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21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 31 – Apr 6
For the week of Mar 31 – Apr 6, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells increased by two from the previous week. Last week, 21 new permits were issued, with 12 going to the Keystone State (PA). Expand Energy, via its merged companies Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, scored five permits, with three permits for Southwestern in Susquehanna County and two for Chesapeake in Bradford County. Greylock Energy received three permits for drilling in Potter County. Range Resources also received three permits to drill wells in Lycoming and Washington counties. Read More “21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 31 – Apr 6”
Last week MDN brought you the great news that Boardwalk Pipeline Partners launched an open season to offer an extra 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of capacity along its 5,975-mile Texas Gas Transmission pipeline network that stretches from Ohio to Louisiana, running through Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Arkansas along the way (see 
A number of data centers have been announced in Licking County, in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. They all will need enormous amounts of electricity to operate. MDN recently told you about three gas-fired power plants planned for New Albany, including one from PowerConneX and two from Williams subsidiary Will-Power (see 
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count lost two rigs last week and now operates 590 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 36 last week—the highest it has been since last August! Rigs focused on the Marcellus were up by two to a combined 25 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica dropped one rig (after increasing by one the week before), now at a combined 11. PA had operated 15 rigs (or more) for 19 weeks straight. That streak was broken two weeks ago when PA lost a rig. PA picked it back up again and had 15 active rigs last week. OH had operated nine rigs for 16 weeks in a row but picked up one two weeks ago and kept it, meaning the dropped Utica rig from last week was in either PA or WV. Likely, the rig was repurposed from Utica to Marcellus in PA. OH currently operates ten active rigs. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. Seven weeks ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and continues to operate 11 active rigs. 
An important decision was recently issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that potentially affects landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica. At least, we believe it has broader implications. The case, The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corporation, was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Circuit) on April 2, 2025. The case involves a dispute between a certified class of 370 Ohio landowners and Antero. The landowners alleged that Antero underpaid them $10 million in natural gas royalties by improperly deducting certain processing and fractionation costs from their royalty payments, violating their lease agreements. In 2023, the landowners won against Antero in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (see 
Earlier this week, MDN told you about a mineral/royalty rights purchase made by WhiteHawk Energy, increasing its ownership interest in 475,000 gross acres in the Marcellus Shale for $118 million (see 
Ten years ago, MDN told you that Chesapeake Utilities, a diversified energy company with businesses in natural gas distribution, transmission and marketing, electricity distribution, propane distribution and wholesale marketing (nothing to do with Chesapeake Energy) had purchased a small midstream company in Ohio—Gatherco, Inc (see 
Ascent Resources, founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately held company focusing 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. Yesterday, the company announced a tender offer to repurchase up to $25 million of its common units, specifically Series A and Series B units, through an “unmodified reverse Dutch auction” with a price cap of $23.75 per unit. Why? 
GREAT news! The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met for about 15 minutes on Friday and voted to award Encino Energy the right to drill under (not on) 62.5 acres of Leesville Wildlife Area located in Carroll County. Encino will pay a $218,715 signing bonus and 18% royalties on any oil and gas produced. Landowners in Carroll County, pay attention: That works out to be a hefty $3,500 per acre for a signing bonus. 
Last week, MDN told you about three (so far) proposed Utica/Marcellus gas-fired power plants proposed for the New Albany International Business Park in Licking County, Ohio (see 
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count lost one rig last week (after gaining one the week before), now operating 592 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 35 last week. However, there was a notable change in the totals. Rigs focused on the Marcellus were down by one to a combined 23 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica picked up the lost Marcellus rig, now at a combined 12. PA had operated 15 rigs (or more) for 19 weeks straight. That streak was broken last week when PA lost a rig. OH had operated nine rigs for 16 weeks in a row but picked up one last week and now stands at ten active rigs. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. Six weeks ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and operates 11 active rigs. 
Last week, MDN told you that fracking has begun under the park, and literally nobody noticed (see 
In December, MDN told you the country’s largest electric grid, PJM Interconnection, which covers all or parts of 13 states, including PA, OH, and WV, proposed new changes to how it decides which new power plants can connect to the system first. The new policy *favors* adding natural gas-fired power over other types of power like unreliable solar and wind (see