Seneca Resources Changes e-Fracking Vendor to Evolution Well
Seneca Resources, National Fuel Gas Company’s exploration and production arm, and Evolution Well Services announced a three-year strategic agreement to deploy electric hydraulic fracturing technology (e-fracking) across Seneca’s Appalachian Basin operations, including the Marcellus and Utica shales. The companies said Evolution’s electric frac systems, in-house power generation and field-gas conditioning will use Seneca’s own responsibly sourced natural gas to power completions. This isn’t the first time Seneca has used e-fracking.
6/24/26 UPDATE: Seneca responded to our questions about how many frac fleets it operates, and why it chose Evolution, below.
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The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible, safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the May 23rd Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 33 general water use permits in April for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) is an integrated natural gas company with a regulated utility business, a shale drilling business (Seneca Resources), and a pipeline business (NFG Midstream, Empire Pipeline). The company issued its fiscal second quarter update two weeks ago, which is everyone else’s calendar first quarter update. The good news is that NFG is upgrading its Line N natural gas pipeline to carry an additional 94,000 Dth/d (90 MMcf/d) of Marcellus/Utica shale gas. The bad news is that Seneca produced 102.0 Bcf of natural gas, a decrease of 3.5 Bcf, or 3%, from the prior year, largely due to weather-driven completion delays and “typical natural gas production declines on producing wells.” 
The Marcellus/Utica region received 22 new drilling permits last week, Apr. 13 – 19, down 15 from the 37 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 11 of last week’s permits. Ohio issued no new permits. And West Virginia issued the other 11 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits last week included: Antero Resources, Arsenal Resources, CNX Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, JKLM Energy, Range Resources, Repsol Oil & Gas, and Seneca Resources. 
The current (until this week) Chief Operating Officer (COO) of major Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources (a subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company) is leaving not only Seneca but also the country to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Australian driller Tamboran Resources Corporation. 
In Q3 2025, U.S. E&Ps (drillers) successfully leveraged rigorous cost-cutting and capital discipline to maintain stable earnings despite commodity price volatility. With lifting costs down 16% since mid-2022, producers offset revenue pressures through efficiency and consolidation. RBN Energy reports that performance diverged by sector in 3Q: oil-weighted producers saw earnings rise 19% on stabilized crude prices and reduced impairments, while gas-weighted peers suffered a 27% earnings slump due to lower realizations. Total production increased 4.7%, mainly driven by oil majors. Looking ahead to Q4, the outlook shifts; oil producers face headwinds as prices dip toward $60/bbl, while natural gas producers anticipate a strong finish fueled by winter demand and rising Henry Hub prices. 
Regional and national indicators are driving optimism in the Marcellus/Utica Basin, which currently supplies 31% of U.S. natural gas. Despite recent constraints from low prices and limited pipeline capacity, drillers like Infinity Natural Resources and Expand Energy now predict significant output growth coming in the new year. This resurgence is fueled by surging in-basin demand from AI data centers, major power plant conversions in Pennsylvania, and improved takeaway prospects, such as Boardwalk’s proposed Borealis pipeline to the Gulf Coast (see