U.S. Rig Count Climbs Again – Adds 3 @ 625, M-U Adds 1 @ 41
While the rig count remains anemic, it shows signs of life. Last week, the U.S. rig count added rigs for the third week in a row. The rig count hit a new low for 2023 one month ago (see U.S. Rig Count Hits New 2023 Low – Loses 2 @ 616, M-U Even @ 40). Since then, the count has steadily added a few rigs each week and now stands at 625 active rigs as of Friday. The Marcellus/Utica gained another rig (in Pennsylvania) to hit 41 active rigs in the combined M-U.
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MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: CNX Resources names new chief legal officer; NATIONAL: Climate activists interrupt opera performance, angers audience; INTERNATIONAL: Brazil to join OPEC+; The central problem for COP28: where will money come from?
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 
Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that he will appeal a decision by the Commonwealth Court that blocks PA’s entrance into the obscene Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme (see 
Almost every major (and most minor) drillers in the Marcellus/Utica have, over the past couple of years, signed on to one or more of the responsible gas certification authorities. Just yesterday, we told you that PennEnergy Resources had its full operations certified by MiQ, the second such certification the company has sought and received (see 
Three New York City pension funds — the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System, and the Board of Education Retirement System — were sued in May by four NYC employees for breaching their fiduciary duty and divesting from fossil energy companies (see 
The American Gas Association (AGA) is a trade organization founded in 1918 that represents and advocates for local energy companies that deliver natural gas throughout the United States. With more than 200 members (BIG companies), the AGA educates the public about the importance of natural gas, supports natural gas utilities in their efforts to make their operations safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly, and serves as a resource for local, state and federal policymakers when it comes to regulating the natural gas industry. The AGA is one of the country’s premier natural gas associations. The AGA recently published an article titled “American LNG is Critical for Global Prosperity.” The article says two new U.S. LNG export terminals are due to come online in 2024: Golden Pass in Texas and Plaquemines in Louisiana.
The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 by Standard Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. In an ironic twist, the Foundation, which got its massive amount of money from oil drilling, announced on Tuesday that it aims to make its $6 billion endowment “net zero emissions by 2050.” That makes it the largest private foundation in the U.S. with such a target. How will they do it? By pressuring the money managers it works with to divest from fossil fuel companies.
New shale permits issued for Nov 20 – 26 in the Marcellus/Utica was anemic but better than the prior pathetic report of just a single new permit (see 
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently published its 2022 Oil and Gas Annual Report. This is the seventh year in a row the DEP has published the report in an interactive, electronic (i.e., online only) format. Don’t worry; we’ve made the report a convenient PDF for MDN readers. What does the 2022 report show? Permits issued went down, but the number of new wells drilled went up. The big news is that natural gas production has, for the first time, gone down year over year in the Keystone State. It is the first time natural gas production has decreased for a given year in the modern shale era in PA.
Yesterday and today, Hart Energy is hosting the 
Natural gas is coming to Lincoln and Rockcastle counties in central Kentucky. Delta Natural Gas, a local gas utility and subsidiary of PNG Companies (People’s Natural Gas), which in turn is a subsidiary of Essential Utilities, broke ground on a 22-mile pipeline to provide natgas to Lincoln and Rockcastle for both residential customers and industrial customers located in corporate parks. According to Delta, these two counties have been lobbying for natgas service for 30 years.
