DOE Orders Older Gas-Fired Power Plants Near Philly to Stay Online
The Eddystone Generating Station is a power plant owned by Constellation Energy Corporation, located in Eddystone, PA (near Philadelphia, in Delaware County). Units 3 and 4, each with 380 MW of generation capacity, can run on either natural gas or oil. The Eddystone Units were initially scheduled for retirement on May 31, 2025, but the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) stepped in and ordered both units to remain online and active due to emergency energy conditions in the PJM grid. The original order kept both units online and active an extra 90 days, until yesterday. DOE Secretary Chris Wright sent a new order to Constellation yesterday, extending the operation of the two units for an additional 90 days, until November 26. Read More “DOE Orders Older Gas-Fired Power Plants Near Philly to Stay Online”
Back in May, a prominent Wall Street fund manager (investor) was skeptical that Williams would be able to revive and build two pipeline Marcellus projects: the Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project. Then he sat down to dinner with Williams executives. He came out of that meeting with his mind changed. “I came out of that dinner pretty optimistic. I went in very skeptical. It changed my mind.” If you had any reservations that maybe, just maybe, antis would once again defeat these two projects, set your mind at rest. People with significant financial stakes don’t invest their money in ventures that aren’t a sure thing. That’s our takeaway. 
Over the past year, gas utilities have increasingly targeted data centers as customers for on-site power generation, driven by rising demand from hyperscale, leased, and crypto-mining facilities, particularly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Companies, including Atmos Energy, Chesapeake Utilities, National Fuel Gas, and Enbridge, have signed agreements to supply gas or build pipelines to co-located gas-fired or converted coal-to-gas plants. Utilities view medium-sized data centers as a “sweet spot,” but face hurdles such as limited pipeline capacity, equipment backlogs, and coordination challenges across the gas value chain. Smaller turbines and fuel cells are increasingly used, though supply constraints remain a concern. 
ExxonMobil issued its annual Energy Outlook yesterday, a report that peers into the crystal ball to predict where the energy sector is headed from now until 2050. The company bets its future on what it thinks will happen. In this latest report, Exxon projects that global natural gas demand will rise by over 20% by 2050, as it replaces coal in industry and meets growing electricity needs in developing countries. Based on that view, the company plans to grow its production by 18% over the next five years. Exxon predicts that global oil demand will plateau after 2030, although it is expected to remain above 100 million barrels per day. The crystal ball suggests that gasoline demand will drop 25% due to the rise of electric vehicles (we beg to differ). However, demand for distillates for transportation is expected to remain strong. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Republicans speak out in opposition of New York’s incoming natural gas ban; Safety inspectors charged with faking gas pipeline checks throughout NYC, Westchester; NATIONAL: Oil climbs as peace talk prospects fade; Pressure heats up on the climate lawfare’s favorite group; Climate inquisition silenced a generation of scientists; School districts revert to diesel because Biden’s electric buses can’t be repaired; U.S. E&P earnings resume slide in Q2 2025 after promising start to year; INTERNATIONAL: Alberta to impose 2 percent levy on hardware at data centers; USA-sanctioned Russian LNG lands in China for 1st time; Europe gas markets escape hectic LNG summer storage race. 
This is a “man bites dog” kind of story. EQT Corporation, now the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (not far behind Expand Energy), has been pushing LNG (liquefied natural gas) for years. Since 2022, we’ve called EQT CEO Toby Rice the “apostle of LNG,” spreading the LNG gospel far and wide in an effort to expand U.S. LNG exports (see 
MDN previously brought you the news that Infinity Natural Resources (INR) CEO Zack Arnold was interested in “lower level” deals to buy Utica Shale assets situated near INR’s existing leasehold positions (see 
Data center projects are sprouting like dandelions in Pennsylvania. Along with these data centers come work and business opportunities for the oil and gas industry and related industries, such as utilities. Here’s an example. Essential Utilities yesterday announced its subsidiaries will invest $26 million in a major data center project in Greene County, PA. Essential is one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater, and natural gas providers in the U.S., serving approximately 5 million people across 9 states under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Both brands are involved in this announcement. 
Just coming to light for us: Freeport Township, located in Greene County, PA, declared a Disaster Emergency on June 23, 2025. The emergency is related to a “frac-out” at an EQT well that happened three years ago, in July 2022 (see 
In mid-August, a spill at Eureka Resources’ Williamsport facility released about 16,000 gallons of oil-based wastewater, with some entering Grafius Run and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (see 
A crew from Monroe Drilling Operations, LLC, was working on an abandoned well located in Wayne National Forest (in Washington County, OH) on Monday morning when natural gas and crude oil traveled up through the well to the surface and ignited, causing an explosion. In addition to the five members of Monroe Drilling, a mineral resources inspector from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) was also on-site. All six people on-site were injured by the blast, with five of the six “critically injured.” Please offer a prayer for those who were injured. 
Back in April, MDN brought you news about an important decision issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that potentially affects landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica (see 
