Marcellus Drilling News

Statewide WV | West Virginia

DOE Sec. Wright Talks Up WV Energy in Morgantown Tour of Natl Lab
June 27, 2025June 27, 2025

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. Read More “DOE Sec. Wright Talks Up WV Energy in Morgantown Tour of Natl Lab”
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MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jun 27, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
June 27, 2025June 27, 2025

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Three Mile Island nuclear plant reboot fast-tracked to 2027; Northeast gas demand rises in hot summer start; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Trump announces Gulf of America oil lease sale spanning area larger than entire UK; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures extend losing streak; Geothermal energy – another nail in the coffin of wind and solar power?; Choice of well tubing plays a key role as horizontal laterals extend their reach; Senate hearing explores China’s role in funding U.S. climate groups; Thanks to the natgas reboot, other countries could help pay down the U.S. debt; INTERNATIONAL: WTI edges up as OPEC+ meeting looms; Russia wants to supply Mexico with LNG, bypassing U.S.; DOE secretary joins criticism of energy agency’s oil forecast. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jun 27, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Coterra CEO Praises Shale Revolution, Calls Dimock “Prolific”
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden had a sit-down interview at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Energy, Power, Renewables and Mining Conference on Tuesday of this week. Coterra is the successor company of Cabot Oil & Gas after Cabot merged with Cimarex Energy in October 2021 (see Cimarex Takes Over Cabot, Merged Co. Called “Coterra Energy”). Cabot drilled exclusively for natural gas in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus in Susquehanna County. Cimarex drilled in both the Permian (Texas) and Anadarko (Oklahoma) basins. Cimarex was mainly an oil driller. The combined company has the flexibility to allocate money and people to whichever commodity, oil or gas, is turning a better profit. Currently, profitability favors more gas drilling. Jorden had some interesting things to say about his company’s Marcellus program. Read More “Coterra CEO Praises Shale Revolution, Calls Dimock “Prolific””
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | ESG | Industrywide Issues

Promises Made, Promises Delivered: EQT Hits Net Zero Scopes 1 & 2
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

Net zero Scopes 1 – 3 (click for larger version)

EQT Corporation, the largest Marcellus/Utica producer by the volume of M-U molecules produced, published its 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, titled “Promises Made, Promises Delivered,” on Tuesday. According to the announcement and the report, EQT has become the world’s first large-scale traditional energy company to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. What does that actually mean? Read More “Promises Made, Promises Delivered: EQT Hits Net Zero Scopes 1 & 2”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Disappointing: PA Senate Confirms Jessica Shirley as DEP Secretary
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

Jessica Shirley, confirmed as DEP Secretary

Every last Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate and all but one Democrat voted to confirm a group of officials nominated by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve in his administration. Among them was the extremely partisan (we would argue grossly unqualified) Jessica Shirley to be the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). She can now drop the “Acting” prefix from her title. We know, it’s how politics is played, to give the Governor his choice of cabinet officials. Which is why we stay out of political office—we can’t play the games. We like calling balls and strikes. This was a complete whiff by Republicans in Harrisburg. Read More “Disappointing: PA Senate Confirms Jessica Shirley as DEP Secretary”
Chevron | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Chevron Expands Deal with ET’s Lake Charles LNG to Buy 3 MTPA
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

Just as the pandemic began to unfold in early 2020, Shell pulled out of a 50/50 joint venture partnership with Energy Transfer (ET) to build a new LNG export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana (see Shell Pulls Out of Lake Charles LNG Project, Energy Transfer Stays). Bad move on Shell’s part, if you ask us. Since that time, ET has continued to build support for the project. ET has still not made a final investment decision (FID) to commit billions of dollars, but each year that passes brings the company closer to an FID. In December, ET announced a new customer for its LNG when/if the plant gets built: Chevron. Yesterday, Chevron increased its commitment to the facility. Read More “Chevron Expands Deal with ET’s Lake Charles LNG to Buy 3 MTPA”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Freeport LNG Asks for Third Time Extension to Build Train 4
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

Freeport LNG, located near Galveston, Texas, currently exports roughly 15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from three trains—when it’s actually up and running. The Freeport facility has been plagued with outages, the most spectacular of which happened in June 2022, taking the facility offline for 10 months (see Freeport LNG Plant Back to Full Capacity Using 2.1 Bcf/d of NatGas). Freeport has (for years) planned to add a fourth train that would bump up the output to 20 MTPA. In October 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Freeport an extra two years to build its fourth liquefaction train, until August 1, 2028. Freeport is now asking FERC for yet another time extension (the third extension)—an extra 40 months. Read More “Freeport LNG Asks for Third Time Extension to Build Train 4”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Enterprise Products Partners | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Trump Admin Sends Mixed Signals on Ethane Exports to China
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

mixed signals

MDN recently brought you the news that the Trump U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) was blocking at least three (possibly more) cargoes of ethane by rejecting permits to export to Enterprise Products Partners (see U.S. Denies Permit for Enterprise to Export Ethane Cargoes to China). Ethane is a raw feedstock used to create plastics. Denying China access to our ethane will hurt the Chinese economy. We later reported that the export ban to China was just a bargaining position and had been lifted (see Trump Trade Deal Lifts Ethane Export Ban to China; Cargo to India). However, in another twist to this saga, the Trump administration has informed Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer (the two companies exporting ethane to China) that they can load the ethane and ship it. However, before unloading, they will still need U.S. government permission. Huh? Read More “Trump Admin Sends Mixed Signals on Ethane Exports to China”
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MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Jun 26, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Decreasing Act 13 natural gas impact fee money squeezing municipal budgets; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: NJ Gov pleased to announce state’s transition to primitive climate cult campground complete; NATIONAL: Oil rebounds after steep two-day plunge; Breaking heat, rising storage keep natural gas futures on downward trajectory; Electricity use for commercial computing could surpass space cooling, ventilation; Senate versus House version of the IRA provisions in the “Big Beautiful Bill”; E&Ps, faced with a ‘final reckoning,’ helped save themselves with dividends; Critical minerals and LNG bills are a wake-up call for U.S. competitiveness; The left’s climate hysteria is crumbling as energy reality sets in; INTERNATIONAL: Alberta premier warns Carney he must act to quell separatist threat; Shell says no plan to make offer for BP; How Japan and Alaska pioneered the global market for LNG; Tokyo Gas in talks to seal long-term US LNG purchase deals. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Jun 26, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
Gradiant alkaLi | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County | Wastewater

Integrated Lithium Production Plant Coming to PA Marcellus in 2026
June 25, 2025July 3, 2025

A Boston-based company, Gradiant, issued a press release to make a really big, really important announcement: The company’s lithium business, called alkaLi, will design, build, own, and operate a commercial lithium production facility in the Marcellus Shale Formation of Pennsylvania beginning in early 2026. The ~~unidentified~~ site, which is already built and in testing, will be “the world’s first to Extract, Concentrate, and Convert (EC²) lithium in a fully integrated, end-to-end process from oilfield produced water,” according to the announcement. The company stated that this facility in the PA Marcellus “could supply 50% of U.S. lithium demand.” Wow! UPDATE: We now have a fix on the location of this facility thanks to a sharp MDN reader. Read More “Integrated Lithium Production Plant Coming to PA Marcellus in 2026”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | INR/Infinity Natural Resources | M&A | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Infinity Natural Resources on the Hunt for More Ohio Utica Assets
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

Infinity Natural Resources (INR), headquartered in Morgantown, WV, focuses 100% on the Marcellus/Utica. The company went public earlier this year with a $265 million ($20/share) initial public offering, giving INR a $1.18 billion market capitalization (see INR IPO Does Better than Expected, Stock Trading Pops 10% Higher). Hart Energy’s Nissa Darbonne recently interviewed INR CEO Zack Arnold at the 2025 SUPER DUG Conference and Expo. He had some VERY interesting things to say about both the Ohio Utica and the Pennsylvania Marcellus. Read More “Infinity Natural Resources on the Hunt for More Ohio Utica Assets”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Kinder Morgan Projects to Boost Deep South Access to M-U Gas
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

Ever so gradually, pipeline capacity to transport Marcellus/Utica molecules to other markets, particularly the Deep South, has been increasing. And it continues to grow, gradually. Two projects from Kinder Morgan aim to help that effort. The 2.1-Bcf/d Mississippi Crossing (MSX) and 1.3-Bcf/d South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) projects will move more Marcellus/Utica gas into Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. RBN Energy connects the dots. Read More “Kinder Morgan Projects to Boost Deep South Access to M-U Gas”
Industrywide Issues | LDCs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Largest Fuel Cell Backup Program in U.S. Rolling Out in WV Marcellus
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

The WATT HOME system is an advanced solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that operates efficiently on readily available natural gas.

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). It’s time to roll out the program to Hope Gas customers. The number has increased to 7,250! It is the largest residential fuel cell initiative in the entire country. And it’s happening in the WV Marcellus. Read More “Largest Fuel Cell Backup Program in U.S. Rolling Out in WV Marcellus”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Launches Pay-More-and-Get-Your-Permit-on-Time Program
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

Environment-related permitting in Pennsylvania, overseen by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six months for approval, instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. According to a DEP press release from last November, the problem was fixed (see PA DEP Claims Permit Backlog for O&G Now Completely Eliminated). But was it? Also from that November press release, the DEP announced it would soon implement the SPEED (Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development) program. We’re now seven months later, and the “speedy” DEP has announced that it will begin accepting permit applications from the SPEED program starting June 30, 2025. Read More “PA DEP Launches Pay-More-and-Get-Your-Permit-on-Time Program”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Philadephia

Crowley LNG-Powered Ships Connect Philly Port & Central America
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

Crowley LNG-powered Copán

Here’s some exciting news! Shipping giant Crowley, which employs more U.S. mariners than any other company, announced a significant expansion of ocean shipping services with its first-ever route between the U.S. Northeast and Central America. Using Crowley’s new, state-of-the-art LNG-powered Avance Class vessels, the five-day transit between the Port of Philadelphia’s Gloucester Marine Terminal (in New Jersey) and ports in Guatemala and Honduras enables the most timely deliveries of food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods to and from the Central America Northern Zone, which also includes El Salvador and Nicaragua. Read More “Crowley LNG-Powered Ships Connect Philly Port & Central America”
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MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jun 25, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Delaware estuary now under pressure from Trump administration; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Cheniere makes positive FID on Corpus Christi Trains 8 & 9 project; NATIONAL: Biden EPA press aide joins climate think tank; U.S. LNG feedgas drops but likely to rise this week; Senate parliamentarian rejects offshore oil, gas drilling provisions in GOP megabill; AEA launches six-figure advocacy initiative to end the IRA credits; INTERNATIONAL: Oil prices plunge on Trump ceasefire push; Oil market concerns almost exclusively focused on Strait of Hormuz; One-fifth of global LNG trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz; US energy expert Robert Bryce warns Australia is ‘acting like an energy weakling’; LNG freight rates hit 8-mth top on tight tanker availability, Mideast conflict. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jun 25, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”