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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”
There’s a brand-new pipeline project on the board for our region, and it’s a good one. Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS) — a BHE GT&S company, which means it ultimately belongs to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy — is proposing Project Oak Leaf, a 52.5-mile expansion of its PL-1 system that will move an extra 250,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas from Clinton County, Pennsylvania down to customers in Maryland and Virginia. (A dekatherm is a heat measurement roughly equal to one thousand cubic feet of gas, so call it about 250 MMcf/d — 250 million cubic feet per day.) EGTS plans to file its application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the fourth quarter of this year, with construction starting in early 2028 and gas flowing by the end of 2029. The Frederick (MD) News-Post picked up the story yesterday. Four public open houses are already on the calendar, the first one next week. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible, safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 27th Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 34 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, McKean, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. 
On June 8, 2026, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspector visited Frontier Natural Resources’ Winner 1, Winner 2, Winner 4H and Winner 6 shale gas well pads, along with four multimillion-gallon water impoundments in East and West Keating Townships, Clinton County. The inspector found that Frontier had not restored the pads and impoundments within 9 months of drilling ending. But here’s the thing: the original violations were lodged by the DEP on July 14, 2017. That’s almost nine years ago! In other words, the DEP didn’t bother to re-inspect the pads/sites for nine years. 
It’s always a red-letter day here at MDN HQ when we happen across a new pipeline project in the Marcellus/Utica region. Today is one of those days! Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), filed a new project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December to beef up three existing compressor stations in Centre County, Clinton County, and Franklin County in Pennsylvania, and one existing compressor station in Loudoun County, Virginia, with the aim of flowing more Marcellus molecules to the Washington, D.C. area. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. The Pennsylvania Bulletin from this past Saturday (Nov. 23) carried an official notice from the SRBC that the agency’s Executive Director gave his approval to one new and 41 renewed general water use permits in October for individual shale gas wells in Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties. 
Nearly one year ago, in August 2023, MDN brought you an update on the KeyState Natural Gas Synthesis project in Clinton County, PA (see 
New shale permits issued for Aug 28 – Sep 3 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to decline. There were 13 new permits issued last week, down from 16 issued two weeks ago, and way down from the 27 issued three weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia (WV has issued no permits in five of the last six weeks). Three drillers tied for the top recipient with a piddly 3 permits each: Chesapeake Energy, Snyder Brothers, and Southwestern Energy.
The KeyState Natural Gas Synthesis project in Clinton County, PA, is developing the first carbon capture project in Pennsylvania, which will locally produce hydrogen, ammonia, and urea (see