M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Even @ 56; Nat’l Count Down 3 @ 545
Last week was status quo for the rig count. The Marcellus/Utica combined count maintained the same number of 37 active rigs, the third week in a row after Pennsylvania lost two rigs in March (see PA Loses 2 Rigs from Marcellus, Combined M-U Lowest Since Nov. 2025). The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 56 active rigs, some 19 rigs more than the M-U. The national count lost three rigs last week and now operates 545 rigs. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Even @ 56; Nat’l Count Down 3 @ 545”
The Marcellus/Utica region received 22 new drilling permits last week, Mar. 30 – Apr. 5, up 3 from the 19 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 6 of the permits. Ohio issued 8 new permits. West Virginia also issued 8 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits last week included Ascent Resources, EOG Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, and Laurel Mountain Energy. 
Fervo Energy and Youngstown, OH-based Vallourec announced a five-year supply agreement, potentially worth up to $800 million, to scale domestic geothermal infrastructure in the United States. Vallourec will exclusively supply Fervo with U.S.-manufactured tubular solutions (pipelines) and pipeline connectors, creating a fully domestic supply chain for critical geothermal well infrastructure. This collaboration aims to reduce supply chain risks, improve project timelines, and ensure cost certainty for Fervo’s deployment of standardized 50 MW geothermal units, leveraging Vallourec’s expertise in tubular solutions. Here’s the cool part: the pipelines and connectors Vallourec will manufacture for Fervo’s geothermal work were originally developed for shale energy applications. 
The Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision in a case we previously did not know about, one with the potential to affect landowners and drillers. In the case Faith Ranch & Farms Fund, Inc. v. PNC Bank, the Supremes ruled that a former Harrison County landowner did NOT reserve underground oil and gas rights in a 1953 deed that mentioned coal and “other minerals.” Using the phrase “other minerals” may refer to oil and gas, but that isn’t necessarily the case, the justices said in a 6-1 ruling. The phrase was considered in relation to how it’s contextualized in a deed, one of the justices wrote. 
The Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) investment group 2PointZero, via its subsidiary ePointZero, has agreed to acquire U.S. natural gas infrastructure firm Traverse Midstream Partners for $2.25 billion. This acquisition includes stakes in the Rover Pipeline and Ohio River System, which connect the productive Utica/Marcellus shale region to major demand centers and export hubs. Despite escalating Middle East geopolitical tensions and global energy disruptions, the deal underscores the UAE’s commitment to commercial partnerships with the United States. 
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) voted on Friday to open more than 8,700 acres of public land, including an additional 513 acres under Salt Fork State Park and 8,236 acres under Egypt Valley Wildlife Area, for shale fracking. This move makes Egypt Valley the largest fracking project *under* (not on) state-owned land, despite vociferous public opposition from citizens and left-wing environmentalists. The next step in the process is to put the parcels out for bid. 
In a March 25, 2026, decision in the Omni Energy Group, LLC v. Ohio Department of Natural Resources court case, Judge Algenon L. Marbley from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed Omni’s amended complaint regarding Class II injection well permits. Omni alleged that the ODNR unlawfully set injection pressures too low, rendering its multimillion-dollar investment in two injection wells inoperable. This case goes back to events that began in 2019, events we previously covered in a 2024 post (see 
Last week, we told you that a supposed “group of rural Ohioans” in Adams and Brown counties was seeking a constitutional amendment to ban data centers exceeding 25 megawatts, citing concerns over resource consumption and a lack of local control (see