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”
This is disappointing. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) held a press conference yesterday in Charleston, WV, to oppose new natural gas power plants in West Virginia, citing concerns over coal job losses and community instability. UMW International President Brian Sanson criticized proposed projects by Mon Power and FirstEnergy, arguing that these gas-fired facilities threaten thousands of mining careers while providing only “temporary” construction jobs and minimal permanent staffing. He is urging state and federal lawmakers to enact codified legal protections for the coal industry. 
Wow! What a week for rigs last week. On Friday, Baker Hughes reported that the national count remained unchanged at 551 active rigs. However, the Pennsylvania Marcellus picked up another rig and now operates 20 rigs, the most it has operated in well over a year. Both Ohio and West Virginia remained at 13 and 7, respectively. The combined M-U count was 40 rigs last week, the most in well over a year. The M-U’s primary competitor (for attention and money), the Haynesville, added another 2 rigs last week after adding 7 the week before, for a new modern high of 52 rigs (12 more than the M-U, bummer). It’s probably too early to declare a trend, but the upshot is that more gas drilling is underway in the two largest gas plays in the country. That’s a good sign. 
Another new gas-fired power plant is on the way in West Virginia! FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison have selected a 35-acre site in Maidsville (Monongalia County), West Virginia, for a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant. Located adjacent to the existing Fort Martin Power Station, the facility is designed to provide reliable, affordable energy for approximately 500,000 homes. Pending approval from the WV Public Service Commission, construction could begin in 2027 with operations starting in 2031. 
Antero Resources Corporation has reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the state of West Virginia to resolve Clean Air Act violations at 242 oil and gas facilities in West Virginia and Ohio. To address unauthorized volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, Antero will invest approximately $5.8 million in system improvements and monitoring, reducing annual emissions by over 1,100 tons. The company will also pay a $3.8 million civil penalty and spend $1.5 million to permanently plug and remediate abandoned wells in WV. Total price tag: $11.1 million. 
Antero Resources, the largest Marcellus/Utica (M-U) driller in West Virginia, released its Q4 2025 update yesterday. In 2025, Antero Resources underwent a “transformational expansion” highlighted by the acquisition of HG Energy, the largest acquisition in Antero’s history, which the company closed on just last week (see 
Evolution Well Services, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking — using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel fuel) to power turbines to create electricity that drives fracking pumps. We’ve written about Evolution’s e-fracking work in the Marcellus/Utica for years (
In December, MDN brought you the news that Antero Resources, the country’s fifth-largest natural gas producer and largest producer in West Virginia, had cut a deal to buy WV driller and midstreamer HG Energy II for a combined $3.9 billion, paying $2.8 billion for upstream and $1.1 billion for midstream (see 
West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 706 proposes reducing the state’s severance tax from 5% to 3% for new natural gas and oil wells drilled after June 30, 2026, that meet specific production thresholds. This reduction applies only to future projects, leaving existing wells at current rates. While severance taxes provide vital but volatile revenue—ranging from $98 million to $588 million in recent years—this legislation seeks to adjust the fiscal landscape for one of the state’s most profitable resources. The bill is currently under review by the Senate Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining and awaits further legislative approval. 
We’ve recently begun to highlight flow restrictions along pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. When flows slow or stop (can’t reach other markets), the price typically falls because supply exceeds demand. But sometimes, the opposite happens. If pipelines are restricted due to outages and freeze-offs (as is happening right now with Winter Storm Fern), the supply of natural gas is diminished, leaving insufficient supply to meet increased demand due to the cold weather. When that happens, spot prices for natural gas soar. Wood Mackenzie reported that natural gas freeze-offs across the country reached a single-day high of 17 billion cubic feet (Bcf) on January 25th, approaching the record 18 Bcf set during Winter Storm Uri, as an intense Arctic weather system sweeps across the United States. What about the situation in the M-U?