EIA Jan. STEO Predicts HH Spot Price Avg $3.46 2026, $4.59 2027
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday. The STEO is the agency’s monthly best estimate of where energy prices and production will head over the next 12 months. The EIA published its first energy-sector forecasts through 2027. For natural gas, the EIA predicts the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub spot price to decrease about 2% to just under $3.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2026, then rise sharply in 2027 to just under $4.60/MMBtu. The reason for the sharp increase next year? Growth in demand—led by expanding LNG exports and more natural gas consumption in the electric power sector—will outpace production growth. Read More “EIA Jan. STEO Predicts HH Spot Price Avg $3.46 2026, $4.59 2027”
One of the significant stories of 2024 in the Ohio Utica was about Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry, Ohio, that processes and transports fracking waste for disposal. AMS ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The Martins Ferry facility in Belmont County, where waste is temporarily stored, had vastly exceeded its permitted limit of 600 tons (storing over 10,000 tons), resulting in a permit violation. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2024 to compel compliance and require the company to clean up the facility. After the company didn’t perform, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) stepped in to handle the cleanup (see 
In December, MDN brought you the news that Antero Resources, the country’s fifth-largest natural gas producer and largest producer in West Virginia, had cut a deal to buy WV driller and midstreamer HG Energy II for a combined (upstream & midstream) $3.9 billion (see 
In August, the parents of four children under the age of 18 (from three families) filed a lawsuit on their kids’ behalf against EQT subsidiaries EQT Production Company and EQT XL Midstream Operating, claiming that emissions from a nearby compressor station and nearby shale wells operated by EQT have led to severe health-related problems for the kids (see 
Ohio State Representatives Gary Click and Kellie Deeter have introduced legislation to establish a 13-member bipartisan Ohio Data Center Study Commission. This initiative responds to the rapid expansion of approximately 200 data centers across the state, which has sparked community concerns regarding agricultural land use, noise pollution, water consumption, and energy demands. The commission aims to provide a platform for public dialogue and develop a comprehensive report to guide future development. By evaluating these impacts, lawmakers hope to encourage smart, balanced growth that potentially prioritizes brownfield redevelopment over rural green spaces while ensuring long-term resource stability. 
MDN was among the first to tell readers that so-called environmental groups were quickly morphing from anti-fracking to anti-data center. Over the past three months, we’ve observed in various posts how opposition to data centers (from the same people who oppose fracking and shale energy) has gone from local and regional anti groups (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Gov. Shapiro, lawmakers tout benefits of PA’s natural gas impact fee; Woman arrested for incident outside Utica Shale Academy; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures sink ahead of storage report; Climate activists push insurance bills that hike costs for consumers; State of American energy 2026; Blocking the sun – the folly of solar geoengineering; When it comes to C3, think in thirds; 2026 Energy Outlook: grid strains, price pressure, geopolitical shifts; Congress can predict our energy future by creating it; Trump says tech giants must bear cost of data center electricity; INTERNATIONAL: Oil slips after Trump signals Iran de-escalation; BP sees up to $5B impairments tied to low-carbon assets. 
On August 17, Eureka Resources’ Williamsport Second Street facility (one of the three wastewater treatment plants previously operated by Eureka) leaked some of its stored untreated frack wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see 
In November of last year, both New York and New Jersey issued the required federal water permits for the Williams Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline project (see 
As we’ve often noted, the NYMEX futures price and spot (physically traded) prices often move in tandem. It’s not a direct, one-to-one relationship, but when futures prices fall, spot prices tend to fall too. Most often, the reason is the weather. However, other factors can influence regional spot prices. In the Marcellus/Utica region, pipeline constraints sometimes contribute to lower prices. If we can’t get our molecules to other markets, they pile up, and the price goes down. There seems to be some of that at play right now. 
The bidding war for Ascent Resources continues and gets more complex. Law firm Kirkland & Ellis has been drawn into a dispute between Ascent Resources investors and the private equity firm Energy & Minerals Group (EMG). Mason Capital Management is questioning Kirkland & Ellis’s role representing the Ascent board while also advising EMG in its legal fight with the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. The dispute concerns EMG’s plan to put Ascent into a “continuation vehicle,” which Mason Capital and other investors have opposed. Other companies have since jumped in to make bids to take over Ascent. 
Yesterday, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum in Columbus and voted to open another 6,570 acres of state-owned wildlife land (in Belmont and Harrison counties) to allow bids to frack under (not on top of) those areas. The Commission also awarded a contract to Grenadier Energy to drill under another wildlife area in Carroll County, 172 acres of the Leesville Wildlife Area. The state is getting an amazing $6,000 signing bonus, equaling $1.03 million, plus big royalties! 
The current (until this week) Chief Operating Officer (COO) of major Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources (a subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company) is leaving not only Seneca but also the country to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Australian driller Tamboran Resources Corporation.