EOG Grows Utica Drilling in 2025 – Will Operate 2 Rigs
EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), owns nearly a half million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica. EOG calls its position the “Ohio Utica combo play” and now considers it one of the company’s “premium plays.” EOG concentrates on oil drilling in the Utica. The company experimented with the Utica this year, however, the time for experimenting is coming to a close. During the company’s third quarter update last Friday, COO Jeff Leitzell said EOG will be “up to two full rigs and one full frac fleet by year-end” next year. Read More “EOG Grows Utica Drilling in 2025 – Will Operate 2 Rigs”
We’ve written a number of times about the Ohio Utica Shale and its beginnings with gas legend Aubrey McClendon, who, as CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was one of (if not THE) first to recognize the Utica as an oil play. However, it was a successor company, Encino Energy, that figured out how to coax large quantities of oil out of the Utica shale. Encino is one of the big success stories of drilling for oil in the Ohio Utica Shale. However, using the right tech is only part of the equation that transformed a company founded in 2017 into the #1 largest oil producer in Ohio and all of the Marcellus/Utica. 
On November 8, 2024, FMR LLC, also known as Fidelity Investments, acquired 52,419 additional shares of Range Resources Corp. (RRC)—the very first and still one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale. The acquisition increased FMR’s total holdings in the company to 27,478,205 shares, reflecting a significant commitment to Range. FMR is one of the largest shareholders of Range, now owning 11.35% of all outstanding stock. Should we be nervous? 
Last Friday (Nov. 8), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) sent a heads-up to shale drillers and other large water users in the basin to warn them to be on the lookout for a Plan B to source water. Northeastern Pennsylvania (and other states in the northeast) are experiencing drought or near-drought conditions. The streams and rivers that some drillers use to source water for drilling and fracking are getting low in some areas. The SRBC is about to clamp down and block new withdrawals until the situation improves. 
We won’t lie—we have a love/hate relationship with the American Petroleum Institute. Big Oil companies (like Exxon) control the organization (they pay big membership fees), and often, Big Oil is at odds with smaller, independent oil and gas producers like those who do most of the shale drilling. The API tends to suck up to politicians like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In remarks made yesterday, API President Mike Sommers said his organization supports (!) the massive worldwide shakedown of America called the Paris Accords (which targets HIS members for extinction). Go figure. However, the API isn’t all bad. The API released a policy roadmap yesterday for the incoming Trump administration. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Aethon explores options for $10 billion sale or IPO; NATIONAL: Exxon CEO pushes back on Trump’s anti-climate agenda; Offshore wind faces potential trump ban on day one; INTERNATIONAL: Shell wins appeal in Dutch climate suit; Climate loss and damage fund set to launch into action next year; Apache to halt North Sea oil and gas production after 2029. 
Three weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s rig count dropped to just 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see 
In August, MDN brought you up to speed on a lawsuit filed by several West Virginia landowners (turned into a class action) against Diversified Energy and EQT over EQT’s sale of 11,350 conventional wells and 2.5 million acres of leases spread across several states, including West Virginia (see 
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. During the quarter (considered the company’s fourth quarter), Seneca produced 91.9 Bcf (billion cubic feet) of natural gas, an increase of 1.8 Bcf (2%) from the prior year. Due to the sucky prices for natural gas in the Marcellus/Utica basin area, Seneca curtailed (shut-in) 1.5 Bcf during the quarter. 
In May, MDN told you that several Republican Pennsylvania State Senators were planning to introduce a bill to cut off millions of dollars in impact fee revenues to municipalities that set protective standards on the development of natural gas that “imposes a standard or condition on well development that conflicts with or exceeds those contained” in state law (see 
MDN will not publish on Monday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veteran’s Day. We thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice. They pay the price for the rest of us to live in a free society. Without Veterans, the U.S.A. would not exist. We salute you!
For the week of Oct 27 – Nov 3, there were 13 permits issued to drill Marcellus/Utica wells, down from 17 permits issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had just three new permits, one each for EQT, Range Resources, and Snyder Brothers (three different counties). The Buckeye State (OH) issued no new permits last week. The Mountain State (WV) did most of the heavy lifting by issuing 10 new permits, with most of those (seven) going to Antero Resources in Tyler County. One permit each was issued to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy), HG Energy, and Marion Natural Energy. 