31 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 10 – 16
Back into the 30s! The number of new permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica last week was 31, after being 24 the week before. Over the past five weeks (including last week), the number of new permits issued has been 37, 39, 37, 24, and 31, respectively. Not bad at all. Pennsylvania issued 14 new permits last week, down from 16 the prior week. Ohio issued 5 new permits, down from 6 the prior week. West Virginia, which issued no new permits two weeks ago, soared, issuing 12 permits last week. Read More “31 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 10 – 16”

National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company NFG Midstream (and subsidiary Empire Pipeline). Last week, NFG issued its latest quarterly update, which is the company’s fiscal year 4th quarter (but everyone else’s 3rd quarter). According to NFG CEO David Bauer, the company added 220 new Upper Utica locations during the quarter, extending the well inventory to “almost 20 years” that will be profitable at a NYMEX price under $2/MMBtu. Bauer also stated the company recently executed a new pipeline deal with an unnamed shipper to haul an extra 250 MMcf/d of Seneca’s molecules from Tioga County, PA, to premium markets, with an expected in-service date of late 2028.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Dave Sunday, pretends to be a Republican, but he’s really a Democrat. He’s also anti-shale, as evidenced by a wild attack against Seneca Resources launched on Friday. Sunday’s office filed three separate criminal complaints against Seneca, charging the company with 64 counts of criminal violations of the Solid Waste Management Act and 36 counts of criminal violations of the Clean Streams Law. Sunday, like his left-wing predecessors, is turning what should be regulatory enforcement actions into crimes. No wonder some drillers are saying “screw you” to Pennsylvania and moving their drilling operations to West Virginia and Ohio.
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly 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 and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the October 11 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the commission voted to approve 11 water withdrawal requests related to shale gas development and two for gas-fired power plants. 

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development.