12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 23 – 29
For the week of Dec 23 – 29, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica took a dive, which isn’t surprising given it was the end of the year. There were only 12 new permits issued for Dec. 23 – 29, less than half the 27 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued seven new permits, with five going to Repsol in Bradford and Tioga counties and two going to EQT (and Rice, owned by EQT) in Greene County. Buckeye State (OH) issued five new permits, all of which went to Encino Energy (EAP) in Carroll and Harrison counties. The Mountain State (WV), issuing precisely zero new permits. Must be the WV DEP folks were out of the office for the holiday. Read More “12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 23 – 29”

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.
A couple of interesting developments with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), which, unlike its dysfunctional cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the SRBC continues to allow water withdrawals to supply water for shale fracking in northeastern Pennsylvania. The first development is that over the weekend (on Saturday), the SRBC Hydrologic Conditions Monitor showed low stream flows in some areas that triggered water withdrawal restrictions for water users, including seven shale gas water withdrawal locations (most of them for driller Repsol). The other development is that two days earlier, on Thursday, the SRBC approved new water withdrawal requests for 22 new projects, including eight from shale drillers!
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to place the final three liquefaction blocks (7-9) into service in November 2023 (see
Spanish energy giant Repsol, with around 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties, issued the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update last week. Among the tidbits coming to light is a statement by Repsol management that the company plans to spend €$1 billion (US$1.083 billion) in the Marcellus over the next four years. Repsol loves the Marcellus!
If this doesn’t take the cake. Venture Global has been screwing its contracted customers for more than two years by not officially christening its Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana as officially open for business (denying customers cargoes under contracted prices), yet during that time, Venture Global has exported (on the spot market) more than 250 LNG cargoes! It’s a sham, and everybody knows it! Venture Global got the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the “must officially be open by date” for an extra year last year (expired Feb 21st of this year). And now, unbelievably, Venture Global wants FERC to extend it for ANOTHER year!
Spanish-owed Repsol owns (at last check) around 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. Early last year (in January 2022), Repsol closed on a deal to buy Rockdale Marcellus out of bankruptcy for $222 million, adding Rockdale’s 66 producing wells on 42,897 net acres to Resol’s extensive Marcellus portfolio (see
In August, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) approved 34 water-use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. We’re just learning of the action via an official notice published in the Sept. 23 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The approvals, which are NOT subject to public review according to SRBC regulations, are general water permits. Each site will be required to receive a specific water withdrawal approval at a later date.
In early August, MDN told you about trouble brewing along the Gulf Coast between Venture Global LNG and its biggest customers: BP, Shell, Edison International (an Italian utility company), Repsol, and GALP Energia (see