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Consolidation Nation: Just 40 Companies Produce 41% of U.S. O&G
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. Read More “Consolidation Nation: Just 40 Companies Produce 41% of U.S. O&G”
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). 
Diversified Energy, which owns significant assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions, too), issued its second quarter update yesterday. The company owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 oil and gas wells, mostly conventional wells (by number of wells). However, the company now produces 41% of its production from shale wells, meaning the blend of assets has changed over time. The company’s business model is to buy already-drilled, lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. They do a great job at it. Diversified also owns midstream (pipeline) assets in addition to a well-plugging subsidiary called Next LVL. What does the 2Q update show? The company produced 1,149 MMcfe/d (73% natural gas, 13% NGLs, and 14% oil). That’s up a huge 33%! 
Diversified Energy, with significant assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. One of the new ways Diversified is looking to make money with old wells is by mining cryptocurrency at wells in remote locations not hooked to a pipeline network. In March 2023, MDN told you that Diversified would try crypto-mining at a well in Elk County, Pennsylvania (see 
MDN exclusively brought you the news, in June 2018, that Diversified Gas & Oil (now renamed to Diversified Energy) had purchased EQT’s Huron Shale assets in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia for $575 million (see 
On March 27, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) online Hydrologic Conditions Monitor showed low stream flows have triggered restrictions on 18 shale gas water withdrawal points in Bradford, Potter, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. Another 17 shale gas withdrawals are approaching restrictions. Of the water withdrawal points regulated by SRBC, only shale gas development water withdrawals currently have restrictions because they take water from smaller streams. 
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 for responsible and safe shale drilling. On March 13, the SRBC board acted on 24 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, six of them approvals for water used in drilling and fracking shale wells in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus/Utica shale drillers receiving a green light from SRBC included Diversified Energy, EQT, JKLM, Repsol, and two requests for Expand Energy (under SWN or Southwestern Energy). 
This morning, Diversified Energy, FuelCell Energy, and TESIAC announced a strategic partnership “intended to address the urgent energy needs of data centers” by supplying as much as 360 megawatts (MW) of electricity to three distinct locations in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The partnership has agreed to create an Acquisition and Development Company (ADC), essentially a joint venture, focused on delivering reliable, cost-efficient, so-called net-zero power from natural gas and captured coal mine methane (CMM) to meet the soaring demand of data centers for reliable power. The way they will provide the power is quite interesting. 
For the week of Dec 16 – 22, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica remained healthy. There were 27 new permits issued last week, up from 22 issued the week before. In something of an unusual twist, the Keystone State (PA) issued just four new permits, all of them to different drillers. PennEnergy Resources’ permit was in Beaver County; Seneca Resources’ permit was in Tioga County; and Range Resources and EQT (Rice) each had one permit in Washington County. 
Last week, MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had not followed up on the cleanup work needed for a shale well drilled some 12 years ago (see 
In November, MDN told you that Diversified Energy and EQT Corporation had settled a class action lawsuit originally brought by several West Virginia landowners (see