EOG Closes on $5.6B Purchase of Encino Assets in Ohio Utica
EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in several other countries) announced at the end of May it had made a deal to buy Encino Energy and Encino’s massive Ohio Utica Shale assets for $5.6 billion (see HUGE Utica News: EOG Resources Buys Encino Energy for $5.6 Billion). Last Friday, EOG issued its second quarter update. As part of the update, the company announced it had closed on the Encino acquisition on August 1st and is now working to integrate the two companies. The newly combined EOG/Encino plans to run five rigs and three completion crews in the company’s Utica operation through the remainder of this year. Read More “EOG Closes on $5.6B Purchase of Encino Assets in Ohio Utica”
For the week of July 14 – 20, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica decreased from the previous week. There were 17 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, four fewer than the 21 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued just four new permits. All were single permits. Range Resources received its permit for a well in Allegheny County. EQT got a permit for a well in Greene County. Infinity Natural Resources’ (INR) permit was in Indiana County. And Expand Energy’s permit was in Wyoming County. 
According to Enverus Intelligence Research, the upstream M&A (mergers and acquisitions) sector “hit the brakes” during the second quarter, falling 21% quarter-over-quarter to $13.5 billion. There were two Marcellus/Utica deals in the top five. Actually, our two deals were in the top three. The announcement by EOG Resources cutting a deal to buy Encino Energy in the Ohio Utica for $5.6 billion was the #1 highest value M&A deal in upstream O&G during 2Q (see 
This is an unfortunate part of mergers and acquisitions. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a WARN notice (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filed by Encino Energy indicates that 121 Encino workers will be laid off on or around August 17. No reason is given, however, EOG Resources is in the process of buying out and merging in Encino’s Ohio Utica assets (see 
EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), owns nearly half a million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica (~460,000 acres). EOG calls its position the “Ohio Utica combo play” and considers it one of the company’s “premium” and “emerging” plays. EOG concentrates on oil drilling in the Utica. During the company’s first quarter 2025 update in early May, we learned that EOG is cutting $200 million from its 2025 spending plan, believing Trump’s tariffs will lead to a slowdown in oil demand. However, the company is not cutting spending or work in the Utica. 
This is news of a lawsuit with implications for drillers, rights owners, and surface land owners that we were not previously aware of. EOG Resources, an oil and gas drilling giant with nearly half a million leased acres in Ohio, holds drilling rights on land owned by Lucky Land Management in Ohio—we could not determine the exact location or county. The two sides couldn’t agree on whether EOG’s rights to drill included the right to drill from Lucky Land’s surface out to adjacent properties as well. So EOG sued. EOG then asked a district court to grant a preliminary injunction, allowing the company to access the land to cut down trees and begin constructing wells. The district court did so, finding that EOG would probably succeed on the merits of the case. 
Wow! Is this the Trump effect? For the week of Jan 13 – 19, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells achieved levels we haven’t seen in, oh, about four years. There were 41 new permits issued last week, up significantly from 27 issued the week before and 30 issued two weeks before. The Keystone State (PA) issued a whopping 25 new permits, with 17 (!) going to EQT spread across Greene and Washington counties. Another six permits went to Chesapeake Energy (now Expand Energy) in Bradford County. One permit each went to Range Resources and Apex Energy in Beaver and Westmoreland counties, respectively.