MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, May 28, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Maryland advocates call for penalties on Washington Gas; NATIONAL: Trump orders accelerated nuclear power development, innovation; Warmer weather forecasts defuse supply angst to lift natural gas futures; INTERNATIONAL: Oil slips despite easing trade tensions; India spurns carbon tax threat, promotes trade and fossil fuels; Trump’s LNG diplomacy and how Asia got caught between gas and tariffs; Nearly 60 LNG carriers stand idle. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, May 28, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
The Baker Hughes U.S. rig count dropped like a rock last week, down 10 rigs to its lowest level since November 2021. It is the first time the count has slumped for four consecutive weeks since 2024. On a happier note, the combined Marcellus/Utica count rose by two rigs to 37 active rigs. However, there was a change between the plays (and states) in the M-U. The Pennsylvania Marcellus lost one rig, now at 17 rigs, while the Ohio Utica picked up two rigs, now at 12 rigs. West Virginia remained the same with eight active rigs. 
The editors of the Pottsville, PA, Republican Herald newspaper in northeastern Pennsylvania raise an important issue that should be considered in light of the flurry of announced (and rumored) data centers planned for northeastern PA. The editors look forward to the massive economic boom such centers would create. However, as with any industry, there are drawbacks, negatives to be aware of and plan for. In the case of data centers, the lack of zoning ordinances may bite municipalities on the backside. It’s time to address these issues now, before these massive facilities are built. 
Net Power, backed by the Rice brothers (of Rice Energy and EQT fame), is on a mission to develop and deploy revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants (see 
With heavy doses of false statements littered throughout, there is (somehow) new news in a New York Times article appearing on Saturday. The article proclaims, “E.P.A. Wants to Erase Greenhouse Gas Limits on Power Plants.” The Times says it got its hands on internal documents (someone at the EPA needs to be fired) that show the agency has crafted a draft plan that says carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from power plants that burn fossil fuels “do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution” and they don’t contribute to so-called climate change because they are a small and declining share of global emissions. 
The murdering thug dictators of the OPEC+ cabal are once again showing their true colors. The last time Donald Trump was in office, OPEC+ 
For the week of May 12 – 18, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica was up five from the previous week. Last week, 31 new permits were issued in the M-U. In the Keystone State (PA), seven new permits were issued. The top permittee was Range Resources, which was issued four permits in Washington County. Seneca Resources scored two permits in two different counties: Elk and Tioga. PennEnergy Resources received a single permit in Butler County. 
Epsilon Energy issued its first quarter 2025 update last week. Epsilon, a relatively small company, used to concentrate most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells. However, over the past few years, the company has expanded into other plays and now owns assets in the Anadarko (Oklahoma and Texas), the Permian (Texas and New Mexico), and most recently, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (in Alberta, Canada). Epsilon typically does not do its own drilling. The company joint venture partners with (gives money to) other companies, like Expand Energy in the Marcellus, and the other company does the drilling. As for 1Q25, according to Jason Stabell, Epsilon’s CEO, “Our Marcellus business performed very well during the quarter, with all delayed turn-in-line wells now on production.” As a result, natural gas production was up over 50% from the previous quarter, resulting in a 200% increase in cash flow. 
In December 2022, MDN brought you the great news that Coterra Energy (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas) would be allowed to restart drilling in a nine-square-mile area in Dimock, PA (Susquehanna County) following a “no contest” plea deal with PA’s then-Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, on a misdemeanor charge (see 
According to opinion researchers at Pennsylvania’s Franklin & Marshall College, the issue of fracking has deepened the schism between Democrats and Republicans in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania’s voter registration statistics have shifted rightward (from Democrat to Republican), which has been traced to shifts in the affiliation of working-class communities, particularly those located in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the state. New research offers a more direct cause for the shift: the decline of coal mining and the rise of shale gas development. 
In January, MDN brought you the news that TECfusions, based in Tampa, Florida, had purchased 1,395 acres in Upper Burrell (Westmoreland County), PA, for a groundbreaking data center project called TECfusions Keystone Connect (see 
The Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin approved the We Energies plan to build a $1.2 billion gas-fired power plant at its Oak Creek Power Plant location (Oak Creek is a suburb of Milwaukee). Plans call for converting the facility from a coal-fired power plant to a natural gas plant that will generate 1,100 megawatts (MW) of electricity on demand (a “peaker” facility). The aim is to start the gas turbines when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. The PSC also approved a much smaller We Energies peaker plant in the Kenosha County town of Paris. 
President Donald Trump’s pro-energy policies were meant to speed the construction of the United States’ next generation of energy infrastructure, but many oil and gas pipeline operators would still rather buy than build their way to expansion due to a host of factors impeding large projects. The proposed 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from northeastern Pennsylvania into and through New York State is a perfect example. Williams canceled the project in 2020. Trump wants it revived and built. Will Williams or someone else build it? More importantly, will it get built at all?