Trump FTC Looks to Cancel Biden FTC Consent Order re EQT & Tug Hill
In September 2022, EQT announced a deal to buy privately owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets (90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d of production in West Virginia) for roughly $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal was finally completed nearly one year later (see EQT Finally Completes Acquisition of Tug Hill and XcL Midstream). The deal took so long to close because the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved (see Bidenistas at FTC Probing EQT Deal to Buy Tug Hill’s WV Assets). The left-wing Pennsylvania Attorney General also got involved. The Bidenistas and PA AG demanded changes to the deal terms (see EQT/Tug Hill Deal Came Only After PA AG, FTC Changed Deal Terms). Read More “Trump FTC Looks to Cancel Biden FTC Consent Order re EQT & Tug Hill”
We spotted a fascinating Hart Energy article that summarizes information from a recently released Mizuho Securities study. Mizuho researcher Nitin Kumar says that we are roughly halfway through the shale revolution. He posits that approximately 290,000 horizontal wells have been landed in shale rock in the Lower 48 and that under current economic conditions and with current technology, another 270,000 locations remain. It will take another 25 years to drill them, says Kumar. Which is interesting, although we take some issue with those findings. However, embedded in the statistics is something that caught our attention: the value of undeveloped acreage in various shale plays, including the Marcellus. 
We finally saw some relief last week for the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count, which added rigs for the first time in three months (12 weeks). The U.S. count added seven rigs and now stands at 544 active rigs. However, it was gas-focused rigs that saved the day. The number of oil-focused rigs continued to fall last week (down another two) while gas-focused rigs had a massive increase (up by nine). The Marcellus/Utica count stayed even last week (after falling by one three weeks ago) at a combined 35 active rigs. There were 23 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeting the Utica last week. 
For the week of July 7 – 13, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica remained the same as the previous week. There were 21 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week. The Keystone State (PA) issued seven new permits. Range Resources secured three permits, spread across Beaver and Washington counties, in the southwestern part of the state. Seneca Resources received two permits in Tioga County, in the northeastern part of the state. Greylock Energy and Coterra Energy each received a single permit, in Potter and Susquehanna counties, respectively. 
The Baker Hughes U.S. rig count has been hemorrhaging for 11 consecutive weeks. Last week, the U.S. rig count declined by another two rigs to its lowest level since October 2021, ending the week at 537 active rigs. You have to go back to the dark days of the pandemic, July 2020, for the previous 11+ consecutive weeks of decline in the rig count. The Marcellus/Utica stayed even (after falling by one two weeks ago) at a combined 35 active rigs. There were 23 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeting the Utica last week. 
It took eight years and untold legal fees (on both sides) before a tiny 3.4-mile, 8-inch natural gas pipeline under the Potomac River was finally built and went online. In April 2017, MDN brought you the news that Columbia Pipeline (owned by TransCanada) had applied with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a pipeline under the Potomac to connect natural gas from Pennsylvania to the Mountaineer Gas system in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia (see 
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analyzed proved reserves data for 2023 (the most recent year available) and determined that proved reserves of U.S. natural gas decreased 12.6% year over year, from 691.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 603.6 Tcf. This was the first annual decrease in U.S. natural gas reserves since 2020. Looking at the numbers for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, natural gas proved reserves decreased by 4% (PA), 13% (OH), and 6% (WV) from 2022 to 2023. The report shows that Marcellus gas reserves dropped 5.9% in 2023. 
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited the National Energy Technology Laboratory facility in Morgantown, WV, on Wednesday. While touring the facility, Wright promoted President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he said contains provisions intended to bolster and support WV’s oil, natural gas, and coal industries. In his comments, Wright called natural gas “the big dog,” but he also emphasized the importance of coal energy. He talked up the importance of WV to the nation’s energy supply. 