Elk County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Seneca Resources | Wastewater
EPA Reauthorizes Permit for Seneca Injection Well in Elk County, PA
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced yesterday that it had issued an oil and gas wastewater injection well permit to Seneca Resources to continue operating well #38268 in Highland Township, Elk County. The EPA permit allows Seneca to inject up to 75,000 barrels monthly (3.125 million gallons). This well is one of two injection wells Seneca operates at that location. It was a long road for Seneca to get these two wells online, and a welcomed development that the EPA is extending the well’s operating permit. Read More “EPA Reauthorizes Permit for Seneca Injection Well in Elk County, PA”
We have news about a disturbing ruling from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued last Wednesday. By a vote of 3-2 along party lines (Democrats in the majority), the PUC commissioners labeled landlords as “pipeline operators” if they have behind-the-meter gas distribution systems on their properties. The move will require, with limited exceptions, landlords throughout the commonwealth — regardless of size — to comply with federal gas pipeline safety laws, including the regulations of the federal Pipeline Safety and Hazardous Materials Administration (PSHMA), in the same manner as natural gas distribution companies and gas pipeline operators. It’s completely bonkers. 
CNX Resources announced in December that it had struck a deal to buy the assets of Apex Energy II, LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, for $505 million (see 
After remaining at the same level for five weeks in a row, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count lost five rigs last week, dropping from 589 to 584. The Marcellus/Utica rig count was a combined 34 last week—the same number for five weeks in a row. PA has operated 15 rigs for the past nine weeks, with the exception of one week, when the number briefly increased to 16 rigs (the week ending on Dec. 6). OH has operated nine rigs for the past six weeks, and WV has operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 18 weeks in a row, going back to Sep. 13. 
For the week of Dec 30 – Jan 5, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded from holiday lows. There were 30 new permits issued last week, up from just 12 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued nine new permits, with six going to Range Resources in Allegheny County and three to EQT, split between Lycoming and Washington counties. 
We never cease to marvel at the genius of the oil and gas industry and those who seek to find better ways to drill. According to an Oil and Gas Investor article examining major shale play trends, drillers across the Lower 48 are drilling U-shaped double-long laterals, finding lower-cost new-well inventory in the acreage they already hold. And they’re doing it “problem-free.” Did you know there are two U-shaped wells in our region? There’s one in the Pennsylvania Marcellus (in Susquehanna County) and one in the Ohio Utica (Belmont County). Who knew?! 
The end of the year and the beginning of a new year are times when many publications reflect on what was and what may be. A recent article by Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor magazine tackled the topic of what may lie ahead for the Marcellus/Utica region over the next couple of years. The article looked at two primary issues—the potential for more pipelines getting built within (and out of) our region and the likelihood of more mergers and acquisitions for drillers in our region. 
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. 
Last August, MDN told you that the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) officially received its first $30 million from the Bidenistas (see 
A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT (Penn-Trafford), located in Westmoreland County, PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out (legally) at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see 
In typical sleazy politician fashion, PA’s Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro, is blaming someone else (the PJM grid operator, in this case) for problems that he and his predecessor have created. Shapiro recently filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging PJM is mismanaging the grid and using inflated numbers that will cause economic pain for the 65 million customers who buy electricity in the PJM region. What’s causing the high prices in PJM, a region rich in natural gas? That would be former Gov. Tom Wolf and current Gov. Josh Shapiro insisting the state tax gas-fired power plants via the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). 
We’ll be blunt. Incoming Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday is already a disappointment for us. He recently posted details of his transition team to a special website. The co-chair of the transition effort is former RINO Governor Tom Corbett. That’s one strike. While there are several good members on the Energy & Environment Committee, Corbett and Sunday have included a radical anti-fossil fueler from the far-left PennFuture organization on the Energy Committee. How utterly disappointing (and a second strike). 
This is an interesting pattern we’ve not seen in a long time for the venerable Baker Hughes rig count. The national rig count and the count for the Marcellus/Utica remained the same for multiple weeks in a row. The national count was 589 active rigs last week (now four weeks in a row). The M-U count was 34 last week (now three weeks in a row). The national count remains rangebound between 581 and 589 since June 2024 (except for Sep. 13, when it hit 590 for a single week). The M-U remained static last week, with PA at 15 rigs, OH at 9 rigs, and WV at 10 rigs.