EQT Gets Bigger AND Better, Learns from the Companies It Buys
On Oct. 1, 2024, Chesapeake Energy announced that its buyout of and merger with Southwestern Energy in a $7.4 billion deal had been completed (see Chesapeake & Southwestern Complete Merger; Now #1 U.S. Gas Driller). The newly merged company was renamed Expand Energy Corporation and instantly became the country’s leading producer of natural gas, surpassing EQT Corporation. The big difference is that Expand’s production comes from both the Marcellus/Utica *and* the Haynesville, whereas EQT’s production is 100% from the M-U. Expand should be looking over its shoulder, because EQT continues to buy and merge with other regional M-U companies and is now within 1 Bcf of overtaking Expand to regain the crown of leading gas producer. Read More “EQT Gets Bigger AND Better, Learns from the Companies It Buys”
Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (Warren Buffett’s company), filed a new project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July (see 
In August 2025, the United States achieved a brand new record high in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, exporting 9.33 million metric tons—surpassing April’s previous record of 9.25 million and July’s 9.1 million—as plants returned from maintenance and Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility expanded output. Plaquemines, a 27.2 MTPA plant that began operations in December 2024, contributed 1.6 million tons, or 17% of the total, and is expected to be fully operational in September. Europe took 6.16 million tons (66%, up from 58% in July) amid lower storage levels, while exports to Asia fell to 1.47 million tons. Egypt imported 0.57 million tons, and Latin America’s imports dropped to 0.69 million tons, with 0.37 million tons unallocated. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Ten counties in the Permian Basin account for 93% of U.S. oil production growth since 2020; NATIONAL: WTI posts biggest gain since July; Hexagon receives wave of orders for natgas heavy-duty trucks; Where will USA oil production come from in 2025?; The challenges of achieving a 100% renewable electricity system in the U.S.; When Washington gets out of the way – energy workers deliver results; Failures of the renewables transition era are insults to taxpayers; Big Tech is overloading the grid – nuclear, natgas, and coal can save it; INTERNATIONAL: Rich nations have a cleaner better environment; Indian oil minister denies country is profiteering from Russian imports; The climate activist case for continued drilling for fossil fuels; Ontarians leery as province proposes legislation to allow underground CO2 storage; OPEC+ in process of retaking market share. 
Two weeks ago, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count resumed a downward trend, which continued last week. The count lost another two rigs to end the week at 536. The count has been down (bleeding) 16 of the last 18 weeks. Fortunately, the Marcellus/Utica count has remained constant for the past six weeks, at a combined 36 active rigs. PA operated 18 active rigs. OH ran 11 rigs. And WV operated 7 rigs. Twenty-four rigs targeted the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeted the Utica last week. The overall downward trend in the national count is due to a slowdown in oil-focused drilling, although last week’s figures reversed this trend. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 412 last week, while gas rigs fell by three to 119. 
Wow! Here’s a bombshell rumor. Antero Resources, the country’s fifth-largest natural gas producer and largest producer in West Virginia, is preparing to market its Ohio Utica assets, hoping to fetch $900 million to $1 billion. That’s according to an exclusive report by Hart Energy, which spoke to “multiple sources” who requested anonymity. Antero owns 82,000 acres of leases in the Utica/Point Pleasant shale of eastern Ohio, in “the most prolific part of the play,” according to the company’s website. 
Some interesting comments about the “deep” Utica Shale in Pennsylvania were made during last week’s Hart Energy DUG Appalachia event, held in Pittsburgh. Including this one, from Mike Hillebrand, CEO of Huntley & Huntley: “The deep Utica, watch out folks. The deep Utica will probably be the next up-and-coming deep shale play here in Pennsylvania.” Hillebrand also broke some big news by announcing Huntley & Huntley, which recently completed the sale of its Olympus Energy subsidiary to EQT for $1.8 billion, is working on its next startup, which will focus on “deep Utica and Tier II Marcellus.” 
In early 2024, we reported that Penn America Energy CEO Franc James, the potential builder of the proposed Penn LNG export facility in the Philadelphia area, said that he “pumped the brakes” on the project but that it wasn’t dead yet (see 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The two NY compressor expansions include one in Dover and one in Athens. The CT compressor expansion is located in Brookfield. Another CT compressor will get minor upgrades (gas cooling, no extra compression) in Milford. The NY DEC approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million contribution to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see 
In December 2020, Dan Rice IV, former CEO of Rice Energy and member of the EQT board of directors, launched a “blank check” acquisition firm, called Rice Acquisition Corp. I (RAC I), to invest in various energy ventures. Dan found something to invest in just a few months later, in the form of acquiring and merging Archaea Energy and Aria Energy into a single company focused on providing renewable natural gas (RNG) and “green” hydrogen (see 
New life is being breathed into old, shuttered coal-fired power plants. That’s the focus of an article appearing on the Fortune magazine website. The poster child for converting old coal-fired plants is none other than the former Homer City Generating Station in Indiana County, PA. It will be transformed into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). The new gas-fired plant in Homer City will be THE LARGEST gas-fired power plant in the country, capable of producing up to 4.5 gigawatts (4,500 MW) of electricity (see 
Happy Labor Day to those in the U.S. Labor Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the U.S. It’s also the unofficial end of summertime. Enjoy this day by doing fun things, having picnics, and spending time with family. MDN is off today. We will return tomorrow to catch you up on all the latest happenings in the Marcellus/Utica. – Jim Willis, Editor
For the week of August 18 – 24, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica nearly doubled from the previous week. There were 30 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, a significant increase from the 16 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued the lion’s share with 14 new permits. Six of PA’s permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Four permits were issued to Expand Energy for a pad in Bradford County. Three permits were awarded to Sabre Energy for a pad in Sullivan County. And a single permit was issued to Range Resources in Beaver County. 
We finally have some good news to report regarding the NYMEX futures price of natural gas. The price briefly flirted with $3.00 before closing at $2.94 yesterday. However, the cash (spot) price for gas sold at trading hubs around the Marcellus/Utica region didn’t fare so well. We’ll get to that. The NYMEX price went higher due to a lower-than-expected storage build and strong demand from LNG exports. An analyst interviewed by Reuters said the price moved higher because storage numbers were “a little tighter than estimates, which has sparked some short-covering.” The NYMEX has moved up for the last three trading days, up 24.80 cents (9.20%). The $3 level is an important psychological price point.