Seneca Continues to Focus on PA Utica Wells, Adds 50 MMcf/d to Gulf
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). Yesterday, NFG issued its latest quarterly update. The company’s top brass is jazzed about the higher prices of natural gas and what it means for profitability. Production at Seneca increased by 6% over the previous quarter to 98 Bcfe as the company brought online some of its most productive pads to date. However, production was down a tad (3%) from the same period in the prior year. Read More “Seneca Continues to Focus on PA Utica Wells, Adds 50 MMcf/d to Gulf”
Pennsylvania’s do-nothing Governor, Josh Shapiro, traveled to Pittsburgh yesterday to put on another shuck-and-jive all-sizzle-no-steak show. He was there to unveil what he calls his “Lightning Plan” for energy in the state. His big plan? Reintroduce and try to bully Republicans into accepting a Marcellus-killing carbon tax and onerous regulations on emissions (called PACER, see 
In June 2019, the New York State legislature passed a horrific “energy” bill that was later signed into law by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Largest solar farm in California heading for closure after 11 years; NATIONAL: Baker Hughes announces major gas tech orders for Venture Global LNG; Senate confirms Doug Burgum to lead Interior, advances Chris Wright for Energy; Trump’s tariffs would hurt Canadian oil producers more than U.S. refiners; Trump’s decision to end Biden’s home appliance micromanagement good news; INTERNATIONAL: UK sets goal to cut CO2 emissions by 81 percent by 2035; Japan weighs Alaska LNG pipeline pledge to win Trump’s favour. 
Last fall, MDN told you about a newly formed drilling company that aims to target the Ohio Utica Shale, a company called Tiburon Oil & Gas Partners, LLC (see 
Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, issued a summary of the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 upstream M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity yesterday. Two of the top five M&A deals include deals in the Marcellus/Utica. Coming in at #3 on the list was EQT’s sale of non-operated assets to Equinor for $1.25 billion in October (see 
Natural gas-fired electric power generation has increased in Pennsylvania since 2013 as the state has shifted toward natural gas as its main fuel source for electric power generation. In October 2024, natural gas-fired generation accounted for 57% of the electricity generated in Pennsylvania, more than twice the share in October 2013 (26%). This is thanks to the miracle of Marcellus Shale and fracking. 
The environmental left is now saying that calling out the scam known as carbon credits is causing companies to stop “investing” (i.e., blowing money) on said credits, and the situation is “devastating livelihoods and communities.” It is an “existential crisis” for the NGOs. Yes, it’s our fault that scholarships, new schools, and water projects are disappearing. Cry me a river. 
There has been a shift in the ongoing war to defeat fossil energy. Have you felt it? It’s a shift in the direction of those of us who support fossil energy. Yes, the election of Donald Trump, who ran on a platform of unapologetically supporting oil and gas (and coal), and his overwhelming victory is a watershed moment in history. However, we propose that Trump’s win is a result (evidence of) and not the cause of this shift. A recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal nails the reason for the shift against radical environmentalism and in favor of fossil energy. The article begins with this lucid and insightful statement: “Momentous social movements begin to die the moment adherents figure out their leaders don’t believe what they say.” 
Last November, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see 
The PJM Interconnection electrical grid operator that covers Pennsylvania (along with all or parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia) has caved to the political demands of PA Gov. Josh Shapiro to artificially cap the prices of the next capacity auction scheduled for July 2025. It means electric ratepayers won’t see as high of an increase in their electric rates (yah!), but it also means the risk of a blackout has just gone way up (boo!). As we’ve outlined in previous posts, electric prices are soaring in PJM because of the policies of Josh Shapiro. 
Both conventional and unconventional (shale) drillers in Pennsylvania were supposed to submit a new annual report to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on December 10, 2023, detailing volatile organic compound (VOC) and methane emissions from their operations over the previous one-year period. Shortly before that deadline, the DEP suspended the due date and set a new due date of June 1, 2024 (see