URTeC Speakers Debate Whether U.S. Shale Industry has Peaked
At the 2026 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) conference in Houston, Texas, experts debated whether U.S. shale has “peaked.” AllianceBernstein’s Bob Brackett noted that the sector has added 10 million bbl/d of oil since 2013, with Delaware Basin wells producing 300,000 bbl in two years, but flagged stalled productivity since 2021 and stubbornly low recovery factors (meaning less than 10% of the oil in the shale is actually recovered). Chevron’s Birlie Bourgeois called for a “next chapter” via AI, better fractures, and EOR surfactants, which have boosted productivity up to 20%. Read More “URTeC Speakers Debate Whether U.S. Shale Industry has Peaked”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Patriot Rail’s Hydra expands sustainability efforts with new CNG truck; Colorado’s ‘right to natural gas’ measure submits signatures to qualify for November ballot; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures gain ahead of inventory data; Affordability in, renewables out (again); Even Einstein admitted he was wrong – we can’t expect as much from Al Gore; INTERNATIONAL: Oil falls to postwar lows; Natural gas prices set to ease as Qatar restores LNG output; Yes, China is largely responsible for rising carbon emissions. 
RBN Energy has published an excellent series of blog posts discussing pipeline projects under development within and beyond the Marcellus/Utica production area that, collectively, will enable at least a few more Bcf/d to reach customers in the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Midwest by 2030. Part 5 of RBN’s Northeast gas series (below) examines pipeline projects moving Appalachian Marcellus/Utica gas westward into Ohio, the Midwest, and to the Mid-South. 
Last week, MDN reported that the Energy Secretary of the very liberal Democrat regime that runs Massachusetts had written a letter to the New England Power Generators Association, asking power generators to get on board and support an expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission (AGT) pipeline (see 
Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) is a 55-mile, 42-inch-wide pipeline that will run through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties in North Carolina. It will provide natural gas to Duke Energy customers. Big Green sued to overturn a federal water quality permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Big Green wanted the court to block construction until the full case could be heard. In May, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) rejected arguments Big Green put forward that claimed the Army Corps’ decision was “arbitrary and capricious” and refused to block construction (see 
Just yesterday, MDN brought you the great news of the economic and jobs boom happening in Indiana County (Homer City), for a gas-fired AI data center project happening at what was Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired power plant complex (see 
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s preliminary 2026 Integrated Resource Plan calls for adding 7 to 26 GW of natural gas capacity through 2040, citing load growth—driven largely by data centers and AI—that already outpaces its reference forecast and approaches its higher-growth scenario. TVA also plans up to 5 GW of nuclear, 1-5 GW of storage, 2-5 GW of unreliable renewables, and 2-3 GW of efficiency and demand response. It recommends pursuing solar while suspending wind, extending nuclear licenses, and continuing to operate its coal fleet. 
Seneca Resources, National Fuel Gas Company’s exploration and production arm, and Evolution Well Services announced a three-year strategic agreement to deploy electric hydraulic fracturing technology (e-fracking) across Seneca’s Appalachian Basin operations, including the Marcellus and Utica shales. The companies said Evolution’s electric frac systems, in-house power generation and field-gas conditioning will use Seneca’s own responsibly sourced natural gas to power completions. This isn’t the first time Seneca has used e-fracking.
In early April, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Kosciusko Junction Pipeline Project in Mississippi (see 
Earlier this month, Homer City Generation announced the early completion of demolition and excavation work at its Indiana County, Pennsylvania, site, marking a major milestone in transforming the former coal-fired power plant into a gas-fired power plant and AI data center complex (see 
Freeport LNG has become something of a punchline for its frequent outages. Except it’s no laughing matter. Outages at Freeport have happened so frequently that we’ve lost count (
Honestly, this story is likely to spike your blood pressure the way it did ours. Breathe in, breathe out. Find your calm, center space. OK. Now you’re ready to hear about it. Foreign companies and billionaires are funneling money to American NGOs and law firms that use the money to attack (in court) fossil energy companies. If a lawsuit prevails and either a settlement or a judgment is entered, the foreigners who helped finance it receive a cut of the “profits” from the settlement. And they don’t pay taxes on their so-called profits! IT IS DISGUSTING and an outright attack on our country. AND IT MUST STOP. NOW. A group of 21 energy-related organizations has sent a letter to both the U.S. House and Senate, outlining a loophole in our laws that allows this immoral practice and urging them to fix it. Pronto. 
We purposely waited to release the permit numbers, intending to do so last Thursday, ahead of taking off on Friday. But we waited because we thought perhaps more permits would be added to the various state databases on Thursday or Friday (or maybe even Saturday). But no. The only permits we can find for the week of June 9 – 14 are two Pennsylvania permits, both in Butler County. Ohio’s ODNR has issued no new permits for two weeks in a row (are they lazy, or were there really no new permits issued?). West Virginia issued no new permits after issuing just one the prior week.