43 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 9 – 15
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 43 new drilling permits last week, Feb. 9 – 15, up 19 from the permits issued two weeks ago. The most recent high in permits (going back at least a year) occurred during the first week of December, when 60 new permits were issued (see 60 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 1 – 7). A week with 43 permits is also significant, indicating an increase in drilling activity. Pennsylvania issued 25 new permits, Ohio issued 7, and West Virginia issued 11. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Antero Resources, Arsenal Resources, Ascent Resources, Coterra Energy, HG Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, JKLM Energy, and PennEnergy Resources. Read More “43 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 9 – 15”
For the week of Mar 3 – 9, the number of permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells increased by six from the previous week. Last week, 22 new permits were issued, with 13 (more than half) going to the Keystone State (PA). Expand Energy (Chesapeake Energy) scored five permits for a single pad in Bradford County. Coterra Energy also received five permits for a single pad in neighboring Susquehanna County. EQT had two new permits for a single pad in Washington County. And Range Resources rounded out PA’s permits with a single permit in Washington County. 
Hope Gas provides natural gas service to approximately 131,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. In October, Hope closed on acquiring the West Virginia division of Peoples Gas for an undisclosed amount, giving the company another 13,000 customers (see 
Holy smokes! What just happened? For months (and months and months) the cumulative number of weekly permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica has fluctuated from the low teens to perhaps 30 total on the upper end. Last week, from Jan. 17-23, an amazing 61 permits were issued to drill new shale wells. Double the usual. Wow! Pennsylvania issued 24 new permits, Ohio issued 9, and blow-the-doors-off-we’ve-never-seen-so-many-permits-issued-in-one-week for West Virginia, the Mountain State issued 28 new shale permits.