Pennsylvania’s FracTracker Alliance Seeks to Block AI Data Centers
What is it about progress and expanding the use of energy for that progress that “progressive” Democrats, like those at the FracTracker Alliance, hate so much? The same group of Dem radicals who have sought to block shale energy in the Keystone State (and beyond) for years has turned its sights on opposing new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Pennsylvania and beyond by launching an online mapping tool that shows where planned facilities will be located. Not only will data centers (and the gas-fired power plants that run them) pollute the atmosphere to be unbreathable (say the nutters), AI data centers are racist. Who knew? Read More “Pennsylvania’s FracTracker Alliance Seeks to Block AI Data Centers”
PJM Interconnection is the electrical grid operator covering Pennsylvania, along with all or parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia. For months, the Democrat governors of PJM states have been hammering PJM, blaming PJM for higher electricity prices, even though it is their own policies that are driving electricity prices higher (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Colorado is the first state to require cigarette-style health warnings on gas stoves; Nonprofits calling for end to a pipeline project projected to run from Mississippi to Georgia; NATIONAL: Natural gas futures advance a second session; Petroleum prices reacted to economic and geopolitical uncertainty in 2Q; When the climate zealotry runs hot; How the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern deal would boost petrochemicals; INTERNATIONAL: Oil declines as traders await Trump’s next move against Russia; Trump doubles tariff on India to 50%, sparking outrage in Delhi. 
Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its second quarter 2025 update yesterday. Two things stood out for us: (1) A group of Dimock wells that came online in December are superstar performers, and (2) while resurrecting the Constitution Pipeline project is “top of mind” for the company, that project is taking a back seat to another Williams pipeline project right now. 
Pipeline giant Williams issued its second quarter 2025 update yesterday. Williams is a huge company with many fingers in many pies. Of greatest concern to us are those projects that will flow Marcellus/Utica molecules. The big news of the day was that Williams has officially signed up customers for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, which triggers a series of next actions. Primarily, the company expects a reissued certificate for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). CEO Chad Zamarin answered a question about timing and stated that he expects a water permit from New York State to be issued “in the next few months.” That’s sure to spark protest from antis! Also of note: the Transco pipeline hit a new all-time flow rate on July 29 of 16.1 Bcf/d. 
Most, but not all, of the publicly traded shale drillers operating in the Marcellus/Utica region have now issued their second quarter 2025 updates. There’s a common thread (that we previously missed) running through all of them: Production is increasing in the M-U. Of all the announced additions so far, if you add them all up, it’s around 1 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of extra production. But wait! Our region is pipeline-constrained (we’re maxing out what we can flow already). So, how can drillers produce even more? 
As we mentioned in two different posts today (about the 2Q updates from Coterra and Williams), the Constitution Pipeline project is currently not a top priority for Williams. In fact, Williams’ management didn’t even mention the project during their update. Coterra management did mention it as one of the “top-of-mind” projects for them, but acknowledged that another project, the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project, is currently the focus for Williams. Coterra and Williams *might* want to talk to President Trump, because the Constitution project is a big, fat priority for him. Yesterday, Trump’s EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, published a major “we need the Constitution Pipeline and we need it now” op-ed in the Boston Globe. 
Two days ago, MDN brought you the news confirming that Shell is looking to sell all or part of its Beaver County, PA, ethane cracker plant operation (see 
Leatherstocking Gas Company, a subsidiary of Corning Energy Corporation, runs gas mains to residents and businesses in small, mainly rural communities in northeastern Pennsylvania (see 
Yesterday, the “front month” contract (for September) for the NYMEX futures natural gas price crashed down 15.1 cents to close at $2.932/MMBtu. Bummer. The $3 level is an important psychological barrier, and we just violated it. The questions, as always, are (1) why did the price go lower (what’s rattling around inside the heads of traders); and (2) where is the price likely to go next? We aim to try to answer those questions in this post. 
Last November, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking in the town via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see 
Yesterday, MDN brought you a review and summary of National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) latest quarterly update (see 
In December 2022, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), both subsidiaries of PPL Corporation, announced a plan to replace 1,500 megawatts of aging coal-fired generation (nearly one-third of Kentucky’s coal fleet) with two 645-MW natural gas combined-cycle units along with several unreliable, intermittent solar projects (see