M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Adds 1 @ 56; Nat’l Count Up 5 @ 548
Two weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Marcellus lost 2 rigs, leading to the lowest combined M-U count since last November (see PA Loses 2 Rigs from Marcellus, Combined M-U Lowest Since Nov. 2025). Last week, the count in the M-U stayed the same—no increases, no decreases. However, our chief competitor, the Haynesville, added another rig, with a new total of 56 active rigs, some 19 rigs more than the M-U’s combined 37 active rigs. The Haynesville continues to add rigs even though it’s cheaper to drill in the M-U. Which exposes the lie from those who want to heap more regulations and taxes on drilling in the M-U because “this is where the gas is” and “drillers can’t go anywhere else.” Turns out, there’s gas elsewhere, too. And drillers are voting (and walking) with their dollars. Read More “M-U Rigs Even @ 37; Haynesville Adds 1 @ 56; Nat’l Count Up 5 @ 548”

The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 19 new drilling permits last week, Mar. 23 – 29, up 8 from the 11 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 4 of the permits. Ohio issued no new permits. And, West Virginia issued 15 new permits last week. The drillers who received new permits last week included EQT, Expand Energy, and Range Resources.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey is spearheading what he calls the “50 by 50” energy initiative, a plan for the state to grow its electric energy production from a current 16 gigawatts (GW) of generation to 50 GW by 2050 (see 
In early February, MDN told you about West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 706, which proposed 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 (see
Hope Gas is a Local Distribution Company (LDC, i.e., utility company) that provides gas service to approximately 140,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in 39 West Virginia counties. The company monitors and maintains over 7,000 miles of pipelines that safely deliver West Virginia natural gas to many homes and commercial and industrial sites. In September 2023, Hope Gas asked the West Virginia Public Service Commission for permission to build a new 30-mile pipeline in Monongalia County (see