Devon and Coterra Name Merger Team Members, Integration Underway
Following the announcement of a $25.35 billion all-stock merger, Devon Energy and Coterra Energy have launched integration planning by naming a dedicated leadership team. Devon CEO Clay Gaspar and Coterra CEO Tom Jorden announced that Trey Lowe (from Devon) and Blake Sirgo (from Coterra) will co-lead the effort, with support from external partner McKinsey & Co. The combined management team includes executives from both firms, with a focus on finance, technology, and human resources. This transition coincides with Devon’s move of its headquarters from Oklahoma City to Houston. Although integration planning has begun, the companies will operate independently until the merger’s expected closing in the second quarter of 2026. Read More “Devon and Coterra Name Merger Team Members, Integration Underway”
PJM Interconnection recently proposed reforms to its retail BTM (behind-the-meter) generation rules to support data center colocation. The filing, responding to a FERC mandate, introduces a 50-MW threshold for BTM facilities and three new transmission service categories. Under the plan, new loads exceeding 50 MW would be ineligible for “netting,” a process that currently lowers grid charges by balancing on-site generation against consumption. While existing contracts are grandfathered, industrial trade groups warn that removing netting rules threatens the economic viability of combined heat and power facilities, potentially discouraging manufacturing investments while aiming to address regional grid reliability and grid cost-shifting concerns. 
In December, we brought you the sad and unexpected news that Energy Transfer (ET) had suspended development of its Lake Charles LNG project to “focus on allocating capital to its significant backlog of natural gas pipeline infrastructure projects that Energy Transfer believes provide superior risk/return profiles” (see 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for October through December 2025 (full copy below). There were 129 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 4Q25, a big increase of 46 wells (+55%) compared to 4Q24. Natural gas production volume was 1,934 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 4Q25 (same as 3Q25), up 63 Bcf (+3.4%) from 1,871 Bcf produced in 4Q24. The average Pennsylvania spot hub price was $3.08, an increase of $1.07 (+53%) from the prior year’s $2.01. All in all, it was a great fourth quarter for the PA Marcellus. The numbers are going in the right direction. However, the big news is annual production. 
Several Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, and the Center for Biological Diversity, have filed a legal challenge against a permit issued by Virginia for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate extension. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a water permit for the project in January 2026. Big Green radicals argue that the pipeline “threatens” 138 streams, wetlands, and regional drinking water supplies. It’s the typical lawfare tactic used by the left to stall work on projects, hoping to delay them long enough that the builder (EQT in this case) gives up. Or if the builder won’t give up, they have to pay double or triple the price to construct it. That’s the game the radicals are playing. 
METLEN (Greek energy company) and Shell have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and trading between 2027 and 2031. This partnership allows the Greek company to secure up to one billion cubic meters of LNG annually, leveraging domestic terminals and the Vertical Gas Corridor to supply Central Europe and Ukraine. The agreement highlights Greece’s growing importance as a strategic energy hub designed to replace Russian gas with U.S.-produced alternatives. This shift is further reinforced by increased Mediterranean exploration by major U.S. firms such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, solidifying the region’s role in European energy security. Believe it or not, there are implications for the Marcellus/Utica region. 
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is leading a 21-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Department of Energy efficiency standards adopted during the dark Biden years that effectively ban many natural gas furnaces and water heaters. Challenging a D.C. Circuit ruling, the states argue the mandate violates federal law by eliminating appliances with protected performance characteristics. McCuskey emphasizes that the rule would disproportionately burden low-income and rural families, forcing expensive structural renovations in older homes incompatible with new condensing technology. 
Yesterday, Expand Energy and Evolution Well Services announced a new agreement to deploy Evolution’s 100% electric hydraulic fracturing technology (e-fracking) in Expand’s Northeast Appalachia (northeast Pennsylvania) drilling program. Evolution, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking — using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel) to power turbines that generate electricity to drive fracking pumps. We’ve written about Evolution’s e-fracking work in the Marcellus/Utica for years (
Ohio’s Revised Code Section 5303.34 (part of House Bill 96, recently passed and signed into law) significantly shifts mineral trespass law, favoring oil and gas operators over landowners. Replacing common-law precedent, the new statute limits default damages to net revenue minus production costs, ensuring industry expense credits. Crucially, it creates a high bar for “bad faith,” requiring plaintiffs (landowners and rights owners) to prove an operator’s specific intent to steal minerals or actual knowledge of illegality. Since a “reasonable belief” in a lease or permit now negates bad faith, landowners face a difficult path to full revenue recovery. 
West Virginia continues to cement its status as a national energy powerhouse, ranking as the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. and providing 10% of the country’s total natgas supply. The 2025 “Gas Facts” report (copy below) from the Gas and Oil Association of WV (GO-WV) highlights a record production of 3.27 trillion cubic feet, fueling an industry that supports 73,000 jobs and contributes $14.7 billion to the state economy. The sector generates hundreds of millions in tax revenue for schools and infrastructure, alongside $1 billion in landowner royalties. Driven by counties like Wetzel and Tyler, the state remains vital to national energy security. 
The far-left Southern Environmental Law Center, representing three radical nonprofits, has appealed the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of Dominion Energy’s $1.47 billion natural gas plant in Chesterfield County. The challenge is the first under both the Virginia Environmental Justice Act and the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Antis argue the 1,000-megawatt facility would disproportionately “harm” marginalized communities through increased pollution and significant health risks, including premature deaths. Critics maintain that Dominion failed to prioritize renewable alternatives or demonstrate a genuine threat to grid reliability, potentially placing unnecessary financial and health burdens on the public. 
Enbridge has announced a non-binding open season inviting existing and potential shippers to bid on firm natural gas transportation services. The offer includes up to 300,000 GJ/day (~285 MMcf/d) of capacity for its M12, M12-X, or M17 services. Available paths connect the strategic Dawn Hub to Parkway, Kirkwall, and Dornoch, facilitating efficient gas movement across Ontario to major North American markets. Shippers of Marcellus and Utica molecules will be interested in this open season. 
Enbridge Inc. is a major North American energy infrastructure (primarily pipeline) company based in Calgary, Canada, specializing in the transportation, distribution, and generation of energy. It operates the world’s longest crude oil/liquids pipeline system, transporting 25% of North America’s crude oil, alongside significant natural gas, renewable power, and natural gas utility operations. Enbridge’s fourth quarter 2025 update highlights significant developments impacting the Marcellus/Utica region, primarily driven by surging demand for natural gas to support data centers and power generation, as well as continued infrastructure modernization. 
In December, Antero Resources announced a deal to sell its Ohio Utica assets to a partnership of Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) and Infinity Natural Resources (INR) for $1.2 billion in cash (see