Chesapeake Utilities | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines
Aspire Energy Building New Pipeline in Ohio to Feed Power Plant
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, not to be confused with the former Chesapeake Energy Corporation (which is now Expand Energy), announced that its Ohio subsidiary, Aspire Energy Express, LLC, has entered into an agreement with American Electric Power (AEP) to construct and operate an intrastate natural gas pipeline in central Ohio to feed Marcellus/Utica gas to a new fuel-cell facility, which will provide on-site electric power to a data center. The pipeline is expected to cost approximately $10 million to construct. Read More “Aspire Energy Building New Pipeline in Ohio to Feed Power Plant”
For the week of June 23 – 29, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica rose slightly from the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up three from 24 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued 10 new permits. Six of the ten permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Two permits were issued to Range Resources for a pad in Washington County. And one permit each was issued to Coterra Energy in Susquehanna County (in Dimock!), and Infinity Natural Resources in Indiana County. 
Quick! Somebody grab a tourniquet and tie it to the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count. The count has been hemorrhaging large numbers of rigs for 10 consecutive weeks. Last week (an early week with the count issued on Thursday), the U.S. rig count declined by another eight rigs to its lowest level since October 2021, ending the week at 539 active rigs. You have to go back to the dark days of the pandemic, July 2020, for the previous 10+ consecutive weeks of decline in the rig count. The Marcellus/Utica was clipped by one rig (in Pennsylvania), falling from a combined 36 to 35. 
Fox Tank Company, a Texas-based provider of steel storage tanks and pressurized separation vessels for the oil and gas industry, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Coshocton County, OH, at the former site of Crozier Welding. Fox has pledged to invest $7.9 million and create 89 new jobs at the facility. Fox chose the site due to its proximity to the growing Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling for oil and gas, as well as its proximity to the company’s existing customers. 
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analyzed proved reserves data for 2023 (the most recent year available) and determined that proved reserves of U.S. natural gas decreased 12.6% year over year, from 691.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 603.6 Tcf. This was the first annual decrease in U.S. natural gas reserves since 2020. Looking at the numbers for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, natural gas proved reserves decreased by 4% (PA), 13% (OH), and 6% (WV) from 2022 to 2023. The report shows that Marcellus gas reserves dropped 5.9% in 2023. 
It’s bloody. It’s brutal. Last week, for the ninth consecutive week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count declined (by seven rigs) to its lowest level since October 2021, ending the week at 547 active rigs. The national rig count continues in a free fall. For the fifth week in a row, the Marcellus/Utica count remained the same, at a combined 36 active rigs. The Pennsylvania Marcellus operated 18 rigs. The Ohio Utica operated 11 rigs. And West Virginia operated seven rigs. So, at least there’s some good news with respect to the M-U. 
Infinity Natural Resources (INR), headquartered in Morgantown, WV, focuses 100% on the Marcellus/Utica. The company went public earlier this year with a $265 million ($20/share) initial public offering, giving INR a $1.18 billion market capitalization (see 
This is an unfortunate part of mergers and acquisitions. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a WARN notice (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filed by Encino Energy indicates that 121 Encino workers will be laid off on or around August 17. No reason is given, however, EOG Resources is in the process of buying out and merging in Encino’s Ohio Utica assets (see 
A month ago, NRG Energy announced a deal to acquire LS Power’s portfolio of natural-gas power plants in a deal valued at roughly $12 billion, including debt, that will expand NRG’s footprint in Texas and along the East Coast (see 
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently released production numbers for the first quarter of 2025. The top natural gas producer in the state, by far, was Ascent Resources, with 195,139,574 Mcf (or 195.14 Bcf) of production during the quarter, which works out to an average of 2.17 Bcf/d. Ascent’s production accounted for 40% of the state’s natural gas production. The top oil producer in the state, by far, was Encino Energy, with 5,360,199 barrels of oil during the quarter, which works out to an average of 59,557 barrels per day. Encino’s oil production was 49% (nearly half!) of Ohio’s entire oil production during 1Q25. Of course, Encino’s days as a standalone producer are numbered as EOG Resources is buying the company. 