Enverus Rig Count @ 621 (-3); Marcellus @ 32 (+0), Utica @ 13 (+0)
The latest weekly Enverus U.S. rig count shows total rigs in use faltered slightly and lost ground. For the week ending August 26, the rig count stood at 621, down 3 rigs from the previous week. That’s a slight retreat after last week’s new post-pandemic high. The Marcellus and Utica plays stayed even with the previous week–no rigs gained or lost. Collectively the M-U currently operates 45 rigs.
Read More “Enverus Rig Count @ 621 (-3); Marcellus @ 32 (+0), Utica @ 13 (+0)”
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released their latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for April through June 2021 (full copy below). It’s sort of a mixed bag with some good and some not-so-good. In 2Q21 the number of wells spud (begun to be drilled) was 120 new shale wells, up from the 113 spud in 2Q20, which was the point when the pandemic began to take hold in a big way. Sadly, gas production slipped in 2Q over the previous quarter, but not by much. It was still the second-highest quarterly production in the state for all time.
Several mainstream media outlets who either didn’t read or intentionally lie about the results revealed in a new study are reporting a link between fracking and impacts on surface waters–particularly in the Marcellus Shale. In fact, the study, published in the journal Science, shows the authors found no such link. They found “a small increase in certain ions associated with hydraulic fracturing across several locations” that likely come from accidental spills of brine. And those slight increases disappear after a few months.
It’s been hard to miss the recent “the sky is falling” report issued by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Mainstream media has been in the throes of multiple orgasms over the 
A new report (full copy below) commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has found the oil and natural gas industries directly or indirectly supported over 188,000 jobs in Pennsylvania in 2019, or 6.1% of the total share of commonwealth employment. Furthermore, the oil and gas industries produced $14.2 billion in labor income, which was 7.9% of the state total share, and had a statewide economic impact of $31.9 billion, for 9.7% of the state total share. The percentages for the impact of oil and gas on the West Virginia economy are similar.
The CO2 Coalition, a nonprofit established in 2015 for the purpose of educating thought leaders, policymakers, and the general public about the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy, has just published a detailed analysis of Pennsylvania’s plan to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI (full copy below). In the report, more than 70 top scientists conclude that PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s justifications for the RGGI carbon tax “are invalid and its claims of environmental and economic benefits are fiction.”
Back in June, MDN brought you insights from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) which noticed the decreasing number of 
In June the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) held its 74th Annual Winter Meeting in Columbus. Yeah, you read that right. The Winter Meeting was moved to June this year due to COVID. As with previous annual OOGA meetings, one of the speakers was Martin Shumway, technical director at Locus Bio-Energy Solutions. Shumway shared details from the latest DeBrosse Memorial Report (full copy below). What does the report show for 2020? Ohio oil and natural gas production both experienced steep declines last year. Oil production was down 16% from 2019, and natural gas production was down 10% from 2019. Even though the production news for 2020 is negative, this report is jam-packed with terrific, very useful information about Ohio’s shale industry.
Seneca Resources Company, the exploration and production subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), is the latest company to jump on the ESG (environmental, social, governance) bandwagon. Seneca is partnering with NexTier Oilfield Solutions, an oilfield services company that fracks and completes wells for companies like Seneca, to study the carbon emissions that come from fracking shale wells.