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14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 11-17
Last week Pennsylvania issued 12 new shale well permits, down three from the prior week. Coterra Energy (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas) had the most permits with four, all on the same pad in Susquehanna County. Southwestern had three permits all on the same pad in Susquehanna County. Chesapeake Energy also had a permit in Susquehanna County, making that county the top spot for new permits with eight last week. Ohio had no new shale permits issued last week. Bummer. West Virginia had just two permits, one for Southwestern Energy in Ohio County, and one for Antero Resources in Tyler County.
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One of the hottest of the hot sectors in which to invest (right now) is shale energy. That’s according to multiple sources, including a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer, and researcher. In an article appearing on the OilPrice.com website, Alex Kimani talks up mid-cap energy stocks as outperforming the supermajors. Among two of Kimani’s top three picks are two Marcellus/Utica drillers, who are having a stellar year in stock performance. We went looking for the stock performance of other M-U drillers too. We have a list to share showing just how much each driller’s share price has increased this year.
According to RBN Energy, 2021 was the most profitable year in at least the last two decades for oil and gas producers (i.e. drillers). Oil and gas producers reported income two-thirds higher than the previous peak in 2014, when commodity prices were significantly higher. There’s every indication that 2022 will be even better for the bottom line of O&G companies. What about Marcellus/Utica drillers? Yep, they’re on the list of phenomenal results too.
According to S&P Global, shale gas producers behaved themselves during the fourth quarter of 2021 and didn’t, even as the price of gas went sky high, do anything more than maintain current production. Gas drillers kept spending in check, didn’t do any more drilling than was necessary to maintain production, and plowed free cash flow back into dividends and stock buybacks. The result? Investors loved it and share prices soared.
In Sept. 2021 Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel Gas Company, announced it would certify as responsibly sourced gas (RSG) about 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of its production–roughly one-third of all Seneca production (see 
With the ever-changing landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the shale industry, including here in the Marcellus/Utica, it’s helpful to check in every now and again with a “top 10” list. This time our top 10 list is for the largest shale drillers/operators in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Business Times recently updated its “Book of Lists” for active PA shale drillers, all 47 of them. We have a quick list of the top 10 below.
Holy smokes! What just happened? For months (and months and months) the cumulative number of weekly permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica has fluctuated from the low teens to perhaps 30 total on the upper end. Last week, from Jan. 17-23, an amazing 61 permits were issued to drill new shale wells. Double the usual. Wow! Pennsylvania issued 24 new permits, Ohio issued 9, and blow-the-doors-off-we’ve-never-seen-so-many-permits-issued-in-one-week for West Virginia, the Mountain State issued 28 new shale permits.
In May 2021 S&P Global Market Intelligence ran an article on which Marcellus/Utica drillers are likely targets to be acquired, and which drillers are doing the targeting (see 
Seneca Resources, the drilling subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company, announced yesterday it has achieved certification for 100% of its Marcellus/Utica natural gas production–over 1 billion cubic feet of gross production per day (Bcf/d)–under Equitable Origin’s EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Getting gas certified as “responsible” gives drillers another marketing tool in their arsenal.