DOE Pushes FERC to Adopt Rule to Quickly Connect AI Data Centers
The Trump administration wants to win the race for artificial intelligence (AI) with China. The administration is pulling out all the stops to ensure the U.S. is #1 in AI. That means building new data centers. Last Thursday, Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) Chris Wright took the unusual step of sending a directive to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), instructing the agency to initiate rulemaking procedures to rapidly accelerate the interconnection of large loads, including data centers. Wright even included his own proposed rule for FERC to adopt (spoon-fed). Read More “DOE Pushes FERC to Adopt Rule to Quickly Connect AI Data Centers”
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you the rumor that President Trump was about to appoint newly confirmed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Laura Swett as the next Chairperson of the agency (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Shell Beaver Co. cracker plant air permits extended by DEP; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Electricity prices are rising and politicians are concerned; Increasing Texas/Louisiana production to feed ever-growing list of LNG plants; Maryland’s new energy standards too expensive, business representatives say; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas ends week higher on weather outlook; How to get the renewable energy source both parties love; Oil and gas industry layoffs accelerate with lower prices; Trump admin planning to refill depleted petrol reserve Biden drained; Data centers follow fracking in search for power; The more wind and solar we add, the less they deliver; Morgan Stanley expects natural gas prices to hit $5 in 2026; INTERNATIONAL: Crude oil price pauses near two-week high; Totalitarian ‘nature rights’ legislation in U.K. House of Lords. 
For the week of October 13 – 19, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased significantly from the previous week. There were 37 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up dramatically from the 7 issued two weeks ago. We can’t remember the last time we saw 37 (or more) permits issued. It’s been a looong time (months, at least). Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits. Ohio issued 13 permits. And West Virginia, which had been skunked with no new permits for three consecutive weeks, finally woke up last week (it’s woke!), issuing 5 new permits. 
Something remarkable has happened in the Pennsylvania State Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority with 27 members and Democrats have 23 members. In an unusual act of bipartisanship, six of the Democrat Senators (26% of all PA Democrat Senators, more than one-quarter) voted with all 27 Republicans to pass a bill that would erase Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) regulations from Pennsylvania’s books. RGGI is a carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants in the state. 
We happened across a lawsuit we didn’t know about, involving an issue we’ve seen before. A landowner in Belmont County, Ohio, filed a lawsuit in June 2024 alleging that Gulfport Energy, in a joint development agreement with EQT (the lease owner), drilled three wells under the landowner’s property that tapped into the Point Pleasant formation, which sits immediately below the Utica. The landowner said the lease only allows drilling in the Utica and Marcellus and NOT in the Point Pleasant. 
In the olden days of fracking (20 years ago), drillers would drill and frack one well at a time, called a Zipper Frac. Around five years ago, in 2020, fracking two wells at a time became vogue, a technique called SimulFrac (simultaneous fracturing). Today, SimulFracs are used by all major producers, including those operating in the Marcellus/Utica. Now coming into vogue is the next evolution: TrimulFrac, or fracturing three wells simultaneously. Fracking three wells at a time requires even more sophisticated logistics, real-time monitoring, and effective equipment management. 
For years, we’ve tracked and sometimes discussed lawsuits (a better term is lawfare) from the left against fossil fuel companies. These lawsuits seek to blame oil and gas companies for causing global warming by putting “too much” carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, even though you breathe CO2 out with every breath you take, as do all mammals. The left doesn’t even care if it loses these lawsuits (although they’d love to win some of them) because the very act of forcing companies to defend themselves, and paying big money to do so, means they must raise the price of their goods, and consumers eventually pay those higher prices. A Big Green attorney working on some of these lawsuits openly admits—we’d call it bragging—that the lawsuits are a backdoor carbon tax aimed at forcing consumers to pay more. It’s SICK. 
EQT Corporation delivered its latest quarterly update yesterday for the third quarter of 2025. Like prior quarterly updates, it was jam-packed. The company, having already secured deals to supply natural gas to two of Pennsylvania’s biggest data and AI center projects, anticipates winning even more agreements in the coming months and years. During the earnings call, CEO Toby Rice said, “Strategically, when we look at what we’re doing, it’s really simple: getting access to the best markets and supplying the best energy.” He added, “Our execution machine is firing on all cylinders.” 
Williams engaged in some LNG jiu-jitsu yesterday, announcing several transactions related to LNG exports. It’s somewhat complicated, but we’ll break it down. First, Williams sold its interest in the Haynesville’s South Mansfield upstream (drilling) venture to JERA, Japan’s top power generator, for $398 million. Williams will continue to operate the gathering system for the South Mansfield wells. Second, Williams is buying 80% (becoming the operator) of the Driftwood Pipeline LLC, which includes the construction of Line 200, a fully permitted greenfield pipeline connecting Woodside’s Louisiana LNG facility to multiple pipelines, including Transco and Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG). Third, Williams is buying a 10% stake in the Louisiana LNG export facility. Williams will pay $378 million for the Driftwood Pipeline and the 10% stake in Louisiana LNG. However, Williams will contribute another $1.9 billion for its share of capital expenditures for the LNG facility and pipeline. Williams’ total investment will be roughly $2.3 billion. And yes, there is a connection to the Marcellus/Utica. 
In August, Marietta, OH, officials, including the city’s Republican mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas to deny a permit application from DeepRock Disposal Solutions for the Stephan #1 injection well, which would be the company’s fifth injection well in the area (see 
In October of last year, MDN told you that both EQT Corporation and Tenaska are “dipping their toes” in the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) space (see 
An article appearing in the Peekskill (NY) Herald has this headline: “Natural Gas Pipelines: A Path to Renewable Energy?” The subhead reads, “Several projects propose solutions that address the threat of statewide energy shortages in the near future.” The article highlights four active pipeline projects in the Empire State that we have covered multiple times. These pipelines would flow more Marcellus gas from Pennsylvania (perhaps beyond) into New York and New England. They include Enbridge’s Project Maple, Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE), Williams’ Constitution Pipeline, and Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Iroquois Enhancement by Compression (ExC). Where does each project stand? 