24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 16 – 22
For the week of June 16 – 22, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica rose from the previous week. There were 24 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up six from 18 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits. Olympus Energy received the most new permits, six, all of them in Westmoreland County (across two pads). Seneca Resources received five permits for one pad in Tioga County. Range Resources scored three permits for a single pad in Washington County. Read More “24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 16 – 22”

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development.
The data center high tide is lifting all gas drilling boats. That’s according to a new study from S&P Global Commodity Insights that finds the expectations of a coming boom in demand for electricity for data centers, which will create a boom in demand for natural gas to produce the electricity, is causing gas drilling companies to increase in value. It’s hard to accurately quantify the value for private companies, but for public companies (those with stock that trade on the open market), we can confirm that over the past year, the value for drillers with significant operations in the Marcellus/Utica has, on average, risen dramatically.
The experts at RBN Energy track 38 exploration and production (E&P) companies to monitor financial and operational performance. In a recent blog post, RBN found the 10 gas-weighted E&Ps (all but one with significant operations in the Marcellus/Utica) experienced a rebound in earnings during Q4 2024 after a rough first three quarters of the year. Earnings for the 10 gas-weighted E&Ps averaged $3.02/boe (barrels of oil equivalent) in Q4 2024 after losses in Q2 and Q3 2024. Cash flow averaged $10.18/boe, 52% higher than the $6.71/boe generated in Q3 2024. Realized prices averaged nearly $18/boe in Q4 2024, 24% higher than the $14.52/boe recorded in Q3 2024. Things are looking up for M-U drillers.
On March 27, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) online Hydrologic Conditions Monitor showed low stream flows have triggered restrictions on 18 shale gas water withdrawal points in Bradford, Potter, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. Another 17 shale gas withdrawals are approaching restrictions. Of the water withdrawal points regulated by SRBC, only shale gas development water withdrawals currently have restrictions because they take water from smaller streams.