Antero Resources | Apex Energy | Beaver County | Bradford County | Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Harrison County | HG Energy | Hilcorp Energy | Marion County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Westmoreland County | Wetzel County
41 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 13 – 19
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. Read More “41 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 13 – 19”
The experts at RBN Energy recently analyzed the Q3 2024 financial results for the gas-focused producers the company tracks (mainly Marcellus/Utica producers). The gas-weighted E&Ps RBN follows had the best total shareholder return performance of the three peer groups they tracked through the first nine months of 2024, with a median gain of 14%. On the high side, CNX Resources’ share price was amazing, up more than 60% for the first nine months of last year. On the other end, Coterra Energy’s share price lost value. 
According to an extensive report appearing on the World Oil website (and in the November issue of the magazine), multiple possible futures lie ahead for the Marcellus and Utica shales. So, which future will come to pass? Today, both industry and government see the Marcellus and Utica formations as tremendous opportunities for companies and state governments, with domestically produced energy, jobs, and a huge economic impact. 
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. The Pennsylvania Bulletin from this past Saturday (Nov. 23) carried an official notice from the SRBC that the agency’s Executive Director gave his approval to one new and 41 renewed general water use permits in October for individual shale gas wells in Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties. 
Range Resources, the very first company to drill a Marcellus well back in 2004, leases office space in the Southpointe II business park in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA. Yeah, that Cecil, the one that has banned all new drilling by Range or anyone else via a 2,500-foot setback regulation (see 
On November 8, 2024, FMR LLC, also known as Fidelity Investments, acquired 52,419 additional shares of Range Resources Corp. (RRC)—the very first and still one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale. The acquisition increased FMR’s total holdings in the company to 27,478,205 shares, reflecting a significant commitment to Range. FMR is one of the largest shareholders of Range, now owning 11.35% of all outstanding stock. Should we be nervous? 
We have a second post about yesterday’s Hart Energy DUG Appalachia event held in Pittsburgh. One of the sessions was an interview with Dennis Degner, CEO of Range Resources, the very first company to drill a Marcellus well back in 2004. Range is a “pure play” company focusing 100% on the Marcellus/Utica. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, not only here in the M-U but across other plays as well (particularly in the Permian). During the Q&A discussion with Degner, the topic of M&A came up. Degner explained why he and his company have, and will continue, to sit on the sidelines of the M&A craze.