M-U the #1 Gas-Producing Play in 2025; But Permian is Catching Up
In 2025, U.S. marketed natural gas production reached a record average of 118.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). This growth was largely driven by a 60% increase in Henry Hub spot prices, which averaged $3.52/MMBtu. The Appalachia (Marcellus/Utica), Permian, and Haynesville regions collectively accounted for 67% of total production and 81% of the annual increase. Appalachia remained the top producer, aided by the new Mountain Valley Pipeline, accounting for 31% (36.6 Bcf/d) of marketed natural gas production. However, the Permian is nipping at our heels. Read More “M-U the #1 Gas-Producing Play in 2025; But Permian is Catching Up”
Students at Allderdice High School launched the Dice Well Done Club to combat mythical climate change by plugging abandoned oil and gas wells. Led by junior Lucy Hurowitz, the group partners with the Well Done Foundation to address methane leaks, which supposedly contribute to Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions. After raising $5,000 (out of $15,000 needed) in 2025 to seal a well near Erie, the club is targeting another $5,000 to raise this year for a local project. By turning student-led fundraising into tangible environmental action, these teenagers are providing a blueprint for schools nationwide to tackle the massive problem of orphaned wells. 
The INGAA Foundation’s 2025 North American Midstream Infrastructure Report highlights the critical need for over $1 trillion in natural gas pipeline and related infrastructure investments through 2052 to meet rising energy demands in the United States and Canada. Driven by increased electricity demand from data centers and growing LNG exports, the study projects a need for 37,000 miles of new transmission pipelines and 103,000 miles of gathering lines. Even under a low-carbon scenario, natural gas remains foundational. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA DEP “invests” $10M to upgrade electric grid; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: US DOE orders restart of Santa Ynez oil flows; EPA orders Colorado to increase air monitoring at 6 oil and gas sites; NATIONAL: Natural gas follows oil prices lower; Why US shale producers are not cheering $100 oil; Netflix plastics documentary admits it’s not science; U.S. natural gas production is America’s true superpower; INTERNATIONAL: Oil eases but supply fears linger; How some ships are sneaking through the Strait of Hormuz; Pakistan oil tanker transits Hormuz; Shell says global LNG demand to rise at least 54% by 2040; Canada’s second chance in the global LNG race. 
Two weeks ago, the Marcellus/Utica saw a realignment in rig counts, at least in Ohio and West Virginia. Pennsylvania kept the 20 rigs it has had since early February. Ohio lost two rigs, from 13 to 11, the fewest active rigs in the Buckeye State since last September. And West Virginia picked up one rig, from 7 to 8 rigs, for the first time since last May! Overall, the M-U region had a net loss of one rig two weeks ago, going from 40 to 39 active rigs. The same numbers for the M-U held last week—no changes. One thing we didn’t mention last week (we just noticed this week) is that, along with the change in rigs between OH and WV, came a shift in Marcellus-focused and Utica-focused rigs. The Marcellus gained one rig (now runs 27), and the Utica lost two rigs (now runs 12). 
A Connecticut Superior Court judge told a Big Green puppet group, Save the Sound, along with the colluding Town of Brookfield, that their joint lawsuit to block a compressor station expansion was the equivalent of starting the parade before the band had arrived (our words). The two groups are trying to block a permit for a compressor station in the Town of Brookfield proposed by Iroquois Gas Transmission. The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has not yet issued a final permit for the project, so there’s nothing to object to. Yet. After DEEP issues the final permit, they can come back and try again. 
In early February, MDN told you about West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 706, which proposed reducing the state’s severance tax from 5% to 3% for new natural gas and oil wells drilled after June 30, 2026, that meet specific production thresholds (see 
Can we PLEASE now put to bed the pervasive lie spread by anti-shale people that drill cuttings (the leftover rock and dirt that comes out of the ground when drilling a shale well) are somehow glow-in-the-dark radioactive and if disposed of in a landfill will cause people who live near such a landfill to die from radiation poisoning? A two-year study by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) concluded that radium levels in landfill wastewater (leachate) do NOT pose a risk to human health. 
A 39-year-old former division order analyst at Pittsburgh-based EQT has been charged with allegedly stealing approximately $215,000 from the company. Between March 2021 and October 2025, the (now) ex-employee diverted funds from “orphaned” land interest accounts (unclaimed royalties) into a bank account held by his husband. The scheme was uncovered when a supervisor noticed unauthorized payments while reviewing the employee’s work. When confronted, the employee confessed to the theft, citing significant credit card debt as his motive. While his husband has not been charged, the (now) ex-employee faces multiple counts, including theft and unlawful computer use. Approximately $101,000 has already been repaid for official company restitution purposes. 
Last summer, Venture Global announced a final investment decision (FID) for “Phase 1” of its Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG project (see 
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 21 new drilling permits last week, Mar. 2 – 8, up 10 from the 11 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 21 of the permits. Ohio issued 7. And, West Virginia issued no new permits last week. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Ascent Resources, CNX Resources, EOG Resources, EQT, Expand Energy, Range Resources, and Repsol. 
Just coming to light for us is a lawsuit filed in June 2025 seeking to hold DeepRock Disposal Solutions responsible for the $1.28 million cleanup of a 2021 environmental incident in Noble County. The incident involved fracking brine migrating from a DeepRock injection well into the inactive Gant Well, triggering a massive eruption that contaminated local waterways and killed a couple of hundred fish and salamanders (see 