Marcellus Drilling News

Erie County | Meetings | Pennsylvania

Shale Insight 2024 – All-Star Lineup of Speakers, Important Topics
September 12, 2024September 12, 2024

“We believe in using the resources we have in this basin to build a stronger tomorrow, without ignoring the critical realities of today,” said Marcellus Shale Coalition President Dave Callahan during his opening remarks at SHALE INSIGHT® last year. The MSC convenes its 14th industry-leading conference on September 24-26 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, PA. Be sure to register now, so you don’t miss hearing from the “who’s who” lineup of national energy leaders and important stakeholders! Read More “Shale Insight 2024 – All-Star Lineup of Speakers, Important Topics”
Carbon Capture | Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Appalachian Hydrogen & CCS Conf – Projects Coming in 2025
September 12, 2024September 12, 2024

As you know, last year at about this time, the Bidenistas announced seven winners of the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games contest (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). The West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), a project that will use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, was one of the seven winners (scoring $925 million). The first $30 million was recently distributed (see EQT & Others Enter “Phase 1” of Hydrogen Hub; DOE Cuts $30M Check). If you want to know more about what’s coming with ARCH2 and in the hydrogen (and carbon capture) space in general, there’s one place to be on November 7: The Appalachian Hydrogen & Carbon Capture Conference VI, being held at the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe/Pittsburgh. Read More “Appalachian Hydrogen & CCS Conf – Projects Coming in 2025”
About MDN

MDN Housekeeping – Off Friday the 13th; Recent Milestone Hit
September 12, 2024September 16, 2024

MDN will not publish on Friday, Sept. 13. Hey, it’s Friday the 13th! No, we’re not superstitious (at least too much). We do have a memory that ties in with Friday the 13th, which we share below. We’re not publishing because editor Jim Willis is taking a rare day off to spend with family. Jim’s son is taking him to a professional baseball game in Philadelphia, the Mets vs. the Phillies. Jim is a die-hard Mets fan—please don’t hold it against him!

We’d also like to take this opportunity to note a milestone: A few weeks ago, MDN passed the 28,000 posts mark. Yes, there are more than 28,000 articles available on MDN, all of them available to subscribers, spanning from January 2009 to the present. Read More “MDN Housekeeping – Off Friday the 13th; Recent Milestone Hit”
Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Sep 12, 2024
September 12, 2024September 12, 2024

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: First-responder training focusing on O&G industry available; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas LNG announces additional offtake sufficient for FID; Rising interest in Gulf Coast natural gas storage spurs a slew of projects; NATIONAL: Google locks in carbon removal at $100 a ton; Retail electricity prices closely tracked inflation over the last 10 years; Harris tells a fracking howler; INTERNATIONAL: Growing biomethane on peat emits 3X more CO2 than using natgas; GALACTIC: What’s behind the Martian methane mystery? Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Sep 12, 2024”
Antero Resources | Ascent Resources | CNX Resources | Diversified Energy | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | Equinor/Statoil | Geopetro | Gulfport Energy | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | INR/Infinity Natural Resources | Ohio | Pin Oak Energy Partners | Research | Southwestern Energy | Statewide OH

Ohio Utica 2Q24 Production – Oil Up 23%, Gas Down 4% vs Year Ago
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the second quarter of 2024 yesterday. The story the numbers tell continues to be about Utica oil, which continues to rise each quarter. Ohio’s total oil production during 2Q24 was 8.01 million barrels, up 23% from 2Q23’s 6.5 million barrels and up 11% from 1Q24’s 7.2 million barrels. The story of oil in the Buckeye State can’t be told apart from Encino Energy (EAP), which produced nearly half of all the state’s oil during 2Q24. As for natural gas production, it’s no surprise it went down slightly in 2Q24, given the current low price for gas. The state produced 526.6 Bcf in 2Q24, down 3.7% from 2Q23’s 547.0 Bcf, and down 1.4% from this year’s first quarter number of 534.0 Bcf. MDN pulled the numbers from the ODNR quarterly report and produced top 25 lists for both gas and oil wells.
Read More “Ohio Utica 2Q24 Production – Oil Up 23%, Gas Down 4% vs Year Ago”
Accidents | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania

New Freeport Residents Sue EQT for Contaminated Water in Greene Co.
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

In July 2022, MDN brought you news of a possible frac-out, or “inadvertent return” that happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to — places outside the borehole being drilled (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A landowner who lives near a well being drilled and fracked by EQT in Greene County, PA, complained her water well was fouled by EQT’s drilling and that a nearby abandoned well was releasing fluids and natural gas. According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), EQT confirmed some of its fluids were “communicating” with the abandoned well. Three area landowners who are not happy with EQT’s response to the situation two years later have launched a class action lawsuit. Read More “New Freeport Residents Sue EQT for Contaminated Water in Greene Co.”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Williams Asks FERC for Emergency Cert to Keep Transco REAE Online
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

On July 12, Williams asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to bring the final pieces of the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project online by the end of July (see Williams Asks FERC to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). On July 26, FERC granted Williams’s request to bring online the final 219 MMcf/d ahead of schedule (see FERC OKs Request to Place Balance of Transco REAE Online Early). However, on July 30, three extremely liberal judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) overturned FERC’s original approval of the $1 billion REAE project from several years ago (see DC Circuit Libs Reverse FERC Approval of Transco Northeast Expansion). Read More “Williams Asks FERC for Emergency Cert to Keep Transco REAE Online”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Sept. STEO Predicts NatGas Price to Stay Down Near $2 This Fall
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

Once a month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Starting in June, the EIA axed its monthly Drilling Productivity Report that focused on shale plays and instead rolled it into the monthly STEO (see Biden EIA Dumps Detailed Monthly U.S. Shale Drilling Report). We’re still grumbling about the change. So, what did the September 2024 STEO, issued yesterday, show? The EIA has lowered its estimation of the average price of natural gas for both this year and next. Read More “Sept. STEO Predicts NatGas Price to Stay Down Near $2 This Fall”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

The RealClear Media Group has a suite of online publications that are just terrific. Among them is RealClearEnergy. Back in June, RealClearEnergy hosted the Energy Future Forum in Washington, D.C. Among the luminaries speaking (or being interviewed) was Toby Rice, CEO of the country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation. Toby addressed the role of the U.S. in meeting “massive” demand for LNG across the planet. Toby was in his element. We’ve previously called Toby our country’s LNG evangelist. He certainly shared his zeal and vision for the role of LNG in the coming decades (and it ain’t just a “transition” fuel). Read More “Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

DOE: Biden “Pause” (Ban) on Approving LNG Exports Still in Effect
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

In January, Joementia announced he would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while his people fart around pretending to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve such projects (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). It was a purely political move aimed at currying favor with the radical left. In March, 16 state Attorneys General filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to end the pause, which is causing their states economic harm (see 16 States Sue Biden Admin Over Pause in LNG Export Approvals). On July 1, a federal judge in Louisiana agreed with the states and ordered Biden-Harris to resume issuing permits for new LNG export facilities (see Federal Judge Orders Biden DOE to Resume Issuing LNG Export Permits). In August, Biden-Harris appealed the judge’s decision, hoping to continue blocking new LNG approvals (see Bidenistas Appeal Court Decision, Seek to Continue LNG Approval Ban).
Read More “DOE: Biden “Pause” (Ban) on Approving LNG Exports Still in Effect”
Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Sep 11, 2024
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

NATIONAL: Kamala Harris won’t explain change of heart on fracking; Navigating the surplus in U.S. LPG and ethane production; Exxon CEO promises to sue more activist shareholders if they abuse proxy rules.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Sep 11, 2024”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Coterra Stops Drilling New Wells in Marcellus, Fracking Ends Soon
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

We never thought we’d see the day when we would write the headline that Coterra (nee Cabot Oil & Gas) was pulling all of its active rigs in the Marcellus in Susquehanna County, PA. But today is that day. It makes us profoundly sad (and the primary reason we opposed the merger of Cimarex and Cabot, see Markets “Baffled” by “Unexpected” Cabot Merger with Cimarex). Coterra CEO Tom Jorden was interviewed during a session last week at the Barclays 38th Annual CEO Energy-Power Conference. As part of the Q&A, Jorden confirmed (dropped the bombshell) that his company has just “released our last rig in the Marcellus.” Read More “Coterra Stops Drilling New Wells in Marcellus, Fracking Ends Soon”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Cecil Twp Hellbent to Ban New Shale Drilling via 2,500-Ft Setback
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

The Board of Supervisors for Cecil Township in Washington County, PA, caved to pressure from radical leftists and, by a vote of 3-2, instructed the town’s solicitor to prepare a new zoning ordinance that increases setbacks from “protected structures” from 500 feet to 2,500 feet (a half a mile!), and add a setback of 5,000 feet from schools and hospitals (almost a full mile!). It is a ban on new shale drilling in the township, plain and simple. In May, the supervisors favored a setback of 1,500 feet, which is still too far and onerous, but not an outright ban like 2,500 feet (see Cecil Twp Board Considers Revising Drilling Setbacks to 1,500 Feet). Something happened to tip three of the supervisors into open hostility against the Marcellus industry. We wonder what it was. Read More “Cecil Twp Hellbent to Ban New Shale Drilling via 2,500-Ft Setback”
Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Anti-Fossil Fuelers Pack Dominion Open House for Va. Gas Plant
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

Dominion Energy plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County, VA, near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes. Dominion recently changed the location of the proposed plant to occupy an old coal-fired power plant site (see Dominion Officially Changes Location of Chesterfield Peaker Plant). Even though these clean gas-fired plants will replace dirty coal-fired plants, anti-fossil fuelers, flying under the banner of Friends of Chesterfield, continue to oppose the project. Nearly 100 protesters showed up at the first of three open houses Dominion conducted last Thursday. Read More “Anti-Fossil Fuelers Pack Dominion Open House for Va. Gas Plant”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

DC Circuit Rulings are Harming the U.S. LNG Export Industry
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

The liberal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a string of rulings this year that have greatly damaged the country’s LNG export industry. Those rulings, if left unchallenged, put future LNG growth in this country in doubt. So says energy expert David Blackmon, writing for the Forbes magazine website. The D.C. Circuit has been coloring WAY outside the lines by using White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) criteria for what should be included in environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Read More “DC Circuit Rulings are Harming the U.S. LNG Export Industry”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

NYMEX HH Forward Market Signals 44% Gas Price Rise in 2025
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

The price of natural gas is the foundation for our entire industry. If the price is too low, as it is right now, drilling falls off (see today’s lead story about Coterra doing NO new drilling in the Marcellus). If there’s no (or little) new drilling, everything else suffers. Landowners’ royalty checks shrivel, oilfield services companies don’t have work and lay personnel, pipelines are used less, and new pipelines don’t get built. It all comes down to price. So, we closely monitor the price and where it’s heading. Is there a way, short of hauling out the dusty crystal ball, of knowing where the price is heading in future months, even in future years? Sort of. It’s called the forward market. Read More “NYMEX HH Forward Market Signals 44% Gas Price Rise in 2025”