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Exclusive: Buffett’s EGTS Quietly Plans Project Stratum, All of It in PA
Yesterday we told you about Project Oak Leaf, Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage’s (EGTS) 52.5-mile expansion that will carry Leidy gas down to Maryland and Virginia (see Buffett’s EGTS Plans 52.5-Mile Oak Leaf Pipe, Leidy Gas to MD/VA). The folks at EGTS emailed to say thanks for the coverage — and then mentioned, almost in passing, that they have another new project cooking in Pennsylvania. It’s called Project Stratum, and as best we can tell, MDN is the first outlet anywhere to write about it. We searched. Nothing in the trades, nothing in the local papers, nothing. So here you go. Read More “Exclusive: Buffett’s EGTS Quietly Plans Project Stratum, All of It in PA”
The Marcellus/Utica region received 31 new drilling permits last week, June 15 – 21, up from the pathetic 2 permits issued two weeks ago. However, not all 31 permits reported last week were issued last week. Ohio, which is increasingly tardy in updating its public reports, included permits in last week’s report that should have been in the previous week’s. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 18 permits. Ohio issued 9 new permits, all of which should have been reported two weeks ago. West Virginia issued 4 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits included: EOG Resources, EQT, Gulfport Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, JKLM Energy, LOLA Energy, Northeast Natural Energy, PennEnergy Resources, and Sabre Energy. 
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 
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.