Marcellus Drilling News

Accidents | Energy Services | Eureka Resources | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

PA DEP Keeps a Close Eye on Leaky Eureka Wastewater Facility
August 28, 2025August 28, 2025

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 ‘Black Goop’ Spills into Susquehanna River from Closed Eureka Plant). The leak, traced to a corroded tank fitting, was discovered by fishermen. In its ongoing investigation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) detected no radiation at the facility but did find significant permit violations, including improper long-term waste storage, faulty tank alarms, and unauthorized discharges. DEP issued orders requiring immediate containment, waste removal, tank repairs, and proof of proper disposal (see PA DEP Orders Eureka Resources to Remove Waste at Williamsport Plant). Cleanup continues with multiple agencies involved. Read More “PA DEP Keeps a Close Eye on Leaky Eureka Wastewater Facility”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Aug 28, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
August 28, 2025August 28, 2025

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Governor Murphy’s green new deal exacerbates NJ energy crisis; NATIONAL: Oil settles higher as US inventories tighten; September natural gas futures find footing; Rockefeller-funded CCI driving new legal push against energy industry; NETL alloy development process supports U.S. exports of LNG; INTERNATIONAL: MSC Cruises’ first natural gas-fuelled ship loses power off coast of Italy; Global warming zealots keep the crusade going strong. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Aug 28, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Washington County (OH)

5 People Critically Injured Plugging Old Well in Ohio Wayne NF
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

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. Read More “5 People Critically Injured Plugging Old Well in Ohio Wayne NF”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

Fresh Legal Look at Ohio Royalty Post-Production Deductions
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

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 6th Circuit Upholds OH Landowner Claims Against Antero re Deductions). The case, The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corporation, was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Circuit) on April 2, 2025. The case involves a dispute between a certified class of 370 Ohio landowners and Antero. According to a law firm writing about the decision, “This case is more than just a win for those plaintiffs. It sets the stage for future mineral owners in their efforts to fight royalty deductions by clarifying a commonly used oil and gas lease provision.” Read More “Fresh Legal Look at Ohio Royalty Post-Production Deductions”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues

S. Korea Building 2 Jones Act LNG Carriers at Philly Shipyard
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

A Hanwha-built LNG carrier at sea, equipped with advanced propulsion technology

Donald Trump, the dealmaker, has been hard at work attempting to restore balance to our trade with other countries. One of the countries with a significant imbalance in trade with the U.S. is South Korea. To avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs (and wrath), South Korea’s business lobby group announced yesterday that South Korean companies would invest $150 billion (a staggering number) in areas such as artificial intelligence, chips, biotechnology, shipbuilding, and nuclear power. While no specific breakdown or timeframe for the investments was announced, we are aware of one of the investments. Hanwha Group announced a $5 billion infrastructure plan for the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, where the company will complete (we hesitate to say “build”) two new LNG export ships that are U.S. Jones Act compliant. Read More “S. Korea Building 2 Jones Act LNG Carriers at Philly Shipyard”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Rep. Wants More Drilling on State Land to Replace School Tax
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

PA State Rep. Jason Ortitay

Just because something has been done for decades and decades doesn’t mean it can’t change. Case in point: Pennsylvania Republican State Representative Jason Ortitay is proposing a new bill for the Keystone State that establishes the Pennsylvania Education Endowment Fund, utilizing expanded natural gas drilling on state lands and other innovative revenue sources to replace all the money taxpayers currently pay ($16 billion) to support public schools. Brilliant! Read More “PA Rep. Wants More Drilling on State Land to Replace School Tax”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Produces More Carbon-Free Power Than Any RGGI State
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

It’s hard to believe we’re still talking about (and waiting for) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to weigh in on whether or not it was legal for former Governor Tom Wolf to unilaterally sentence all Pennsylvanians to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme—with no vote by the legislature. The Supremes collected briefs on RGGI a whole year ago (see PA Supreme Court Lib Dems Collecting Briefs on RGGI Carbon Tax). And still no decision. When the state constitution is followed, it gives ONLY the legislature the right to impose new taxes on the citizenry. Wolf ignored that law and decided to do it himself. Calling RGGI a “fee” instead of a “tax” doesn’t change the fact that it’s a tax. Read More “PA Produces More Carbon-Free Power Than Any RGGI State”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FERC Grants Texas LNG Brownsville Extra 5 Years to Come Online
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

Glenfarne’s Texas LNG facility in Brownsville, Texas, will have the capacity to export 4 MTPA. EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica, signed two agreements with Glenfarne to liquefy 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) of EQT-extracted shale gas at the facility when it’s built (see EQT Signs Contract to Ship 264 MMcf/d to LNG Export Plant in Texas). That works out to be roughly 264 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of EQT’s M-U molecules hitching a ride to South Texas. The Texas LNG facility cleared a legal hurdle a month ago when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a court-ordered revised environmental impact statement (see Texas LNG Brownsville Receives Positive Final FERC Enviro Review). FERC is back with two more green lights for the Texas LNG project… Read More “FERC Grants Texas LNG Brownsville Extra 5 Years to Come Online”
Best of the Rest

MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Aug 27, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Commonwealth LNG orders BH compressors to power next-gen LNG export facility; JEA Board approves plan to build natural gas plant to meet future energy needs; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures mixed in choppy session; Oil price settles lower after rally; The U.S. now exports 30% of the energy it produces; Drilling improvements allow oil, gas production to rise as rig count falls; U.S. and Canadian markets ‘completely and inextricably intertwined’; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC+ may unwind 1.65mm bpd of cuts at next meeting, analyst warns; Japan’s utilities cut fossil fuel electricity share to new lows; Britain’s net-zero scheme is being derailed by opposition to solar and wind projects. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Aug 27, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
Carroll County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio

OH Rights Owner Wins Case Against Encino re Post-Production Deductions
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

Another important lawsuit involving whether or not a driller can deduct from royalty checks for post-production expenses was just decided by the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Seventh District in Carroll County. The rights owner in this case, Gateway Royalty II, sued Encino Energy (EAP Ohio) over the issue of deducting post-production expenses from the company’s overriding royalty interests. This is slightly different from the usual post-production issue for landowners/rights owners. Read More “OH Rights Owner Wins Case Against Encino re Post-Production Deductions”
DeepRock Disposal | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater

Marietta, OH Officials Ask ODNR to Deny Permit for Injection Well
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

The war of words continues. Two weeks ago, a county Republican meeting in Washington County, Ohio, where the City of Marietta is located, turned into a shouting match over a potential fifth shale wastewater injection well proposed by DeepRock Disposal Solutions (see OH Republican Officials Squabble in Public Over Injection Wells). The open hostility continues with Marietta officials, including the city’s mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asking the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas Chief Eric Vendel to deny a permit application from DeepRock for the Stephan #1 injection well. Read More “Marietta, OH Officials Ask ODNR to Deny Permit for Injection Well”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Oil & Gas Production Up, $$ from Severance, Property Tax Up Too
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

West Virginia’s oil, gas, and coal industries are experiencing a resurgence, fueled by supportive state and federal policies. Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) President Charlie Burd reports that Fiscal Year FY25 severance tax collections rose to $318 million, alongside record natural gas production, 90% of which is exported out of the state. Property taxes levied on oil and gas in the state were $428 million for FY24 (the 2025 numbers are not out yet). Burd said the O&G industry continues to directly employ around 15,000 people. Read More “WV Oil & Gas Production Up, $$ from Severance, Property Tax Up Too”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia

Virginia SCC Hits Pause on VNG Proposed Compressor in Chesapeake
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

Despite a “public outcry” (of 13 people), the Chesapeake City (Virginia) Council voted 6-3 in July to approve a compressor station for Virginia Natural Gas (see Chesapeake City Council Approves Va. NatGas Compressor Station). The proposed site is already zoned industrial and has other VNG operations already in place. It’s not like it’s being constructed in the middle of a neighborhood. However, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has hit the pause button on the project to give it extra time to sift through the barrage of incoming lies that this compressor station is racist. Read More “Virginia SCC Hits Pause on VNG Proposed Compressor in Chesapeake”
CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

CNX Extends E-Fracking Contract with Evolution Another 32 Months
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

In 2018, CNX Resources announced it had signed a long-term contract with Evolution Well Services to use Evolution’s 100% natural gas-fueled electric pressure pumping equipment (see CNX Signs Deal with Evolution to Use 100% Electric Fracking Fleet). That is, CNX would use electric fracking equipment, with the electricity generated by burning natural gas, instead of diesel. In May 2019, the e-fracking fleet for CNX spun up and began operating in Greene County, PA (see CNX Operates SWPA’s Sole 100% All-Electric Fracking Unit). In 2022, CNX announced it had signed a four-year extension with Evolution to keep on e-fracking (see CNX Extends E-Fracking Contract with Evolution Another 4 Years). And now, CNX and Evolution have signed another extension, adding another 32 months to the deal, meaning the two will have worked together for a full decade. Read More “CNX Extends E-Fracking Contract with Evolution Another 32 Months”
Encino Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | MarkWest Energy

Ray Walker, Former Encino Energy COO, Joins MPLX Board of Directors
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

Ray Walker

Ray Walker is a legend in the Marcellus/Utica industry. He worked from 2006 to 2018 as Executive Vice President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) at Range Resources. You may recall that Range was the very first driller to sink a successful Marcellus Shale well in 2004. Ray joined Range not long after the first well and was responsible for growing Range’s Marcellus program. In 2018, Ray joined Encino Energy as that company’s COO, helping Encino figure out how to crack the oil code in the Ohio Utica (see Oil Prod. in Northern Utica Comes Alive – Encino Cracks Oil Code). Ray moved on from Encino after EOG Resources acquired the company (see EOG Closes on $5.6B Purchase of Encino Assets in Ohio Utica). Read More “Ray Walker, Former Encino Energy COO, Joins MPLX Board of Directors”
Industrywide Issues | Research

EIA Predicts Record High U.S. Natural Gas Consumption in 2025
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a blog post yesterday to proclaim that it expects record-high natural gas consumption this year, 2025. The EIA forecasts natural gas consumption in the U.S. will increase 1% to set a record of 91.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2025. In the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA predicts natural gas consumption to increase across all sectors *except* for electric power, which had been the source of most natural gas consumption growth in the previous decade. Say what? Read More “EIA Predicts Record High U.S. Natural Gas Consumption in 2025”