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SRBC Approves 11 Shale Gas, 2 Gas-Fired Power Plant Water Permits
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly 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 and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the October 11 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the commission voted to approve 11 water withdrawal requests related to shale gas development and two for gas-fired power plants. Read More “SRBC Approves 11 Shale Gas, 2 Gas-Fired Power Plant Water Permits”
For the week of September 22 – 29, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased from the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up three from 24 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 18 permits in four counties. Ohio issued nine permits, also in four counties. West Virginia got skunked last week, issuing zero new permits. 
Our friend Bill desRosiers, Manager of Government and External Affairs at Coterra Energy, has authored an excellent article and white paper addressing the topic of how the oil and gas industry can use virtual reality (VR) to attract new blood to the industry. The oil and gas industry is facing a significant workforce challenge: nearly 400,000 U.S. energy workers are nearing retirement, while younger generations remain hesitant to enter the field. In spring 2025, Coterra partnered with Xalter to deploy a multi-state pilot VR program to prepare the next generation of energy workers. Bill draws back the curtain to discuss the company’s experience in using VR for training and to attract new talent to the company. 
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational professional services network (i.e., consulting firm) based in London. EY is also one of the “big four” largest accounting firms in the world. EY published a new study last week titled “US Oil and Gas Reserves, Production and ESG Benchmarking Study” (full copy below). The study found that due to mergers and acquisitions in 2024, the largest publicly traded oil and gas companies in the U.S. went from 50 down to 40, and that those 40 companies produced a staggering 41% of all O&G production in this country. It’s probably no surprise that many in the list produce natural gas (and oil) in the Marcellus/Utica. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, 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 also tells shale drillers when to stop withdrawing if low water flow (i.e., drought) conditions exist. And that’s what the SRBC did earlier today. The agency, via its Hydrologic Conditions Monitor, warned shale drillers that, at 47 listed locations (all in Pennsylvania), they must stop water withdrawals until streamflow reaches a specific “trigger flow” target (different for each location). 
Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its second quarter 2025 update yesterday. Two things stood out for us: (1) A group of Dimock wells that came online in December are superstar performers, and (2) while resurrecting the Constitution Pipeline project is “top of mind” for the company, that project is taking a back seat to another Williams pipeline project right now. 
Here we go again. We can see the headlines now: Dimock II…Paging Josh Fox!…Shale Drilling Contaminates Water Wells, Again. Coterra Energy is responsible for methane migrating more than a mile away to 13 “water supplies” (wells?) located around a nearby lake, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The offending nine wells sit on the Housel R Well Pad 1 in Susquehanna County’s Lenox Township. Coincidentally, Lenox Township is not all that far from Dimock Township. 
Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden had a sit-down interview at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Energy, Power, Renewables and Mining Conference on Tuesday of this week. Coterra is the successor company of Cabot Oil & Gas after Cabot merged with Cimarex Energy in October 2021 (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, 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 June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development.