| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

33 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 14 – 20

Last week was another strong week for new permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. For the week of April 14 – 20, the number of permits was down three from the previous week, but still very strong. Last week, 33 new permits were issued in the M-U. In the Keystone State (PA), 25 new permits were issued, a dramatic increase from five two weeks ago. The top permittee was Range Resources, with 10 permits, half of which were in Allegheny County and the other half in Washington County. Seneca Resources received six permits, all of which were in Tioga County. EQT and its subsidiary Rice Drilling also scored six permits, with four in Fayette County and two in Greene County. PA General Energy got two permits in Lycoming County, and Olympus Energy received one permit in Allegheny County. Read More “33 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 14 – 20”

| | | |

Plum (PA) Zoning Bd. Decision on 2nd Injection Well Coming in June

Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see Plum Boro Injection Well in SWPA Now Open for Business!). In September 2021, Penneco announced plans to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum, located next to the first one (see 2nd Shale Wastewater Injection Well Planned for Plum Boro in SWPA). Here we are, nearly four years later, and the second well has still not been built. We may have a resolution on that in June. Read More “Plum (PA) Zoning Bd. Decision on 2nd Injection Well Coming in June”

| | |

Marcellus Gas Shields Pittsburgh Airport from Outages like Heathrow

On Friday, March 21, 2025, Heathrow Airport (in London), one of the world’s busiest airports, experienced a complete shutdown due to a massive fire at the North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes, west London, approximately 1.5 miles from the airport. The blaze, which began late Thursday night around 11:23 PM GMT, involved a transformer containing 25,000 liters of cooling oil. It caused a significant power outage, knocking out the primary substation and its backup system. This led to the cancellation of over 1,300 flights, affecting an estimated 200,000 to 290,000 passengers and causing widespread travel disruptions globally. The London Fire Brigade deployed 10 engines and around 70 firefighters to control the fire, which was mostly contained by Friday evening, though 5% remained active in isolated hotspots. What happened at Heathrow could not happen at Pittsburgh International Airport. Why? Because of the Marcellus shale. Read More “Marcellus Gas Shields Pittsburgh Airport from Outages like Heathrow”

| | | | | | | | | |

Stonehenge & UGI JV Acquires 3 Appalachian Pipe Gathering Systems

Pine Run Gathering LLC, a joint venture owned by Stonehenge Energy and UGI, announced yesterday that it had completed a transaction to buy Superior Midstream Appalachian, LLC, for $120 million. Superior Appalachian owns and operates three gathering systems in Pennsylvania, namely Pittsburgh Mills (Allegheny & Butler counties), Snow Shoe (Centre County), and Brookfield (Tioga County). The Pittsburgh Mills system is connected to UGI’s Big Pine gathering system. All three have a combined daily flow of approximately 190 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). Read More “Stonehenge & UGI JV Acquires 3 Appalachian Pipe Gathering Systems”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5

For the week of Dec 30 – Jan 5, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded from holiday lows. There were 30 new permits issued last week, up from just 12 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued nine new permits, with six going to Range Resources in Allegheny County and three to EQT, split between Lycoming and Washington counties. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5”

| | |

Plum Boro to Hold Hearing on Proposed 2nd Injection Well

Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see Plum Boro Injection Well in SWPA Now Open for Business!). In September 2021, Penneco announced plans to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum, located next to the first one (see 2nd Shale Wastewater Injection Well Planned for Plum Boro in SWPA). In September 2023, the federal EPA issued a permit to Penneco for its proposed second wastewater injection well (see Federal EPA Approves 2nd Injection Well in Plum Borough, PA). The Plum Zoning Board followed suit and approved it. Then Big Green groups got involved using lawfare to block construction. Read More “Plum Boro to Hold Hearing on Proposed 2nd Injection Well”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 2 – 8

For the week of Dec 2 – 8, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica bounced back nicely. There were 28 new permits issued last week, more than doubling the 12 issued the week before (and matching the 28 issued three weeks ago). The Keystone State (PA) issued 18 new permits, with eight going to EQT spread across three counties: Jefferson, Lycoming, and Washington. Chesapeake Energy (now Expand Energy) received four permits, all of them in northeastern PA’s Wyoming County. CNX Resource scooped up two permits, both in Westmoreland County. The final four permits were singles issued to Blackhill Energy (Bradford County), XPR Resources (Centre County), Inflection Energy (Lycoming County), and Olympus Energy (Allegheny County). Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 2 – 8”

| | | |

Antis Seek to Ban All Fracking in Allegheny County, PA

Allegheny County, PA

They never, ever give up. And neither should we. The “they” we’re speaking of are irrational anti-fossil fuel zealots. The Allegheny County Board of Health, a nine-member governing board appointed by the County Chief Executive, held a meeting yesterday to discuss air permits. Attending the meeting were anti-fossil fuel zealots making a pitch to the board to support a ban on fracking new wells throughout the entire county. The zealots trotted out the same tired old lies—that fracking causes cancer.

Post updated, see below.

Read More “Antis Seek to Ban All Fracking in Allegheny County, PA”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24

For the week of Nov 18 – 24, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be strong, with 28 new permits issued, down just two from the 30 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) issued 11 new permits, with five going to CNX Resources, all in Allegheny County. Two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Lycoming County. The remaining four were single permits issued to EQT Corporation (Greene County), Infinity Natural Resources (Indiana County), Range Resources (Washington County), and Apex Energy (Westmoreland County). Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 23 – 29

There were 28 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 23 – 29, down slightly from the 32 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had 15 new permits, with seven of them going to Range Resources, most of them in Washington County. Three permits were issued to Chesapeake Energy in Bradford County, and two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy in Susquehanna County. As of Tuesday, Chesapeake and Southwestern combined in a merger to form Expand Energy (see Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller). It’s going to take a while before the name change flows through to new permits, so we’ll keep reporting on the permits by their given names for now. Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 23 – 29”

| | | | |

If Pennsylvania Loses GOP State Senate Majority, Marcellus is Done

We don’t think it’s overly melodramatic to say that Pennsylvania is standing on the edge of a cliff with the upcoming election in November. Yes, there’s the issue of which presidential candidate, Trump or The Cackler, will win PA and likely win the election. That is of critical importance. But so, too, is another race (or races): That of the Pennsylvania Senate. Right now, a radical Democrat, Josh Shapiro, is governor in PA. The PA House has a razor-thin Democrat majority in control (102-101). The Senate is a bit better with a 28-22 GOP majority. However, the enviro left has its sights set on retaining the House and flipping at least three Senate seats in “swing” districts this year. If all three branches are in Democrat hands come next January, you can expect very bad things ahead for the Marcellus shale. Read More “If Pennsylvania Loses GOP State Senate Majority, Marcellus is Done”

| | | | |

Range Resources Files for Permit to Drill in North Fayette, PA

North Fayette, Allegheny County, PA

Range Resources applied for a conditional use permit to build a well pad in North Fayette Township in Allegheny County, PA, which may support up to 15 shale wells. The plan calls for “heavy construction” on Mondays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The township held a public hearing on August 27; however, some residents who live nearby claim they weren’t properly notified of the meeting. No further public meetings are planned, and construction will begin soon. Read More “Range Resources Files for Permit to Drill in North Fayette, PA”

| | |

Indiana Twp PA Denies Request to Rezone for New Gas Wells

At a packed meeting in May, the Indiana Township (Allegheny County, PA) Planning Commission voted unanimously (4-0) to delay a decision on rezoning a 59-acre parcel along Route 910 from office/commercial to light industrial — which would allow gas drilling on the site (see Indiana Twp, PA, Postpones Rezoning to Allow Drilling Near Rt. 910). The 60-day period came and went. At Wednesday night’s board of supervisors meeting, the board voted 4-1 to undemocratically deny holding a public hearing on the proposal, effectively killing it. Read More “Indiana Twp PA Denies Request to Rezone for New Gas Wells”

| | |

EQT Name Removed from Downtown Pittsburgh Building, HQ Remains

625 Liberty

All the way back in February 2020 BC (Before COVID), we told you that EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the country, was looking to lease most of its mammoth downtown Pittsburgh headquarters building at 625 Liberty Avenue (see EQT Subleasing Most of its Downtown Pittsburgh Office Building). The building has been known for years as EQT Plaza. No more. While we speculated in 2020 that the company would completely leave the building in 2024 at the end of its lease, EQT is going to keep a small presence in the building and retain it as “the headquarters” of the company (although almost nobody works there anymore).
Read More “EQT Name Removed from Downtown Pittsburgh Building, HQ Remains”

| | | |

West Deer to Hold Sept. Public Hearing on O&G Drilling Ordinance

In May, the supervisors of West Deer Township (Allegheny County), PA, held a regular monthly meeting. One item on the agenda was the potential adoption of revisions to the town’s oil and gas drilling ordinance. A number of (supposed) residents showed up to question the revisions and ask for stricter setbacks (a bigger distance from drilling to homes and other structures). Ultimately, the supervisors decided to delay a vote on the revisions, pushing it off until a future meeting (see West Deer Supervisors Delay Vote on New O&G Drilling Ordinance). Last Wednesday at the regular monthly meeting, the supervisors announced yet another public hearing on proposed changes to Ordinance 454 — at 6 p.m. on Sept. 18.
Read More “West Deer to Hold Sept. Public Hearing on O&G Drilling Ordinance”

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 1 – 7

We noticed that permit data has already been updated for last week, so we’re bringing you our weekly permit report a day early. For the week of July 1 – 7, a total of 18 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. There were six new permits issued in Pennsylvania, with four of them going to Range Resources for a pad in Washington County. There were four new permits in Ohio, all of them going to Encino Energy for a pad in Guernsey County. West Virginia was the surprise with eight new permits, six of which were issued to Antero Resources in Tyler County.
Read More “18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 1 – 7”