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13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 28 – Nov 3

For the week of Oct 27 – Nov 3, there were 13 permits issued to drill Marcellus/Utica wells, down from 17 permits issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had just three new permits, one each for EQT, Range Resources, and Snyder Brothers (three different counties). The Buckeye State (OH) issued no new permits last week. The Mountain State (WV) did most of the heavy lifting by issuing 10 new permits, with most of those (seven) going to Antero Resources in Tyler County. One permit each was issued to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy), HG Energy, and Marion Natural Energy. Read More “13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 28 – Nov 3”

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PA Re-Adds One Rig to 13; National Rig Count Even 2nd Week @ 585

Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania lost another rig, going from 13 rigs down to 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low; National Rig Count Even @ 585). Last week, PA picked up one rig, so the tally is back to 13. It’s still not great, but we suppose it’s progress. A little over two months ago (as of August 23), PA operated 21 rigs. We went through a period of rapid rig loss in the Keystone State. Last week, Ohio and West Virginia maintained their respective counts of 10 active rigs each. Read More “PA Re-Adds One Rig to 13; National Rig Count Even 2nd Week @ 585”

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DT Midstream Expanding Marcellus Gathering Pipe Connection to MVP

DT Midstream (DTM), headquartered in Detroit, owns major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region and other regions like the Haynesville. DTM issued its third quarter 2024 update last week. Of high interest to us was the announcement that DTM is upsizing a previously announced project to connect its Stonewall Gathering System to Equitrans Midstream’s (now EQT) Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia, giving DTM customers the ability to reach Mid-Atlantic markets with their molecules. Read More “DT Midstream Expanding Marcellus Gathering Pipe Connection to MVP”

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PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low; National Rig Count Even @ 585

The realignment we spoke of several weeks ago about Pennsylvania losing rigs to its neighbors has deepened. Last week, PA lost another rig, going from 13 rigs down to 12 rigs, while Ohio picked up one rig and now has 10 active rigs. West Virginia also operated 10 rigs last week. Just two months ago (as of August 23), PA operated 21 rigs, OH had 9 rigs, and WV had just 5 rigs. This is a massive realignment away from PA to its neighbors. According to Reuters, PA’s rig count is at a 17-year (!) low. What the heck is going on with the mighty PA Marcellus? Read More “PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low; National Rig Count Even @ 585”

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Hope Gas Gets Ready to Roll Out WATT Fuel Cells to WV Customers

WATT fuel cell

A fuel cell manufacturer located in Westmoreland County, PA — WATT Fuel Cell — manufactures Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (“SOFC”) stacks and systems that operate on common, readily available fuels such as natural gas and propane. Instead of burning and combusting natural gas (or propane), those fuel sources are subjected to an electrochemical process that produces electricity. In July 2023, the company announced it would distribute 500 of its units to customers of Hope Gas, a West Virginia-based natural gas utility (see NatGas-Powered WATT Fuel Cells Provided to 500 West Virginia Homes). Hope Gas announced last October another 5,300 WATT units will be distributed to its customers as part of the hydrogen hub award given to West Virginia and its partners (see Hope Gas to Use ARCH2 $$ to Distro 5,300 Hydrogen Fuel Cells in WV). We have details on Hope’s plan to roll out the WATT units in 2025. Read More “Hope Gas Gets Ready to Roll Out WATT Fuel Cells to WV Customers”

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14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 14 – 20

For the week of Oct 14 – 20, there were 14 permits issued to drill Marcellus/Utica wells, up from 10 permits issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had just four new permits (down from six the previous week), with three going to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Susquehanna County and one for Seneca Resources in Lycoming County. The Buckeye State (OH) had seven new permits, with six going to Encino Energy (EAP) for two pads in Carroll County. The other OH permit was for Ascent Resources in Harrison County. The Mountain State (WV) issued three new permits, with all three going to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Marshall County. Read More “14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 14 – 20”

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DOE Spending $44M on Drilling Two CO2 Injection Wells in WV & OH

The Biden-Harris administration continues to spend money like drunken sailors. They can’t hand it out fast enough ahead of November 5th. We can’t even count how much has been doled out just this week—certainly several billion dollars. Some of the money flowing out of D.C. this week ($44 million) will go to a project that is part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) to establish new carbon dioxide injection wells, one in Marshall County, WV, and one in Belmont County, OH. Read More “DOE Spending $44M on Drilling Two CO2 Injection Wells in WV & OH”

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PA Rig Count Stays Down, M-U @ 32; National Count Drops 1 @ 585

Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania lost two rigs, down to just 13 active rigs, the lowest PA’s rig count has been since July 2016 (see PA Craters, Drops 2 Rigs, M-U @ 32; National Rig Count Adds 1 @ 586). That’s the lowest rig count for PA in more than eight years. Last week, PA and the other two Marcellus/Utica states, OH and WV, remained constant in their rig counts (13, nine, and ten, respectively). The national rig count collectively lost one rig last week and now stands at 585. Read More “PA Rig Count Stays Down, M-U @ 32; National Count Drops 1 @ 585”

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WV’s Hope Gas Seeks to End “Farm Taps” for 600 Customers

It is just coming to light for us now that back in August, Hope Gas, a large local utility company that provides gas service to more than 131,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-seven West Virginia counties, filed a rate case with the state Public Service Commission (PSC) looking to convert customers who use a “farm tap” gas system to either propane fuel or electric heat for their homes. The change would affect around 600 customers, removing them from the ability to use local natural gas. Read More “WV’s Hope Gas Seeks to End “Farm Taps” for 600 Customers”

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10 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 7 – 13

Ten permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Oct. 7 – 13, half the number issued the prior week (see 20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 30 – Oct 6). The Keystone State (PA) had just six new permits, with three going to Range Resources in Washington County, two for EQT in Greene County, and one for Chesapeake Energy (now Expand Energy) in Sullivan County. Buckeye State (OH) had three new permits, and all three went to Encino Energy (EAP) for a single pad in Sullivan County. The Mountain State (WV) issued one new permit to EQT in Wetzel County. Read More “10 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 7 – 13”

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PA Craters, Drops 2 Rigs, M-U @ 32; National Rig Count Adds 1 @ 586

Once again, the bottom dropped out of the Pennsylvania Marcellus rig count. PA lost two rigs last week, down to just 13 active rigs, the lowest the PA rig count has been since July 2016. That’s the lowest rig count for PA in more than eight years, lower than the deep dark days of the pandemic four years ago. Ohio and West Virginia’s counts remained the same at nine and ten, respectively. On August 23, PA ran 21 rigs, OH had nine rigs, and WV had just five rigs. Last Friday (just two months later), PA had 13 rigs (a loss of eight from August), OH still had nine, but WV had ten rigs (a gain of five of PA’s lost eight). The realignment of rigs from PA to WV is an ongoing, big story concerning the rig count. Read More “PA Craters, Drops 2 Rigs, M-U @ 32; National Rig Count Adds 1 @ 586”

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PJM Winter Outlook: Enough Power Available, Fingers Crossed

PJM Interconnection is the largest U.S. power grid operator, serving 65 million people in 13 states plus the District of Columbia (including PA, OH, and WV). PJM supplies power to more than 20% of the U.S. economy. The organization issued its annual Winter Outlook yesterday. The analysis says PJM and its members have adequate resources to serve the forecasted demand for electricity this winter under expected conditions, although reserve margins continue to shrink with continued generator (coal plant) retirements and increasing demand. However, if we have “extreme” weather events, problems like blackouts are possible. In other words, we will have enough electricity, but cross your fingers that we don’t experience any extreme weather. Read More “PJM Winter Outlook: Enough Power Available, Fingers Crossed”

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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 30 – Oct 6

There were 20 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 30 – Oct. 6, down eight from the 28 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had eight new permits, with five going to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy following a merger with Chesapeake) in both Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. The other three permits went to Laurel Mountain Energy for a pad in Butler County. Read More “20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 30 – Oct 6”

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28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 23 – 29

There were 28 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 23 – 29, down slightly from the 32 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had 15 new permits, with seven of them going to Range Resources, most of them in Washington County. Three permits were issued to Chesapeake Energy in Bradford County, and two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy in Susquehanna County. As of Tuesday, Chesapeake and Southwestern combined in a merger to form Expand Energy (see Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller). It’s going to take a while before the name change flows through to new permits, so we’ll keep reporting on the permits by their given names for now. Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 23 – 29”

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32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 16 – 22

There were 32 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 16 – 22, more than doubling the 15 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had nine new permits, with five of them going to EQT in Greene County. The Buckeye State (OH) had 20 new permits. The floodgates opened up! The top recipient in OH was Encino Energy, which received eight permits divided between Guernsey and Carroll counties. EOG Resources received five permits in Harrison County. The Mountain State (WV) had three new permits after getting skunked the prior week. All three were issued to Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) in Monongalia County. Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 16 – 22”

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Omnis Energy Converts Coal/NatGas to Hydrogen in WV; 95% Cheaper

Pleasants County, WV

Omnis Energy is transforming an old, coal-fired power plant in Pleasants County, WV, into the world’s first commercial coal-to-hydrogen net-zero power plant with high-value graphite co-products. In mid-August 2024, Omnis Energy demonstrated the operation of its patented Quantum technology at the Pleasants site, featuring ultra-high-temperature pyrolysis at 3,600 degrees Celsius. The technology can also use other hydrocarbons, including Marcellus/Utica natural gas, as feedstock. Nansen G. Saleri, chairman of the Omnis Technical Advisory Board, is due to speak about the Quantum Pleasants project at the upcoming Hydrogen & Carbon Capture Conference VI on November 7 in Canonsburg, PA. Read More “Omnis Energy Converts Coal/NatGas to Hydrogen in WV; 95% Cheaper”