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DT Midstream 4Q – M-U Pipeline Operations Expand, Looking for M&A

DT Midstream (DTM), headquartered in Detroit, owns major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region and other regions like the Haynesville. DTM issued its fourth quarter 2023 update last Friday. The Marcellus/Utica region (which they call Northeast in the report) received several prominent mentions during a conference call with analysts. Also of note were comments by DT CEO David Slater, who said he’s positioning the company to take advantage of “bolt-on” opportunities in the regions where they operate. Meaning he’s on the lookout for mergers and acquisitions.
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23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 8 – 14

There were 23 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 8-14, versus 18 permits issued for the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 2 new permits. West Virginia issued 8 new permits — for the second week in a row. EQT scored the top slot for new permits, receiving 7 permits to drill in Lycoming and Greene counties in PA.
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Hope Gas Fights FOIA for Detailed Maps of 30-Mile Gas Pipe in WV

Hope Gas is a Local Distribution Company (LDC) that provides gas service to approximately 125,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. The company owns and maintains more than 6,900 miles of pipelines that safely deliver West Virginia natural gas to many homes and commercial or industrial sites. In September, Hope Gas asked the WV Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia for permission to build a new 30-mile pipeline in Monongalia County (see Hope Gas Seeks to Build 30-Mile Gas Pipe in Monongalia County, WV). Hope says the project, with an estimated price tag of $177 million, is necessary to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the Morgantown area and to ensure reliable service for existing customers.
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New York Company Has Big Role in West Virginia’s ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub

New York State has made no bones about the fact that it HATES fossil energy — particularly natural gas. The state has banned fracking, permanently (for all time), preventing abundant supplies of natgas from being extracted within the state, dooming counties in Upstate to economic poverty. The state has blocked multiple gas pipelines from Pennsylvania into NY. It has banned new residences and businesses across the state from connecting to and using natural gas beginning in 2025. And lately, the state has begun to force natural gas-fired power plants to close. Yet sitting on the stage in Morgantown, WV, on Monday with West Virginia and Ohio officials and politicians there to commemorate and brag about WV’s big win in attracting a grant for a hydrogen hub, was the CEO of a New York company — a company that will play a key role in (and get gobs of money from) the WV hydrogen hub.
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WV’s Hope Gas Parent Hearthstone Rebrands as Hope Utilities

In August 2022, MDN brought you the news that Hearthstone Utilities, a Naperville, Illinois-based company, was planning to move its corporate headquarters to Morgantown, West Virginia (see Hearthstone Utilities Moving HQ to WV to Leverage Marcellus/Utica). The move finally happened in June of this year (see Utility Co. Hope Gas Transfers HQ from Illinois to Morgantown, WV). Why move? According to CEO Morgan O’Brien, “We’re very bullish on West Virginia and the idea of having a gas utility sitting on top of the Marcellus and Utica shales, and what that could mean.” Hearthstone operates local natural gas utilities in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and with the purchase of Hope Gas from Dominion Energy earlier this year, it now operates in West Virginia (see Dominion Selling WV Utility – Deal Incl. 2K Miles Gathering Pipes). The parent company is changing its name from Hearthstone Utilities to Hope Utilities.
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23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 25 – Oct 1

New shale permits issued for Sep 25 – Oct 1 in the Marcellus/Utica were up a few ticks from the previous week. There were 23 new permits issued last week, up from 21 permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 10 new permits in Pennsylvania, no new permits in Ohio, and a surprising 13 new permits in West Virginia. Two companies tied for top permittee, one you know, one you may not know. Olympus Energy received 5 permits to drill in Westmoreland County, PA. Consol Mining Company received 5 permits to drill in Monongalia County, WV. Consol used to own CNX Resources before spinning off CNX into its own company. Consol concentrates on coal mining. We were surprised to see Consol wandering back into shale drilling.
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Hope Gas Seeks to Build 30-Mile Gas Pipe in Monongalia County, WV

Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC) or a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope Gas recently received approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia to acquire nearly 900 miles of gathering pipelines in northern West Virginia from Equitrans Midstream and add the pipeline to the 2,000 miles of WV gathering pipes it already owns (see Equitrans Selling 900 Miles of WV Gathering Pipes to Hope Gas). Hope is expanding again. The company has asked the Public Service Commission of West Virginia for permission to build a new 30-mile pipeline in Monongalia County.
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11 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 3-9

New shale permits issued for Jul 3-9 in the Marcellus/Utica saw a dramatic decrease after posting a dramatic increase the week before. There were 11 new permits issued last week, way down from the 39 issued the previous week. Last week’s permit tally included a scant 3 new permits in Pennsylvania, 3 new permits in Ohio, and 5 new permits in West Virginia. The top permittee for the week was Northeast Natural Energy, receiving 5 permits in Monongalia County, WV.
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Utility Co. Hope Gas Transfers HQ from Illinois to Morgantown, WV

Morgan O’Brien, center, cuts the ribbon at the new Hope Gas headquarters. The ribbon is held by Brian Hale, left, and Sonia Axter. (Credit: Chase Hughart, WV News)

Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC), otherwise known as a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope Gas recently received approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia to acquire nearly 900 miles of gathering pipelines in northern West Virginia from Equitrans Midstream and add the pipeline to the 2,000 miles of WV gathering pipes it already owns (see Equitrans Selling 900 Miles of WV Gathering Pipes to Hope Gas). Hope Gas just cut the ribbon on a new headquarters in Morgantown, WV.
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21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 12-18

New shale permits issued for Jun 12-18 in the Marcellus/Utica gained one. There were 21 new permits issued, up from 20 the previous week. Last week’s permit tally included 12 new permits in Pennsylvania, 6 new permits in Ohio, and 3 new permits in West Virginia. Snyder Brothers scored the most new permits, with 9 issued in Armstrong County, PA. INR had the second most new permits, with 4 permits issued in Carroll County, OH.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 5-11

New shale permits issued for Jun 5-11 in the Marcellus/Utica last week dipped a bit from the previous week. There were 20 new permits issued, down from 25 issued the previous week. Last week’s permit tally included 6 new permits for Pennsylvania, 8 new permits for Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. Ascent Resources scored the most new permits with 8 issued in the Ohio Utica, spread across three counties. Chesapeake Energy had the second most new permits with 6 permits issued in the PA Marcellus across two counties.
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M-U Driller Northeast Natural Energy Believes Geothermal the Future

Marcellus driller Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) has begun to drill a geothermal and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) data collection well, all the way down to 15,000 below the surface (see WVU & NNE Drilling Test Well for CCS, Geothermal Energy). The test well is being drilled near the Morgantown Industrial Park in cooperation with (under the direction of) West Virginia University and the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The study and the data collected from the well aim to test the potential of geothermal energy in the region and gather information on the potential for underground CCS in the Appalachian basin. NNE Drilling Manager, Josh Dalton, says he believes this will be the future for companies like his–drilling geothermal wells instead of Marcellus wells. We respectfully disagree.
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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 3-9

New shale permits issued for Apr. 3-9 in the Marcellus/Utica dropped again from the prior week. There were 18 new permits issued in total last week, down from 21 in the prior week (and down from 32 the week before that). Last week’s tally included 13 new permits for Pennsylvania, 0 new permits for Ohio, and 5 new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was EQT with 7 new permits (6 in Fayette County, PA, and 1 in Washington County, PA). Two companies tied for #2 with 4 permits each–Coterra (Susquehanna County, PA) and Northeast Natural Energy (Monongalia County, WV).
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38 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 19-Jan 1

We’re catching up the permit report for the past two weeks (since we were off all of last week). Permits issued for Dec. 19 through Jan. 1 in the Marcellus/Utica included 19 new permits in Pennsylvania, 7 new permits in Ohio, and 12 new permits in West Virginia.
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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 7-13

Permits issued to drill new Marcellus/Utica wells slipped last week, for the week of Nov. 7-13. Last week saw a total of 26 new permits issued, falling from 43 permits the week before. Pennsylvania received the most permits, just barely, with 13 new permits. Ohio received 12 new permits, and West Virginia a single new permit.
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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 19-25

Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 30 new drilling permits, up from the 21 permits issued the week before. It was a reversal of what we typically see. Last week PA only issued four new permits, while WV issued 17 permits and OH issued nine permits. Usually, PA issues the most permits.
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