Beaver County

AI | Beaver County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

$10B Data Center Coming to Former Bruce Mansfield Power Plant Site
February 4, 2026February 5, 2026

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 Pittsburgh Energy Event Truly Mind-Blowing, $92B+ Investments for PA). One of the projects announced at that meeting is the Shippingport Power Station, a $3.2 billion conversion of the former Bruce Mansfield coal power plant in Beaver County into a natural gas power station and data center site (see Frontier Group Converting Coal to Gas-Fired Plant, NatGas from EQT). We have more/new details about the gas-fired power plant and about a proposal for a new data center at the site. Read More “$10B Data Center Coming to Former Bruce Mansfield Power Plant Site”
Antero Resources | Beaver County | Beech Resources | Bradford County | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | Expand Energy | JKLM Energy | Lycoming County | Noble County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Sabre Energy | Sullivan County | Tioga County (PA) | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia

24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 3 – 9
November 14, 2025November 14, 2025

You knew the number of new permits issued in the M-U would come back down to earth sooner or later. Last week it happened. After three consecutive weeks with numbers of 37, 39, and 37, the number of new permits issued fell to 24 last week. Still respectable, but not in the coveted 30s. Pennsylvania issued 16 new permits last week, up from 13 the prior week. Ohio issued 6 new permits, down from 8 the prior week. West Virginia was shut out, issuing no new permits last week, which was the main reason why the number fell precipitously. Read More “24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 3 – 9”
Antero Resources | Beaver County | BKV/Banpu | Carroll County | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | EXCO Resources | Harrison County | Marion County | Marion Natural Energy | Ohio | PennEnergy Resources | Pennsylvania | Ritchie County | Sullivan County | Tyler County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Wetzel County | Wyoming County (PA)

37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 27 – Nov 2
November 7, 2025November 7, 2025

We continue to be delighted with the number of new permits issued to drill shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. Three weeks ago, that number soared to 37. Two weeks ago, it increased to 39. And last week the number remained high, down just two, back to 37 once again. Wow! We haven’t seen a sustained trend of high permit numbers like this in many moons. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits last week, down from 23 the prior week. Ohio issued 8 new permits, down from 11 the prior week. It was West Virginia that was the breakout star, issuing 16 new permits, up from issuing 5 the preceding week. Read More “37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 27 – Nov 2”
Ascent Resources | Beaver County | Belmont County | Carroll County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Guernsey County | JKLM Energy | Noble County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA) | Washington County | Weekly Permits

27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 22 – 28
October 3, 2025October 3, 2025

For the week of September 22 – 29, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased from the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up three from 24 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 18 permits in four counties. Ohio issued nine permits, also in four counties. West Virginia got skunked last week, issuing zero new permits. Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 22 – 28”
Allegheny County | Antero Resources | Arsenal Resources | Ascent Resources | Beaver County | Beech Resources | Belmont County | Brooke County | Energy Companies | Expand Energy | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Lycoming County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Ritchie County | Taylor County | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia

24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 15 – 21
September 26, 2025September 26, 2025

For the week of September 15 – 21, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica decreased from the previous week, but not by much. There were 24 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, down from 26 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania finally improved a bit, but only because of one driller. PA issued 11 new permits last week, with 10 of the 11 going to Range Resources. Range’s permits were spread across three counties, with one permit in Allegheny, five in Beaver, and four in Washington. The other PA permit went to Beech Resources for a well in Lycoming County. Read More “24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 15 – 21”
Beaver County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater

EPA Looks to Renew Permit for Beaver County, PA Injection Well
September 5, 2025September 5, 2025

Unlike Ohio, with its over 200 oil and gas wastewater injection wells, Pennsylvania operates just 18 such wells (see this page listing them). One of the wells on the PA list, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s CGPA5 well in Beaver County, has been in operation since 1985 (originally drilled in 1969). The well’s permit needs to be renewed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA announced it will conduct a virtual hearing on October 6 to accept comments on the permit renewal. Read More “EPA Looks to Renew Permit for Beaver County, PA Injection Well”
Antero Resources | Beaver County | Bradford County | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Doddridge County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Expand Energy | Greene County (PA) | Hilcorp Energy | Monongalia County | Monroe County | Northeast Natural Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Sabre Energy | Sullivan County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia

30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 18 – 24
August 29, 2025August 29, 2025

For the week of August 18 – 24, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica nearly doubled from the previous week. There were 30 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, a significant increase from the 16 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued the lion’s share with 14 new permits. Six of PA’s permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Four permits were issued to Expand Energy for a pad in Bradford County. Three permits were awarded to Sabre Energy for a pad in Sullivan County. And a single permit was issued to Range Resources in Beaver County. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 18 – 24”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Regulation | Shell

Antis Hound PA DEP for More Notifications & Fines re Shell Cracker
August 6, 2025August 6, 2025

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 Shell Looks to Sell All or Part of Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant). We remain somewhat incredulous that it wants to sell an asset like the cracker plant. The question is, why? We said this: “We still think Shell is just plain tired of dealing with all of the CRAP from the environmental left and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which declares a new emergency or violation at the plant about every other day.” Right on cue, a group of radicals is hammering the DEP, claiming the cracker plant is polluting everything in sight and that the DEP is not being hard enough on Shell. Read More “Antis Hound PA DEP for More Notifications & Fines re Shell Cracker”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell Looks to Sell All or Part of Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant
August 4, 2025August 4, 2025

Back in March, 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 recently completed Monaca (Beaver County, PA) ethane cracker complex (see Shocker: Shell Considers Selling Beaver County, PA Ethane Cracker). It looks like the rumors were right. Last week on an earnings call with analysts, Shell CEO Wael Sawan said, concerning the Monaca cracker, that Shell is “not the natural operator and owner of that asset.” Read More “Shell Looks to Sell All or Part of Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pin Oak Energy Partners | Regulation

PA DEP Signs COA with Pin Oak to Restore 16 Shale Well Sites
July 31, 2025July 31, 2025

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.
Read More “PA DEP Signs COA with Pin Oak to Restore 16 Shale Well Sites”
Arsenal Resources | Ascent Resources | Beaver County | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | Greylock Energy | Guernsey County | Harrison County | Harrison County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Range Resources Corp | Seneca Resources | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA) | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia

21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 7 – 13
July 18, 2025July 18, 2025

For the week of July 7 – 13, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica remained the same as the previous week. There were 21 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week. The Keystone State (PA) issued seven new permits. Range Resources secured three permits, spread across Beaver and Washington counties, in the southwestern part of the state. Seneca Resources received two permits in Tioga County, in the northeastern part of the state. Greylock Energy and Coterra Energy each received a single permit, in Potter and Susquehanna counties, respectively. Read More “21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 7 – 13”
Beaver County | Electrical Generation | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | NFG Midstream | Pennsylvania

Frontier Group Converting Coal to Gas-Fired Plant, NatGas from EQT
July 16, 2025July 16, 2025

Bruce Mansfield Power Plant (click for larger version)

In the list of major energy projects announced for Pennsylvania yesterday, the Frontier Group announced plans to invest $3.2 billion to transform the former Bruce Mansfield coal power plant in Beaver County into a natural gas power station (and co-located data center), renamed the Shippingport Power Station. This project is expected to create 15,000 construction jobs and over 300 permanent jobs. But here’s the cool part. The new Shippingport Power Station will utilize approximately 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas produced from the Marcellus and Utica shales, all of which will be sourced from EQT Corporation. Read More “Frontier Group Converting Coal to Gas-Fired Plant, NatGas from EQT”
Accidents | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

PA DEP Says Shell Ethane Plant Fire May Have Released Carcinogens
June 6, 2025June 6, 2025

Footage of Shell’s ethane cracker in Monaca, Pa. shows smoke coming off the site. Image: Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community

Another incident happened Wednesday afternoon at the Shell ethane cracker plant facility in Beaver County, PA. This isn’t the first problem at the plant (see our cracker problem stories here). An explosion and fire (with smoke) were reported at the ethane cracker on Wednesday. A company spokesperson stated that smoke was seen coming off of a furnace unit at the plant around 2:20 p.m. She said the incident was managed by site personnel, and the smoke dissipated. However, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a concern that “a possible release of an unknown amount of 1,3-butadiene and benzene” —both hazardous air pollutants and known carcinogens (cancer-causing). Read More “PA DEP Says Shell Ethane Plant Fire May Have Released Carcinogens”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | PennEnergy Resources | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PennEnergy No Longer Wants Fracking Water from Big Sewickley Creek
May 29, 2025May 29, 2025

In 2021, PennEnergy Resources made a request to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water a day from Big Sewickley Creek (Beaver County) and one of its tributaries for shale fracking (see Dem PA Lawmaker Wants to Block Use of Creek Water for Fracking). After getting pushback, PennEnergy reapplied for a permit in 2022 to draw water, but this time, the request was cut in half to just 1.5 million gallons of water a day (see PennEnergy Reapplies to Use SWPA Creek Water for Fracking Ops). In 2024, the DEP finally approved the request for the lower withdrawal amount (see PA DEP Finally OKs Use of Big Sewickley Creek Water for Fracking). PennEnergy has now asked the DEP to cancel the permit. Read More “PennEnergy No Longer Wants Fracking Water from Big Sewickley Creek”
Arsenal Resources | Beaver County | Carroll County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Harrison County | Ohio | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Susquehanna County | Tuscarawas County | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Westmoreland County

24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 21 – 27
May 2, 2025

For the week of April 21 – 27, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica was down nine from the previous week. Last week, 24 new permits were issued in the M-U. In the Keystone State (PA), 17 new permits were issued. Both Coterra Energy in the northeastern part of the state and EQT Corporation in the southwestern corner received six permits each. Coterra’s permits were all issued for the same pad. EQT received five permits for a single pad in Greene County, and one permit for a pad in Washington County. Range Resources received four permits for a single pad in Beaver County, and Olympus Energy scored one permit in Westmoreland County. Read More “24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 21 – 27”
Beaver County | Cardinal Midstream | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania

Cardinal Midstream Wins $52M Court Verdict Against Energy Transfer
March 24, 2025March 24, 2025

Here’s a lawsuit we were unaware of, even though it’s been playing out for years. It’s quite complicated. On the surface, at a very basic level, Cardinal Midstream II (we assume a subsidiary of the Dallas-based Cardinal Midstream) sued Energy Transfer (ET) for not paying an “earnout” (which we’ll explain) after buying a gas gathering system in Beaver County, PA. The PA judge found in favor of Cardinal and ordered ET to pay $33 million plus $19 million in interest. The judge also found ET’s related claim of a “force majeure” event when its Revolution Pipeline exploded did not excuse ET from its obligation to Cardinal. Read More “Cardinal Midstream Wins $52M Court Verdict Against Energy Transfer”