
DUCs are drilled but uncompleted wells. Drillers sink a hole first and then return later to “complete” the well by fracking it and connecting it to sales. An increase in DUCs means more new drilling is happening. A decrease in DUCs means fewer new wells are drilled while previously drilled wells are completed. According to a report by Enverus, some drillers have entered 2025 with substantially fewer DUCs than last year, creating potential effects on capital efficiency and production. Nearly every shale play, including the Marcellus/Utica, has seen DUCs fall. In some cases, by the hundreds. 
Expand Energy is the new company formed from the merger of Chesapeake Energy with Southwestern Energy. Expand is essentially Chesapeake Energy 2.0. Expand CFO Mohit Singh spoke at last week’s 2025 NAPE Summit in Houston. He had some fascinating things to say, including this: “Just to be clear, in our view, at least 75% of the natural gas demand growth is going to come from LNG.” He called LNG demand “durable” and reliable. AI (artificial intelligence) data center demand for natural gas, on the other hand, is volatile and “noisy,” according to Singh. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the January 25 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC gave his approval to or renewed 18 general water use permits in December for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. 
The experts at RBN Energy recently analyzed the Q3 2024 financial results for the gas-focused producers the company tracks (mainly Marcellus/Utica producers). The gas-weighted E&Ps RBN follows had the best total shareholder return performance of the three peer groups they tracked through the first nine months of 2024, with a median gain of 14%. On the high side, CNX Resources’ share price was amazing, up more than 60% for the first nine months of last year. On the other end, Coterra Energy’s share price lost value. 
Enverus, a prominent analytics and advisory firm in the oil and gas space, released its Top 50 Public E&P Operators of 2024 list last week. Enverus is famously guarded in not allowing the media to publish their data, so we don’t have the full list of 50. However, Enverus shared the top three most prolific (by production) shale drillers for last year. Two of the top three are oil drillers in the Permian Basin (Exxon at #1, Occidental Petroleum at #3). However, at the #2 spot, nestled between those two, is Expand Energy, the new name for the combined Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy. Yes, a natural gas company (gas converted to barrels of oil equivalent) is the #2 most prolific producer in the entire country, beating out Oxy! Most of the gas Expand produces is produced in the Marcellus/Utica. 
According to an extensive report appearing on the World Oil website (and in the November issue of the magazine), multiple possible futures lie ahead for the Marcellus and Utica shales. So, which future will come to pass? Today, both industry and government see the Marcellus and Utica formations as tremendous opportunities for companies and state governments, with domestically produced energy, jobs, and a huge economic impact.