Shell Still Pondering Sale of Chemicals Div., Including PA Cracker
In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shell is “exploring a potential sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and the U.S.,” which includes the Monaca (Beaver County, PA) ethane cracker complex (see Shocker: Shell Considers Selling Beaver County, PA Ethane Cracker). In August 2025, during a quarterly earnings call with analysts, Shell CEO Wael Sawan confirmed the rumor, saying Shell is “not the natural operator and owner of that asset” referring to the Monaca cracker plant (see Shell Looks to Sell All or Part of Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant). Last Thursday, during Shell’s latest quarterly update, Sawan once again reiterated the desire to sell the company’s chemicals division, including the PA cracker, but only if it creates “shareholder value.” Read More “Shell Still Pondering Sale of Chemicals Div., Including PA Cracker”
The Marcellus/Utica region received 19 new drilling permits last week, Apr. 27 – May 3, up from the 12 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 5 of last week’s permits. Ohio issued the lion’s share, with 13 new permits (four of which were from two weeks ago). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. The drillers who received new permits included: Ascent Resources, Campbell Oil & Gas, CNX Resources, EOG Resources, Gulfport Energy, and Range Resources. 
Yesterday, Shell’s chemical division reported a $66 million fourth-quarter loss, driven by weak margins and operational hurdles at its $14 billion Beaver County ethane cracker plant complex. Shell CEO Wael Sawan acknowledged the chemicals business is underperforming, making a turnaround a “top priority” for 2026. Although Shell is exploring a sale or joint venture for the Monaca facility due to its geographic isolation and high costs, no specific updates were shared during the latest earnings call. 
Last July, President Trump and PA U.S. Senator Dave McCormick attended a meeting in Pittsburgh to announce an amazing $92 billion of private (no taxpayer funding) investment in the Keystone State, mainly in the data center sector (see 
Unlike Ohio, with its over 200 oil and gas wastewater injection wells, Pennsylvania operates just 18 such wells (
Two days ago, MDN brought you the news confirming that Shell is looking to sell all or part of its Beaver County, PA, ethane cracker plant operation (see 
NOTE: We owe Pin Oak an apology. We got this one wrong. In our original post, we implied that Pin Oak was guilty (or at least tardy) of not restoring multiple wells it had purchased from Geopetro. In fact, the exact opposite is true, as you will read below. MDN spoke to Pin Oak after publishing this post, and the company was kind enough to send us a clarification.