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EQT Sues Morgan Township for Blocking Road Use to Haul Equipment
A kerfuffle has erupted in Morgan Township (Greene County), PA, between drilling and pipeline giant EQT Corporation and the town over the issue of hauling heavy equipment on Morgan’s roadways. Morgan supervisors prohibited EQT from using local town roads to haul heavy equipment to work sites. On June 18, EQT filed a lawsuit against the town, which the town is sure to lose (copy below). There is word that an agreement is already in the works to settle the dispute. Read More “EQT Sues Morgan Township for Blocking Road Use to Haul Equipment”
The special court established in Pennsylvania to hear appeals of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) decisions, known as the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), didn’t please anyone with a decision it rendered several weeks ago. We previously reported that the EHB had ruled in favor of CNX Resources to allow two previously permitted wells to move forward with construction (see 
Environment-related permitting in Pennsylvania, overseen by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six months for approval, instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. The DEP announced last November that it would soon implement the SPEED (Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development) program to speed up the permit approval process (see 
MDN previously brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing conventional gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township, McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see 
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analyzed proved reserves data for 2023 (the most recent year available) and determined that proved reserves of U.S. natural gas decreased 12.6% year over year, from 691.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 603.6 Tcf. This was the first annual decrease in U.S. natural gas reserves since 2020. Looking at the numbers for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, natural gas proved reserves decreased by 4% (PA), 13% (OH), and 6% (WV) from 2022 to 2023. The report shows that Marcellus gas reserves dropped 5.9% in 2023. 
It’s bloody. It’s brutal. Last week, for the ninth consecutive week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count declined (by seven rigs) to its lowest level since October 2021, ending the week at 547 active rigs. The national rig count continues in a free fall. For the fifth week in a row, the Marcellus/Utica count remained the same, at a combined 36 active rigs. The Pennsylvania Marcellus operated 18 rigs. The Ohio Utica operated 11 rigs. And West Virginia operated seven rigs. So, at least there’s some good news with respect to the M-U. 
Following President Trump’s quid pro quo deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in which Trump is allowing a $5 billion offshore wind project to proceed in return for Hochul allowing two Williams gas pipeline projects, Williams wasted no time in restarting one of the two projects, the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project (see 
One day before Constellation Energy’s Eddystone Generating Station in Delaware County, PA, was due to close its remaining two units, the Trump Department of Energy (DOE) stepped in and ordered the plants to remain active based on Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency across the country (see 
For the week of June 16 – 22, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica rose from the previous week. There were 24 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up six from 18 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits. Olympus Energy received the most new permits, six, all of them in Westmoreland County (across two pads). Seneca Resources received five permits for one pad in Tioga County. Range Resources scored three permits for a single pad in Washington County. 
Newly elected Republican Congressman Rob Bresnahan defeated incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright in last November’s election to represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, located in the northeastern corner of the state. Bresnahan hit the ground running, particularly in addressing energy issues. His district includes Wayne and Pike counties, where landowners have had their right to drill for natural gas seized by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). Bresnahan recently introduced a bill that’s rapidly progressing, a bill that would heighten DRBC accountability and oversight. We call it putting the DRBC on a short leash. 
Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden had a sit-down interview at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Energy, Power, Renewables and Mining Conference on Tuesday of this week. Coterra is the successor company of Cabot Oil & Gas after Cabot merged with Cimarex Energy in October 2021 (see