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National Rig Count Whacked, Down 9 in Two Weeks; M-U Count Steady
After losing five rigs two weeks ago, the Baker Hughes national rig count lost another four last week. The number of rigs nationally now stands at 580, the lowest since Dec. 2021 (over three years ago). 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 ten 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 seven weeks, and WV has operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 19 weeks in a row, going back to Sep. 13. Read More “National Rig Count Whacked, Down 9 in Two Weeks; M-U Count Steady”
Going back perhaps more than a decade, we have told you about the shortcomings of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the timely review and issuance of permits used during the drilling process. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation Permit or Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit could take two, three, or even six months for approval — instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. Current Gov. Josh Shapiro made it a goal to “fix” the permit issue when he assumed office two years ago. In November, the DEP announced it had eliminated its permit backlog (see 
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. 
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. 
Last August, MDN told you that the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) officially received its first $30 million from the Bidenistas (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. 
The dataheads (sounds better than geeks or eggheads) at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an interesting analysis on Friday detailing which states export the most and import the most electricity. In 2023, Pennsylvania exported 83.4 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to other states in the PJM electric grid. That’s roughly 26% of all the electric power the Keystone State produced. Meanwhile, for the first time in years (maybe in forever?) Virginia became the #1 state importing electricity, importing 50.1 million MWh. Virginia is also in PJM, so it’s not a stretch to suggest Pennsylvania’s electric exports went (largely) to Virginia. 
In November, MDN told you that Diversified Energy and EQT Corporation had settled a class action lawsuit originally brought by several West Virginia landowners (see 
The Baker Hughes national rig count dramatically increased two weeks ago, adding seven rigs for a national count of 589 (see 
Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported five states produced more than 70% of the record 113.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of U.S. marketed natural gas production in 2023. Two of the five were in the Marcellus/Utica: Pennsylvania (18% of the country’s gas) and West Virginia (8% of the country’s gas). We did some digging and found that when adding the production from PA, WV, and OH, the three together represented 31.5% of all the natural gas produced in the U.S. in 2023. It is an astonishing fact! 
Pennsylvania assesses an impact fee (PA’s version of a severance tax) on shale drillers, raising revenues that are paid to local municipalities and the black hole of Harrisburg politicians. Yesterday, the PA Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) issued an estimate for how much the impact fee will raise this year, which will be distributed next year. The IFO says it thinks, based on the price of low natural gas and the number of new and existing wells, that PA will generate $163.8 million from the impact fee in 2024, a decrease of $15.8 million (8.8%) from 2023. Looking back further, the price is down $115.1 million (41%) from 2022. Why did impact fee revenues drop so dramatically over the past two years?