MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Feb 23, 2026
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pittsburgh region should make way for more data centers; Residents call for protections against proposed data centers in WV; Applications for Ohio oil and gas scholarship program open; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas gains ahead of chilly weekend; New U.S. electric generating capacity expected to reach a record high in 2026; Blue state lawmakers risk worsening affordability crisis with environmental crime bills; Clearing up some misconceptions about the DoE report; What is the correct CO2 concentration?; INTERNATIONAL: Oil holds near six-month high; Surging oil tanker rates tipped to go even higher; UK plans to cut carbon costs for refineries after closures; India builds a fossil future one coal plant at a time. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Feb 23, 2026”
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 43 new drilling permits last week, Feb. 9 – 15, up 19 from the permits issued two weeks ago. The most recent high in permits (going back at least a year) occurred during the first week of December, when 60 new permits were issued (see 
The bidding war for Ascent Resources continues to bubble. Ascent, formerly American Energy Partners, is a privately held company focused 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The largest shareholder in the privately owned company is the private equity firm Energy & Minerals Group (EMG), with an “over 30% stake.” EMG wants to sell that stake in one of its portfolio companies to another EMG company. That action set off a firestorm with one major investor (the Abu Dhabi Investment Council) suing to block the transfer, and several other investors, including Mason Capital Management, making offers to buy the company lock, stock, and barrel. Mason issued a press release yesterday, “demanding” answers from Ascent, accusing the board of stonewalling. 
Expand Energy turned in its fourth quarter and full-year 2025 update earlier this week. The company reported a year of “phenomenal execution,” marked by a 15% reduction in Haynesville breakevens and significant debt reduction post-Southwestern merger. The company, the largest natural gas producer in the U.S., had combined (Marcellus/Utica and Haynesville) production of 7.4 Bcfe/d, up 16% from 6.4 Bcfe/d for the same period in 2024. Interim CEO Michael Wichterich said the company is making a “strategic move” to Houston (from Oklahoma City) to align with a projected 40% rise in natural gas demand over five years. 
In December, Antero Resources announced a deal to sell its Ohio Utica assets to a partnership of Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) and Infinity Natural Resources (INR) for $1.2 billion in cash (see 
Hedging is the practice of locking in a price now to sell gas you will produce in the future. We’ve written a fair bit about hedging (
One of the environmental left’s favorite tactics to defeat fossil fuel projects is to challenge every single infrastructure project (pipeline or otherwise) connected to fossil energy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As soon as a company files an application to build a new project and FERC approves it, Big Green will challenge it first at FERC and eventually in court. FERC had an internal rule, called Order No. 871, that states a company cannot begin construction (even though FERC has approved the certificate) until all such legal challenges are resolved, which can take YEARS. Which is the point—delay, and eventually, some of the projects will give up and won’t be built. Run out the clock. In October, FERC issued a new rule eliminating the Order No. 871 rule, meaning construction can now begin months and years sooner, even while appeals continue (see 
EQT Corporation delivered its latest quarterly update yesterday for the fourth quarter of 2025 (and with a look at what’s coming in 2026). CEO Toby Rice opened the earnings call by emphasizing “2025 was another stellar year for EQT, one in which we were able to clearly demonstrate the power of our platform” and highlighted the company’s focus on operational excellence, financial strength, and scale. Rice stated, “Production consistently topped expectations throughout 2025, driven by compression project outperformance and robust well productivity.” Rice continued, “Winter Storm Fern created extremely challenging weather conditions over the past several weeks, but seamless coordination between our midstream, upstream, and gas marketing teams resulted in negligible impact to EQT’s production.” EQT production for 4Q25 was 609 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent), or 6.62 Bcfe/d. 
President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt gas power plant in Ohio—funded by Japanese investment, including SoftBank—aims to address soaring energy demands from data centers (see 
Today, we revisit a topic that (at first glance) is a bit complex: a federal EPA regulation called Subpart OOOOc (“Quad O”), which addresses methane emissions from existing sources. Under the Biden administration, Quad O was twisted and used in an attempt to force oil and gas drillers, especially small conventional drillers, out of business. The policy was set, and the individual states were instructed to bring their own regulations and policies into compliance. But then the Democrats lost the White House. No worries…the Dems running the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) eagerly developed onerous regs to comply with the Biden EPA’s Quad O standards. The DEP’s regs are ready to go and could be adopted at any time. However, the Trump EPA delayed implementation of Quad O until 2027 while it works to revise or scrap it. 
Despite political rhetoric scapegoating data centers for rising electricity costs, EIA data reveals that electricity price hikes began long before the data center industry’s expansion. States with high concentrations of data centers, such as Virginia and Texas, maintain residential electric rates below the national average, while Vermont has the fewest facilities but significantly higher costs. An excellent article appearing on RealClearEnergy identifies systemic issues—including aging infrastructure and regulatory inertia—as the true drivers of rising bills. Rather than blaming data centers, the article argues for modernizing the grid and aggressively increasing energy production to meet growing demand. Technology can actually create a more efficient, lower-cost electrical system. 
Natural gas markets are currently facing significant storage deficits for the first time in a year, following the severe disruptions caused by Winter Storm Fern. Record-breaking withdrawals, including a weekly high of 360 Bcf, have pushed inventories 130 Bcf *below* the five-year average due to spiked heating demand and production freeze-offs. This supply-demand imbalance triggered a 300% surge in Henry Hub prices, which peaked at nearly $14.00. However, as production recovers and forecasts predict warmer late-February temperatures, analysts expect market volatility to stabilize and cash prices to gradually converge with front-month contracts as supply concerns ease. 
J.P. Morgan recently facilitated a $5 billion financing package for VoltaGrid, a U.S. energy company specializing in advanced natural gas and behind-the-meter microgrid solutions (think small gas-fired power generators). This funding, comprising $2 billion in senior secured notes and a $3 billion asset-based loan, supports VoltaGrid’s goal to deploy 4 gigawatts of power by 2028. These decentralized energy systems address surging electricity demands from AI and data centers by providing resilient, on-site generation that reduces grid strain. And yes, there is a connection to the Marcellus/Utica region. 
Yeah, well, you knew this was coming. Last week, President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the “largest deregulatory action in American history” by officially revoking the Obama EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” (see