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M-U Driller Stock Prices Increase Due to Coming Data Center Demand
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. Read More “M-U Driller Stock Prices Increase Due to Coming Data Center Demand”
In January 2024, the sleazeballs that operated Joe Biden’s autopen slapped a “pause” on allowing the Department of Energy (DOE) to review and issue export approvals for any new LNG export facilities (see 
The U.S. national rig count lost two more rigs last week, going from 578 to 576, tying January 24th of this year as the lowest national rig count in the past 12 months. Rigs targeting the Marcellus layer remained the same with 25 rigs last week, while the Utica (in Ohio) picked up one rig and now operates 11 rigs for a combined total of 36. Pennsylvania was static with 18 rigs, Ohio moved up from nine to ten rigs, and West Virginia remained the same with eight rigs. 
Last November, MDN brought you the great news that MPLX (aka MarkWest Energy) would file to build an expansion at its existing Harmon Creek facility in Smith Township, Washington County, PA (see 
In January 2024, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships in Mercer County, PA (see 
Last December, MDN told you that the future of what could become the country’s largest LNG export facility, Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2), was in question following a court order from the the leftwing U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (see 
Last week, two different quasi-governmental agencies, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), issued summer assessments for whether or not the country could experience problems with having enough electric power for this summer. Both assessments conclude the same thing: IF we don’t have any extreme weather events, and if unreliable renewable sources like solar and wind don’t crap out for an extended period, we’ll be fine. However, if we do have a hot spell or solar/wind fail, we’re in trouble. In particular, New England and the central part of the country from top to bottom are at most risk. However, even the PJM area could experience some problems. 
In February, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) creating the National Energy Dominance Council, directing the new council to move quickly to increase domestic oil and gas production (see 
West Virginia has more than 21,000 abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells. Plugging them to prevent environmental problems is a thorny issue, as it is in other states like Pennsylvania and Ohio (and Texas, and Oklahoma, etc.). Regulatory hurdles make it expensive. A WV bill not previously on our radar made its way through the legislature and was signed yesterday by Governor Patrick Morrisey: House Bill (HB) 3336. The bill (now law) makes it cheaper and faster to plug abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells in the Mountain State. 
We spotted a story that got us thinking. Pennsylvania is the #1 exporter of electricity in the country, exporting some 26% of all the electricity it produces. Such exports give the state an opportunity to profit from building more gas-fired power, leveraging cheap Marcellus gas. However, exporting electricity is a complex issue. PA State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill, Republican from York, PA, is sounding the alarm over the electricity exporting issue. She makes some great points… 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook last week, the agency’s monthly best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. In this latest assessment, EIA dropped its estimates for the Henry Hub spot price. The agency expects the HH price to average $4.10 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2025, $0.20 lower than last month’s forecast. However, EIA expects the annual average price in 2026 to be $4.80/MMBtu, which is $0.20 higher than last month’s forecast. EIA forecasts the Henry Hub spot price will average $4.20/MMBtu during the third quarter of 2025. 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that the average number of wells completed simultaneously (simul-frac’d) at the same location in the Lower 48 states has more than doubled, increasing from 1.5 wells in December 2014 to more than 3.0 wells in June 2024. By completing (fracking) multiple wells at once rather than sequentially, operators can accelerate their production timeline and reduce costs per well. 
Yesterday, MDN brought you the news that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is laying the blame for a series of low-level earthquakes in southeastern Ohio on fracking at a shale well in Noble County (see 