MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Jul 8, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: US proposes rules that could boost oil, gas output in US West; Elon Musk confirms buying overseas power plant, shipping it to Memphis for xAI; LNG boom hits a snag in Louisiana’s crowded waterways; NATIONAL: Dallas Fed energy survey shows oil, gas activity contraction; Imports made up 17% of U.S. energy supply in 2024, lowest in 40 years; Democrats retreat on climate; The OBBBA resets the energy policy playing field; INTERNATIONAL: Oil gains on Saudi price hike; Carney says new oil pipeline proposal in Canada is highly likely; Quebec to ‘carefully examine’ proposal for new LNG megaproject; Nova Scotia looking to revive offshore gas industry; The green lobby’s dishonest crusade for solar and wind. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Jul 8, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
For the week of June 23 – 29, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica rose slightly from the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up three from 24 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued 10 new permits. Six of the ten permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Two permits were issued to Range Resources for a pad in Washington County. And one permit each was issued to Coterra Energy in Susquehanna County (in Dimock!), and Infinity Natural Resources in Indiana County. 
Quick! Somebody grab a tourniquet and tie it to the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count. The count has been hemorrhaging large numbers of rigs for 10 consecutive weeks. Last week (an early week with the count issued on Thursday), the U.S. rig count declined by another eight rigs to its lowest level since October 2021, ending the week at 539 active rigs. You have to go back to the dark days of the pandemic, July 2020, for the previous 10+ consecutive weeks of decline in the rig count. The Marcellus/Utica was clipped by one rig (in Pennsylvania), falling from a combined 36 to 35. 
In April, MDN told you that EQT Corporation, the second-largest natural gas producer in the country (and the largest producer in the Marcellus/Utica) was buying out and merging in Olympus Energy for $1.8 billion (see 
A kerfuffle has erupted in Morgan Township (Greene County), PA, between drilling and pipeline giant EQT Corporation and the town over the issue of hauling heavy equipment on Morgan’s roadways. Morgan supervisors prohibited EQT from using local town roads to haul heavy equipment to work sites. On June 18, EQT filed a lawsuit against the town, which the town is sure to lose (copy below). There is word that an agreement is already in the works to settle the dispute. 
The special court established in Pennsylvania to hear appeals of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) decisions, known as the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), didn’t please anyone with a decision it rendered several weeks ago. We previously reported that the EHB had ruled in favor of CNX Resources to allow two previously permitted wells to move forward with construction (see 
Miracle of miracles, President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill was passed and signed into law by the President last Friday. Somehow, the Republicans got out of their own way to unite and pass it. There’s lots NOT TO like about the bill, but there is also lots TO like. And remember, this is just the beginning. More bills (and Executive Orders) will come along. When the full effect of this bill begins to take hold and the economy soars and people are keeping more of their own money (less taxes), we predict not even the lying Democrats will be able to cover up the good news. The bill contains numerous provisions related to energy issues, including the oil and gas industry and the unreliable renewable energy sector. A significant portion of the bill focused on gutting President Autopen’s Green New Deal (also known as the Inflation Reduction Act). So, how will this bill (now a law) benefit the O&G sector? 
Like most proud Americans, MDN is taking a break today, July 4th, to celebrate Independence Day. It is a day to enjoy parades, barbeques, fireworks, and baseball! Or camping, gathering with family and friends, and many other ways to celebrate. We hope you have a great day!
Lithium extracted from Marcellus shale wastewater (brine) has been in the news over the past week or so. Last week, we brought you the exciting news that a Boston-based company, Gradiant, is working on building a lithium production facility in an undisclosed PA location, which we were able to identify as Susquehanna County (see 
We hate to see internal fighting and bickering within the oil and gas industry. We (as an industry) have a hard enough time battling the crazies of the environmental left. Yet infighting has erupted over a plan to run a pipeline to a proposed gas-fired power plant in South Carolina. In February 2024, the South Carolina Public Service Commission approved a proposed project to build a 1,020-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in the state’s Lowcountry, in Colleton County (see 
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) had some time on their hands with the upcoming July 4th holiday, so they researched and wrote a post examining how U.S. energy use has changed since 1776. As it happens, the post is quite interesting! It chronicles the rise of fossil energy and how fossil fuels have dominated the modern era (leading to the highest standard of living in human history). However, it was a section on so-called renewable energy sources that caught our attention. In particular, one “renewable” has been around since the beginning of our country. That same renewable energy source today produces more energy than either wind or solar. And no, it’s not hydro. The renewable we’re talking about is burning wood. 
We’re trying not to snicker and laugh out loud, but it’s hard. In May of last year, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a Big Green group dedicated to eliminating the use of fossil fuels, launched a methane-sniffing satellite called MethaneSAT (see 
We’ve chronicled some of the antics and borderline violent behavior of the environmental left. We’ve also told you how some on the left seek to ban free speech and put you in jail if you support fossil fuels. The United Nations, in a new report, calls for criminalizing “fossil fuel disinformation” (i.e., expressing support for fossil fuels). It calls for prohibiting fossil fuel companies from lobbying or advertising (no free speech for them). It goes on to call for making the spread of “climate disinformation” a crime. That would mean locking up MDN’s Jim Willis. The report even calls for countries to force-brainwash citizens against fossil fuels—just call it what it really is, reeducation camps. Can anyone tell us why we should remain in the UN? We can’t think of a single good reason.