WV Gov. Morrisey Signs Law to Store CO2 Under State-Owned Parks
Last Thursday, West Virginia Governor Pat Morrisey signed Senate Bill (SB) 627 into law. SB 627 removes the previous ban on leasing “pore spaces” under state-owned parks. However, the bill explicitly prohibits any surface disturbance on state park land for drilling or injection. All lease revenues generated must be used exclusively for improvements and maintenance at the location where the leased pore space is situated. Read More “WV Gov. Morrisey Signs Law to Store CO2 Under State-Owned Parks”
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count crept up again last week, adding two more rigs after adding two in the prior week. The U.S. count now stands at 587 active rigs. The M-U rig count remained the same at a combined 38 last week—the second week in a row. We are at the highest combined M-U count since May of 2024. The Marcellus kept its 25 rigs across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The Utica kept its 13 rigs across the same three states, mainly in Ohio. PA had 18 active rigs for the second week — the highest number it has had since last August. OH operated 12 rigs for the second week in a row, the most active rigs in the Buckeye State in over a year. WV dropped maintained eight rigs for a second week, the lowest number of active rigs in the Mountain State since last September. 
The West Virginia Supreme Court was scheduled to hear two significant oil and gas royalty disputes during a morning session today. Both cases center on whether natural gas companies can deduct post-production costs from royalty payments and, if so, under what circumstances. The stakes are incredibly high for both landowners and drillers. The first case, Kaess v. BB Land LLC, we had not previously heard about. The second case, Romeo v. Antero Resources Corporation, we have heard about. We first reported on that case back in 2017 (see 
Last week was an interesting week for new permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. For the week of Apr 7 – 13, the number of permits issued soared, up 15 from the previous week. Last week, 36 new permits were issued. The surprising thing is just how few of those new permits were issued in the Keystone State (PA). Just five new permits went to PA. CNX Resources had four of PA’s new permits, all for the same well pad in Westmoreland County. The other permit went to EQT in Fayette County. 
Here’s a lawsuit that was not previously on our radar. A West Virginia couple, Bart Mickey and Jami Mickey, sued EQT alleging the company concealed a 2020 Surface Access and Use Agreement allowing EQT to remove a pond, diminishing the value of a property the Mickey’s purchased in Marshall County for $350,000. The Mickeys said in their lawsuit that EQT signed a deal with the previous owners of the property, allowing EQT to remove a pond for $10,000 (an action required under a 2015 Consent Decree with the EPA and WVDEP). Then, EQT (according to the Mickeys) delayed recording the easement with the county. When buying the property, the Mickeys said the easement/deal did not appear in a title search. 
Earlier this week, MDN told you about a mineral/royalty rights purchase made by WhiteHawk Energy, increasing its ownership interest in 475,000 gross acres in the Marcellus Shale for $118 million (see 
The State of West Virginia’s fiscal year begins on July 1 each year and runs through June 30 of the following year. Looking at the state’s most recent fiscal year of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, the natural gas and oil industry in WV accounted for over $660 million in state revenue via severance and property taxes. That’s according to the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV). In addition, the O&G sector employed over 15,000 direct jobs and an additional 73,000 indirect jobs, with an average annual salary of more than $97,000. Shale energy has been an economic miracle in the Mountain State! 
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count lost one rig last week (after gaining one the week before), now operating 592 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 35 last week. However, there was a notable change in the totals. Rigs focused on the Marcellus were down by one to a combined 23 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica picked up the lost Marcellus rig, now at a combined 12. PA had operated 15 rigs (or more) for 19 weeks straight. That streak was broken last week when PA lost a rig. OH had operated nine rigs for 16 weeks in a row but picked up one last week and now stands at ten active rigs. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. Six weeks ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and operates 11 active rigs. 
Toby Rice, CEO of EQT Corporation, took part in a presentation by natural gas industry leaders at the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday. The group was briefly joined by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who was there to promote an expansion of electric microgrids in the state to power data centers. Morrisey is pushing legislature, House Bill 2014, to do just that (see