M-U Gas to Power Huge New Delaware Technical High School Campus
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation and the Sussex County Vocational Technical School District have partnered to provide natural gas service to the new Sussex Technical High School campus in Delaware. As the state’s largest school construction project, the $249 million initiative features a 400,000-square-foot facility designed to accommodate 1,800 high school students and 3,500 adult learners. To support the modern campus, Chesapeake Utilities is constructing a four-mile extension of its natural gas main. This strategic transition from fuel oil and propane to natural gas aims to enhance operational reliability and energy efficiency, and to save the school boatloads of money when it opens in September 2027. Read More “M-U Gas to Power Huge New Delaware Technical High School Campus”
Antero Resources Corporation has reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the state of West Virginia to resolve Clean Air Act violations at 242 oil and gas facilities in West Virginia and Ohio. To address unauthorized volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, Antero will invest approximately $5.8 million in system improvements and monitoring, reducing annual emissions by over 1,100 tons. The company will also pay a $3.8 million civil penalty and spend $1.5 million to permanently plug and remediate abandoned wells in WV. Total price tag: $11.1 million. 
About six years ago, Dominion Energy announced the River Neck to Kingsburg project, a short 15-mile 16-inch natural gas transmission main line that would run in an existing right-of-way alongside another pipeline along Old River Road near Pamplico in Florence County, SC. It was supposed to be built and flowing in 2022. Dominion still hasn’t built a square inch, thanks to the lawfare launched by the anti-fossil fuelers of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Earlier this month, we told you that the South Carolina Supreme Court finally cleared the last legal roadblocks (see 
Last week, MDN told you that Maryland State Senator Kevin Harris (Democrat) had recently introduced legislation allowing Big Utilities, such as Exelon, to build and operate power-generation infrastructure using ratepayer funds. We also presented the counterargument to re-regulating what is now a deregulated power market in Maryland (see 
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, U.S. natural gas production is projected to reach record highs of 120.8 Bcf/d in 2026 and 122.3 Bcf/d in 2027. This growth is primarily driven by the Haynesville, Permian, and Appalachia (Marcellus/Utica) regions, which together account for 69% of the total forecast output. Haynesville expansion is fueled by rising prices and proximity to Gulf Coast LNG terminals, while the Permian region’s growth stems from increasing gas-to-oil ratios despite falling oil prices. Meanwhile, the M-U region will see modest gains following new pipeline capacity additions, maintaining its status as the country’s leading producer. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Ohio’s manufacturing resurgence powered by oil and natural gas industry; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Mamdani’s new Chief Climate Officer wants to make NYC a ‘better place to live’; LNG facility planned to support manufacturing growth in Valdosta-Lowndes County; New England receives another LNG import cargo as winter takes its toll; Aramco commits to 1 MMtpa for 20 years from Commonwealth LNG; NATIONAL: Potential for mild winter ahead sinks natural gas for week; Another climate pipe dream – capturing carbon out of thin air; New book ‘Climate Porn’ targets phony science; Would less competition really lead to lower electricity prices?; INTERNATIONAL: Oil posts second straight weekly drop; Some OPEC+ members see scope to resume hikes in April; Japan creates first engine to generate power via 30% hydrogen; Renewable blackouts?; We don’t need any more renewables; Naftogaz seeks USA funds to renovate destroyed plants; UK North Sea oil production plummets 77% since 2000. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 24 new drilling permits last week, Feb. 2 – 8, up 2 from the permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 10 new permits, Ohio issued 10, and West Virginia issued 4. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Arsenal Resources, Ascent Resources, Blackhill Energy, EQT, Expand Energy, and Infinity Natural Resources. 
Antero Resources, the largest Marcellus/Utica (M-U) driller in West Virginia, released its Q4 2025 update yesterday. In 2025, Antero Resources underwent a “transformational expansion” highlighted by the acquisition of HG Energy, the largest acquisition in Antero’s history, which the company closed on just last week (see 
President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the “largest deregulatory action in American history” yesterday by officially revoking the Obama EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding.” This move eliminates the legal mandate for the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. The administration claims the rollback will save taxpayers over $1.3 trillion and reduce vehicle prices by approximately $2,400 by stripping away emission standards for cars and trucks. More importantly, it takes away the left’s ability to block coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. While Trump hailed the decision as a victory for consumer choice and the economy, anti-fossil fuel fanatics vowed to challenge the repeal in court. 
Capital & Main is a left-leaning news outlet based in California. The publication has repeatedly targeted CNX Resources to smear the company and its Radical Transparency initiative. In September, we brought you Capital & Main’s latest hit piece alleging CNX’s operations are polluting and causing ill health for those who live nearby. The article also said CNX’s drilling program is anything but transparent (see 
PJM Interconnection, the electrical grid operator that covers Pennsylvania (along with all or parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia), has once again caved to the political demands of PA Gov. Josh Shapiro to artificially cap prices in its upcoming capacity auctions for the next two years. PJM caved for the July 2025 auction (see 
The Canadian province of Quebec has significant natural gas potential in the Utica and Lorraine shale formations and on the Gaspé Peninsula, yet these resources remain untapped due to politics. The left has hoodwinked residents into believing hydraulic fracturing is from Satan and that it will pollute groundwater and cause earthquakes. Quebec became the first jurisdiction to permanently ban oil and gas exploration in 2022, prioritizing climate mythology over energy development. Consequently, the province imports nearly all its supplies from Western Canada and the United States. The province’s future strategy focuses on transitioning to renewable natural gas (which emits as much CO2 when burned as shale gas) and hydrogen, while maintaining a strict moratorium on local extraction. 
Evolution Well Services, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking — using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel fuel) to power turbines to create electricity that drives fracking pumps. We’ve written about Evolution’s e-fracking work in the Marcellus/Utica for years (
Anti-fossil fuelers are raising concerns (and stoking fear with county residents) about a potential Duke Energy natural gas power plant in Davidson County, NC, after the project appeared in the company’s long-range planning documents. We first told you about this project three weeks ago (see