Range Appeals Cecil Township Frack-Ban-by-Setback to County Court
Last November, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking in the town via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see Cecil Twp Supervisors Pull the Trigger on Frack Ban Via Setbacks). We said at the time, “Let the lawsuits begin.” And so they did. Range Resources, the only driller in Cecil Township with wells or permits to drill, filed a “Substantive Validity Challenge” to the ordinance that the Township Zoning Hearing Board heard. The Hearing Board voted 2-0 in June to dismiss the challenge, leaving the 2,500-foot setback requirement in place (see Cecil Twp Board Votes to Dismiss Challenge of 2,500-Ft Setback). Range recently appealed the dismissal to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. Read More “Range Appeals Cecil Township Frack-Ban-by-Setback to County Court”
Yesterday, MDN brought you a review and summary of National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) latest quarterly update (see 
In December 2022, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), both subsidiaries of PPL Corporation, announced a plan to replace 1,500 megawatts of aging coal-fired generation (nearly one-third of Kentucky’s coal fleet) with two 645-MW natural gas combined-cycle units along with several unreliable, intermittent solar projects (see 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PJM’s record auction proves we must keep—and build—more coal plants; Buildsylvania – Pennsylvania’s AI-driven construction boom; NATIONAL: EPA moves to rescind the Obama-era Endangerment Finding; Another Burgum order coldcocks solar and wind; The renewable illusion; why fossil fuels keep winning; INTERNATIONAL: Oil drops in choppy trade on Russia uncertainty, OPEC+ increase; BP chair to review business as pressure mounts on turnaround; Tankers deliver Russian crude to India despite US, EU pressure; Qatar’s LNG warning highlights Europe’s fragile energy strategy. 
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count continued its downward trend, losing another two rigs to end at 540 active rigs nationwide. The count has been down 13 of the last 14 weeks, with the only slight increase happening three weeks ago. The Marcellus/Utica count remained the same (after gaining one rig two weeks ago) at a combined 36 active rigs. PA is running 18 active rigs. OH is running 11 rigs. And WV is operating 7 rigs. 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company NFG Midstream (and subsidiary Empire Pipeline). Last week, NFG issued its latest quarterly update, which is the company’s fiscal 3rd quarter (but everyone else’s 2nd quarter). The update was loaded with good news for Seneca and NFG’s midstream sector. We learned that the company has been retained to build a 7-mile pipeline expansion off the company’s Line N system in Western PA, called the Shippingport Lateral Project, to feed natural gas to the Shippingport Power Station, announced in July (see 
Back in March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shell is “exploring a potential sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and the U.S.,” which includes the recently completed Monaca (Beaver County, PA) ethane cracker complex (see 
Data centers are all the rage these days. It seems like a new data center is announced weekly somewhere in the Eastern U.S. Ohio has its fair share of them coming to the Buckeye State (
Glenfarne’s Texas LNG facility in Brownsville, Texas, will have the capacity to export 4 MTPA. EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica, signed two agreements with Glenfarne to liquefy 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) of EQT-extracted shale gas at the facility when it’s built (see 
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will delay the implementation of new limits on methane emissions from oil and gas development by an extra 18 months, until January 22, 2027. The Trump EPA is considering scrapping the onerous regs altogether. The regulations were cooked up during the terror reign of President Autopen. Big Green, which loved the Autopen years, filed a lawsuit challenging the delay. No surprise there. 
For the week of July 21 – 27, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica decreased from the previous week. There were 14 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, three fewer than the 17 issued two weeks ago. The Keystone State (PA) issued 13 new permits. Expand Energy received seven new permits, spread across two pads in Wyoming County. EQT received four new permits for a single pad in Lycoming County. Formentera Operations received a single permit in Lycoming County. Rounding out PA, Coterra Energy received a single permit in Susquehanna County. 
Antero Resources, which is 100% focused on the Marcellus/Utica with over 500,000 net acres under lease (and the largest M-U driller in West Virginia), issued its second quarter 2025 update yesterday. The company reports net production in 2Q25 averaged 3.43 Bcfe/d, up ever-so-slightly from 3.42 Bcfe/d in 2Q24. Natural gas production averaged 2.23 Bcf/d, a 4% increase from the same period in 2023. Liquids (NGLs & oil) production averaged 200 MBbl/d, a 6% decrease from the year-ago period. A little less liquids, a little more gas. Antero achieved a net income of $157 million and adjusted net income of $110 million. Free Cash Flow was $262 million. For the full year, Antero increased production guidance to 3.4 to 3.45 Bcfe/d, driven by strong well performance.