Epsilon Energy: PA Marcellus Curtailed, 5 New Wells Coming Q4
Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ: EPSN), the non-op partner that bankrolls a chunk of Expand Energy’s Marcellus drilling in Susquehanna County, PA, reported Q2 2026 results last week showing Pennsylvania gas production down sharply — but for a reason that’s actually good news for the wells coming next. Epsilon also sold off a package of small Marcellus overriding royalty interests for $3.9 million and confirmed five new wells are headed for completion by December, which should boost both production and Auburn Gas Gathering System throughput. Read More “Epsilon Energy: PA Marcellus Curtailed, 5 New Wells Coming Q4”
Devon Energy and Williams spent the last week of July doing something that doesn’t show up on a reserve report: teaching northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers how the gas business actually works. Then, on July 30, the Pennsylvania Chamber Foundation named both companies “Greatest Places to Intern in PA.” Six days later, Devon CEO Clay Gaspar told analysts he’s fielding “no shortage of incoming phone calls” about which assets he might sell — with the Marcellus at the top of everybody’s list. Which raises a question nobody on Wall Street is asking: who inherits the workforce machine? 
Peregrine Energy Partners, the Dallas-based royalty buyer we’ve been tracking since 2019, is back in the Marcellus/Utica with its checkbook open. Yesterday (Aug. 4), the company announced it closed five separate mineral and royalty deals — two of them right here in the M-U — totaling roughly 3,680 net royalty acres and interests in more than 1,240 producing wells. The first Appalachian deal is a cash-flowing overriding royalty portfolio in Susquehanna County, PA, covering about 936 gross acres and 86 producing horizontal Coterra Energy (now Devon Energy) wells, with more than 50 DUCs and PUDs behind them in both the Upper and Lower Marcellus. 
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 July 25th Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 21 general water use permits in June for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties. 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is close to issuing an environmental assessment for the Constitution Pipeline, a 125-mile greenfield pipeline from the Marcellus gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, to Schoharie County, NY (see 
The Trump administration and its officials continue to aggressively push the Williams 125-mile Constitution Pipeline project, which would stretch from the prolific shale gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, into and through New York State, to Schoharie County, NY, to move Marcellus gas into New York State and New England. In June, Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Binghamton to advocate for reviving the long-stalled project (see 
Devon Energy completed its merger with Coterra Energy just over one month ago, on May 7, paying Coterra $21.4 billion in Devon stock (see 
Yesterday, Devon Energy issued its first updated outlook for 2026 after completing its Coterra Energy merger. Devon forecasts 2026 production of about 1.38 million boe/d, including roughly 500,000 bpd of oil, on $4.9 billion in capital spending. Over 60% of the money Devon will spend this year will go to the Permian Basin, where Devon is concentrating growth. The company plans to operate 31 rigs and 10 completion crews and to drill 460–480 net wells across all shale plays in which it operates. What stood out to us in reviewing planned expenditures is that Devon plans to spend the least amount of capital on drilling in the Marcellus. 
One year ago, in June 2025, MDN brought you news about a commercial lithium production facility already built and being tested in Susquehanna County, PA (see 
From the very first whisper of the rumor that Devon Energy was sniffing around a buyout and merger with Coterra Energy, we wondered, speculated, and worried about what such a merger would mean for Coterra’s considerable Marcellus assets in northeast Pennsylvania. From the outset, activist investor Kimmeridge (with a stake in both Coterra and Devon) has pressured Devon to consider selling the Marcellus assets (see 
NOTE: MDN will not publish on Friday, May 22, and Monday, May 25, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Therefore, we are publishing the weekly permits report a day early.
If you live in Auburn Township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, it’s a pretty safe bet that either there is or soon will be shale well drilling going on near you. The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published notice in the May 16 Pennsylvania Bulletin announcing it has issued a permit for one aboveground water pipeline for one driller and is seeking comments on a request for a second aboveground water pipeline for a second driller, both in Auburn Township.