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Ohio Utica 2Q24 Production – Oil Up 23%, Gas Down 4% vs Year Ago

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the second quarter of 2024 yesterday. The story the numbers tell continues to be about Utica oil, which continues to rise each quarter. Ohio’s total oil production during 2Q24 was 8.01 million barrels, up 23% from 2Q23’s 6.5 million barrels and up 11% from 1Q24’s 7.2 million barrels. The story of oil in the Buckeye State can’t be told apart from Encino Energy (EAP), which produced nearly half of all the state’s oil during 2Q24. As for natural gas production, it’s no surprise it went down slightly in 2Q24, given the current low price for gas. The state produced 526.6 Bcf in 2Q24, down 3.7% from 2Q23’s 547.0 Bcf, and down 1.4% from this year’s first quarter number of 534.0 Bcf. MDN pulled the numbers from the ODNR quarterly report and produced top 25 lists for both gas and oil wells.
Read More “Ohio Utica 2Q24 Production – Oil Up 23%, Gas Down 4% vs Year Ago”

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New Freeport Residents Sue EQT for Contaminated Water in Greene Co.

In July 2022, MDN brought you news of a possible frac-out, or “inadvertent return” that happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to — places outside the borehole being drilled (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A landowner who lives near a well being drilled and fracked by EQT in Greene County, PA, complained her water well was fouled by EQT’s drilling and that a nearby abandoned well was releasing fluids and natural gas. According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), EQT confirmed some of its fluids were “communicating” with the abandoned well. Three area landowners who are not happy with EQT’s response to the situation two years later have launched a class action lawsuit. Read More “New Freeport Residents Sue EQT for Contaminated Water in Greene Co.”

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Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand

The RealClear Media Group has a suite of online publications that are just terrific. Among them is RealClearEnergy. Back in June, RealClearEnergy hosted the Energy Future Forum in Washington, D.C. Among the luminaries speaking (or being interviewed) was Toby Rice, CEO of the country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation. Toby addressed the role of the U.S. in meeting “massive” demand for LNG across the planet. Toby was in his element. We’ve previously called Toby our country’s LNG evangelist. He certainly shared his zeal and vision for the role of LNG in the coming decades (and it ain’t just a “transition” fuel). Read More “Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand”

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Va. Researcher “Novel Method” to Extract Lithium from M-U Brine

(From left) Graduate student Peidong Liu and mining and minerals engineering Associate Professor Wencai Zhang analyze water samples in the lab. Photo by Hailey Wade for Virginia Tech.

Researchers at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering have developed a “novel method” for direct lithium extraction from Marcellus produced water to contribute to the high demand for electric vehicles and so-called green energy. The researchers are getting a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy to optimize and scale up this new technique. Read More “Va. Researcher “Novel Method” to Extract Lithium from M-U Brine”

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32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 26 – Sep 1

For the week of Aug. 26 – Sept. 1, a total of 32 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, nearly matching the previous week’s 34. It’s nice to see the numbers returning to higher levels. The Keystone State (PA) had 18 new permits. PA’s top recipient was EQT (and its subsidiary Rice Drilling), with ten permits in Greene County. Seneca Resources was second, with five new permits issued in Lycoming County. Olympus Energy received three permits in Westmoreland County. Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 26 – Sep 1”

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Low NatGas Price Has “Crippled” Financial Results for M-U Cos.

There’s just no way to sugarcoat the fact that the low low price for natural gas is having an impact on shale drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. According to an analyst with RBN Energy, a price plunge to near the $2/MMBtu level in early 2023 “crippled” financial results for the companies RBN monitors that are gas-focused (namely M-U companies). However, most producers on the RBN list have remained in the black through spending less and cutting back on production. Down but far from out. How did the major M-U companies that are publicly traded perform in 2Q24? We have the numbers below. Read More “Low NatGas Price Has “Crippled” Financial Results for M-U Cos.”

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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 19 – 25

For the week of August 19 – 25, a total of 34 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. The Keystone State (PA) had 16 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Chesapeake Energy, with six permits in Bradford County. Coterra Energy was a close second, with five new permits issued in neighboring Susquehanna County. The Buckeye State (OH) received 13 new permits, with Encino Energy (EAP) receiving eight and Ascent Resources five. OH’s permits were spread across Guernsey, Harrison, and Noble counties. Finally, the Mountain State (WV) received five new permits, all of them for Northeast Natural Energy in Monongalia County. Read More “34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 19 – 25”

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MVP Water Pressure Test Rupture Mystery Solved: Defective Weld

On May 1, a section of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) ruptured during final pressure testing in Roanoke County, Virginia (see Section of MVP Ruptures Near Roanoke Under Water Pressure Test). An independent metallurgical test identified a defective weld in an elbow joint as a cause of the failure. No internal or external corrosion was detected on the section, which was installed in 2018.
Read More “MVP Water Pressure Test Rupture Mystery Solved: Defective Weld”

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WV Judge Blocks Class Action in Diversified Old Wells Lawsuit

MDN has an exclusive update on a lawsuit by several West Virginia surface landowners who are suing Diversified Energy over Diversified’s failure to plug their unproducing conventional wells. At the prompting of the Sierra Club, the landowners attempted to turn the lawsuit into a class action. Yesterday, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of WV struck down the class action request, meaning a couple of surface owners from the original lawsuit can proceed with their lawsuit. The outcome won’t affect anyone else. However, a second related case and a second request for a class action are still alive.
Read More “WV Judge Blocks Class Action in Diversified Old Wells Lawsuit”

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 12 – 18

This week’s permit report is a bit different. Technically, for the week of August 12 – 18, a total of seven new permits were issued across the Marcellus/Utica. However, last week’s permit report omitted West Virginia numbers because the state’s online data service was out of order (see 26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 5 – 11). It’s back online this week, so we’ve included August 5 – 11 with August 12 – 18 for West Virginia, bumping the number much higher. So, for this report, we’re reporting a total of 16 new permits across all three states, but nine of those permits are from WV from two weeks ago. The big surprise for August 12 – 18 is that Pennsylvania issued no new permits. That’s the first time we remember that happening, not a single permit in PA.
Read More “16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 12 – 18”

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Pipelines to the Rescue! Delivering M-U Gas to Va. & Carolinas

Recently, we’ve told you about the coming demand for natural gas to generate electricity that data centers and artificial intelligence will need (see Big Midstream Companies Eye Data Center/AI Market for New Pipes). The left’s answer for increased power demand is to kill new data centers and ban AI (see Leftists Argue for Ban on AI Because It Uses Too Much Electricity). Here in the real world, more electricity will soon be needed in Virginia and the Carolinas for a plethora of new projects in the works. Two pipelines that flow Marcellus/Utica molecules are working hard to meet the need: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), now owned by EQT, and Transco (Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line), owned by Williams. Read More “Pipelines to the Rescue! Delivering M-U Gas to Va. & Carolinas”

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Low Prices Prompt “Fresh Cutbacks” in NatGas Production Says WSJ

Despite one of the hottest summers on record, natural gas prices are in the crapper. The abysmal price situation is causing big drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, like EQT and Coterra, to cut back even further on natural gas production, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Coterra CEO Tom Jorden recently told investors that “gas markets are oversupplied,” and his company will trim production by an extra 325 MMcf/d (see Coterra 2Q – Trimming Another 325 MMcf/d of Marcellus Gas).
Read More “Low Prices Prompt “Fresh Cutbacks” in NatGas Production Says WSJ”

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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 5 – 11

For the week of August 5 – 11, a total of 26 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, with the vast majority issued in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State had 21 new permits, with an eye-popping 19 going to EQT split between Greene and Washington counties (in the southwestern part of the state), and two issued to Range Resources in Beaver County. Ohio issued five new permits last week, with four going to Ascent Resources in Jefferson County and one to Encino Energy (EAP) in Guernsey County. West Virginia’s online data service is currently out of order, and there is no ETA for when it will be fixed, so we have no permits to report for the Mountain State. Read More “26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 5 – 11”

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WV Landowner Lawsuit Against EQT, Diversified re Old Wells Continues

In June 2018, MDN exclusively brought our readers the news that Diversified Gas & Oil (now called Diversified Energy) had purchased EQT Corporation’s Huron Shale assets, with a bunch of conventional wells, in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia for $575 million (see Diversified Gas & Oil Adds to Conventional Assets in KY, VA, WV). A few months later, the West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization (WVSORO) accused EQT of selling off its conventional wells to avoid having to plug them (see WV Surface Owners Accuse EQT of Selling Wells Should be Plugged). Two years ago, in July 2022, Big Green groups used a couple of WV landowners in an attempt to launch a class action against EQT and Diversified (see Big Green Uses WV Landowners to Sue EQT, Diversified re Old Wells). There have been recent developments in the case.
Read More “WV Landowner Lawsuit Against EQT, Diversified re Old Wells Continues”

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9 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 22 – 28

For the week of July 22 – 28, a total of nine permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. Pennsylvania had the fewest with just two new permits, one each for Seneca Resources and Rice Drilling (i.e., EQT). Ohio had the most with four new permits, all of them for EOG Resources for a single pad in Noble County. West Virginia came in between with three new permits, all three for Antero Resources in Tyler County.

Read More “9 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 22 – 28”

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EQT & Others Enter “Phase 1” of Hydrogen Hub; DOE Cuts $30M Check

An important milestone was reached on Wednesday regarding the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). You may recall that ARCH2 was one of seven projects to win the Bidenista Hunger Games competition to receive a chunk of $7 billion to build a regional hydrogen hub (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). ARCH2 is getting $925 million of the $7 billion pot. It was selected specifically because it will use Marcellus/Utica shale gas as the feedstock to create hydrogen (a fact that frosts the left, see Antis Mad They Can’t Protest Specific ARCH2 Hydrogen Projects). At any rate, on Wednesday, the first $30 million check for ARCH2 was cut by the Bidenistas, and work will now begin.
Read More “EQT & Others Enter “Phase 1” of Hydrogen Hub; DOE Cuts $30M Check”