INR 2Q Production Soars 75%; First Antero Wells Beat Expectations
Infinity Natural Resources (INR), the Morgantown, WV-based pureplay Marcellus/Utica driller, dropped its second quarter 2026 numbers on Monday and walked analysts through them Tuesday morning. The short version: production jumped 75% year over year to 348.5 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), adjusted EBITDAX hit a company-record $114.7 million, the first wells from the Ohio Utica package INR bought from Antero came online ahead of plan — and INR quietly drilled and cored its first deep dry gas Utica well in Pennsylvania. Full-year guidance was reaffirmed. Not a bad quarter for a company that was still private 18 months ago. Read More “INR 2Q Production Soars 75%; First Antero Wells Beat Expectations”
The Marcellus/Utica region received 19 new drilling permits last week, July 20 – 26, down 7 from two weeks ago. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 10 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 5 new permits. The drillers who received new permits included: Ascent Resources (1), EOG Resources (1), EQT (7), Expand Energy (5), Infinity Natural Resources (2), Range Resources (2), and Snyder Brothers (1). 
Infinity Natural Resources, the Morgantown, WV-based operator running Utica Shale acreage in eastern Ohio and stacked dry-gas Marcellus/Utica positions in southwestern Pennsylvania, put out a preliminary hedging update on July 17th, giving the market a first look at its second-quarter derivative results before full Q2 earnings land. We thought that we would take the opportunity to try and explain (decode) what all of this hedging (derivatives) stuff is about. The headline number: a net derivative gain of approximately $57.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. That figure is a combination of two very different things, and it’s worth separating them. 
Yesterday, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) voted to open another 14,953 acres of publicly owned state land in eastern Ohio to safe fracking. At the same meeting, the OGLMC rejected applications to open about 8,000 acres of land in the same area for development, given the overlap between those parcels and some that were bid out. Anti-fossil fuel nutters showed up at the meeting and made asses of themselves, as they so often do. One anti (who should have been arrested and removed) shouted that the Commissioners should “jump off a bridge.” Sounds like a threat to us. Is anyone investigating? 
Infinity Natural Resources (INR), a pureplay driller focused on Appalachian shale—the Utica in eastern Ohio and the Marcellus (and Utica) in southwestern Pennsylvania—has appointed Scott McNeill to its Board of Directors. McNeill brings over two decades of experience in energy investment banking, capital markets, and operating leadership, having served as a CEO, CFO, and board member for both public and private energy companies. His background includes roles at Raymond James, RSP Permian, Switchback, and Black Mountain Sand. Infinity’s President and CEO, Zack Arnold, stated that McNeill’s expertise will be valuable as the company executes its strategy in the Appalachian Basin, focusing on the Utica and Marcellus Shales. 
We spotted a pair of press releases from M-U driller Infinity Natural Resources (INR), with the first announcing the company is floating $500 million in “senior notes” (IOUs) due in 2031, and the second, issued a short time later, revising the amount to $550 million (because of strong demand). What does it mean? Is this somehow tied to the company’s recent purchase of Antero Resources’ Ohio Utica assets (see 
In December, Antero Resources announced a deal to sell its Ohio Utica assets to a partnership of Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) and Infinity Natural Resources (INR) for $1.2 billion in cash (see 
In December, Antero Resources announced a deal to sell its Ohio Utica assets to a partnership of Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) and Infinity Natural Resources (INR) for $1.2 billion in cash (see