IOG Resources II Announces Eastern Ohio Utica Non-Op Acquisition
Here’s a company we’ve not written about since 2021: IOG Capital and its subsidiary IOG Resources. Back in 2015 we first told you that IOG Capital had cut a deal with Seneca Resources to fund Seneca’s Marcellus drilling program in Elk, McKean and Cameron counties in northcentral Pennsylvania (see Seneca Res. Cuts Deal with IOG Capital to Fund Up to 80 PA Wells). Seneca announced in 2016 that its deal with IOG had been revised and extended from funding 75 wells to funding 82 wells (see Seneca Resources & IOG Extend JV to Drill More Wells in PA). IOG, via its subsidiary IOG Resources, reported in 2021 that it purchased nonoperating interests in 77 producing Utica wells from Sequel Energy for an undisclosed amount (see IOG Resources Buys 77 Nonoperated Utica Wells from Sequel Energy). IOG is back investing in more M-U assets, this time in the Ohio Utica Shale. Read More “IOG Resources II Announces Eastern Ohio Utica Non-Op Acquisition”
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 fourth quarter and full-year 2024 update yesterday. The headline news (for us) is that the company announced it will restart its Marcellus drilling program in Susquehanna County, PA, “in the coming months” of early 2Q25. Whew! That puts a big, fat smile on our face. Also of note: Coterra exited 2024 with a three-year production high in the Marcellus, although that statement is not backed up with the raw data. Coterra produced 2,042.8 MMcf/d (2.04 Bcf/d) in 4Q24, versus producing 2,304.9 MMcf/d (2.30 Bcf/d) in 4Q23—11% less than the year ago period. In the bowels of the report, we learned that the company had stopped curtailing production in December. So, must be the “production high” was the rate flowing in December. 
Shell, which dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving The Netherlands in 2022 due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers and vendors of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, worldwide. The company has just released its ninth annual LNG Outlook 2025 (full copy below), which highlights key trends in 2024 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 15 years. Shell predicts that global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is forecast to rise by around 60% by 2040, which is largely driven by economic growth in Asia, emissions reductions in heavy industry and transport, and the impact of artificial intelligence. 
For the week of Feb 10 – 16, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells soared. Two weeks ago, 24 new permits were issued. Last week, the number increased to 36 new permits issued. The Keystone State (PA) issued the vast majority with 23 new permits last week. Seven permits went to PennEnergy Resources, all on a single pad in Armstrong County. Snyder Brothers received five permits for a single pad, also in Armstrong County (meaning half the PA permits went to Armstrong). Range Resources was third in line with four new permits for a single pad in Washington County. 
EQT Corporation, the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer after Expand Energy, delivered its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 update yesterday. The company, which drills solely in the Marcellus/Utica, produced 605 Bcfe of natural gas and equivalents during 4Q, which works out to be 6.58 Bcfe/d, despite curtailing 27 Bcfe (or 0.29 Bcfe/d, the same as 290 MMcf/d). Aside from the stats of what happened in 4Q24 and for the full year, much of the chatter in the update was about what is coming in 2025. EQT’s top brass said it is deep in discussions with multiple data centers and will likely have a few signed deals to provide gas to data center power plants by the end of 2025. 
Antero Resources, which is 100% focused on the Marcellus/Utica with over 500,000 net acres under lease (and the largest M-U driller in West Virginia), issued its fourth quarter 2024 update last week. The company reports net production in 4Q24 averaged 3.43 Bcfe/d, up ever-so-slightly from 3.42 Bcfe/d in 4Q23. Natural gas production averaged 2.1 Bcf/d, a 7% decrease from the same period in 2023. Liquids (NGL) production averaged 217 MBbl/d, a 14% increase from the year-ago period. A little less gas, a little more liquids. Antero achieved a net income of $150 million and adjusted net income of $181 million. Additionally, the company realized a 27% reduction in drilling and completion capital expenditures compared to the prior year. 
Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration (HHEX), a shale driller headquartered in Southpointe (Washington County), PA, that leases ~100,000 acres and drills in the Pittsburgh suburbs, was founded in 2012. The company renamed itself to Olympus Energy in 2019 (see 
Never in our wildest dreams did we see this one coming. And we must caution against too much hope. However, we are JAZZED. Last Friday, President Trump signed yet another executive order. This EO creates the National Energy Dominance Council, directing the new council to move quickly to increase domestic oil and gas production (see our companion post today for details). During comments with reporters at the EO signing, Trump vowed to complete the long-dead Pennsylvania Marcellus to New York State Constitution Pipeline! Trump’s own words: “We are going to get this done, and once we start construction, we’re looking at anywhere from nine to 12 months.” Holy smokes!!!! 
DUCs are drilled but uncompleted wells. Drillers sink a hole first and then return later to “complete” the well by fracking it and connecting it to sales. An increase in DUCs means more new drilling is happening. A decrease in DUCs means fewer new wells are drilled while previously drilled wells are completed. According to a report by Enverus, some drillers have entered 2025 with substantially fewer DUCs than last year, creating potential effects on capital efficiency and production. Nearly every shale play, including the Marcellus/Utica, has seen DUCs fall. In some cases, by the hundreds. 
ECA Marcellus Trust I, the royalty interest holder in some of the wells drilled and maintained by Greylock Energy in Greene County, PA, announced last Thursday that it will issue a two-cent dividend to unitholders for the fourth quarter of 2024. The company paid half a penny dividend in 3Q24. The company continues to hold back some profits ($90,000 in 4Q24) to build a cash reserve for “future known, anticipated or contingent expenses or liabilities.” 
CNX Resources’ Radical Transparency™ program is a first-of-its-kind public-private collaboration announced between CNX and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in November 2023 (see