U.S. Rig Count Climbs Again – Adds 3 @ 625, M-U Adds 1 @ 41
While the rig count remains anemic, it shows signs of life. Last week, the U.S. rig count added rigs for the third week in a row. The rig count hit a new low for 2023 one month ago (see U.S. Rig Count Hits New 2023 Low – Loses 2 @ 616, M-U Even @ 40). Since then, the count has steadily added a few rigs each week and now stands at 625 active rigs as of Friday. The Marcellus/Utica gained another rig (in Pennsylvania) to hit 41 active rigs in the combined M-U.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently published its 2022 Oil and Gas Annual Report. This is the seventh year in a row the DEP has published the report in an interactive, electronic (i.e., online only) format. Don’t worry; we’ve made the report a convenient PDF for MDN readers. What does the 2022 report show? Permits issued went down, but the number of new wells drilled went up. The big news is that natural gas production has, for the first time, gone down year over year in the Keystone State. It is the first time natural gas production has decreased for a given year in the modern shale era in PA.
A team of researchers led by the University of Maryland claims they can now “fingerprint” methane to determine the source of where the molecules come from. Using isotopic variants, the researchers say they can distinguish fossil fuel sources of methane from microbial sources from swamps, landfills, and farms. If true, this is a new and welcomed development. First, the news, then a discussion of its importance.
In its assessment of global LNG supplies and natural gas stocks for the winter of 2023/2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says the world (and the U.S.) has enough natural gas to meet demand. However, there’s a big BUT… EIA says, “but risks remain.” What are those risks? Possible extreme weather and supply issues.
Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Last month, the report predicted new all-time highs for natural gas production in 2023 (see 
The dead cat bounce bounced a little higher last week (i.e., the slight bounce a dead cat makes when it hits the ground). The rig count hit a new low for 2023 three weeks ago (see 
Veteran equity oil and gas analyst Jeff Robertson, managing director with 
It’s sad to see a major university like the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) publish fake research to fit a political narrative that fracking can be tied to cancer in kids (see 
For more than a decade, MDN has brought you stories about shale development on and under land controlled by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), an agency formed in 1933 to help control flooding and promote water conservation in the Muskingum River watershed area of Ohio, an area that covers 8,000 square miles (
Yesterday, MDN brought you the news that the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is sounding the alarm that more than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter (see 
A new study from the Texas Public Policy Foundation finds that the actual hidden costs of fueling an electric vehicle, which some allege equates to $1.21 per gallon of gas, is more like $17 per gallon — all things considered. In a new paper recently published called “Overcharged Expectations: Unmasking the True Costs of Electric Vehicles” (full copy below), the study’s authors argue that while the direct cost of “fueling up” to an EV owner may appear low, the real costs and considerations add up to be significantly more. The wheels are beginning to fall off EV cars.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is sounding the alarm that more than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter. Why? If you read certain leftwing publications, they will say we’re heading for blackouts due to an overreliance on natural gas. According to NERC and its just-released 2023–2024 Winter Reliability Assessment, the coming outages are because we don’t rely ENOUGH on natural gas! That’s right. NERC (and FERC) say we need more pipelines and natural gas to shore up a lack of supplies during the worst cold snaps. The lack of natural gas leads to a lack of fuel for electric power plants (and for people who use it to heat their homes). Both agencies, but NERC in particular, say we need more pipelines, and we need them NOW.
The U.S. rig count fell again last week, dropping another two rigs to 616 active rigs — the lowest rig total this year and the lowest count since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica stayed the same at a collective 40 active rigs. However, the M-U mix changed once again. Pennsylvania lost another rig, going from 20 to 19 last week, after dropping two rigs the week before (see