22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 9 – 15

For the week of Dec 9 – 15, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica remained healthy. There were 22 new permits issued last week, down just a bit from the 28 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued 17 new permits, with the bulk of them, 11, going to a single driller, PennEnergy Resources,…

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Details for Surface Owners re Diversified Deal to Plug Wells

In November, MDN told you that Diversified Energy and EQT Corporation had settled a class action lawsuit originally brought by several West Virginia landowners (see EQT, Diversified Settle WV Class Action Lawsuit re Old Wells). Diversified and EQT are ponying up $3.25 million each ($6.5 million total) with requirements for Diversified to plug more wells…

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Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG Still Alive – Deal w/Chevron

Just as the pandemic began to unfold in early 2020, Shell pulled out of a 50/50 joint venture partnership with Energy Transfer (ET) to build a new LNG export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana (see Shell Pulls Out of Lake Charles LNG Project, Energy Transfer Stays). Kind of a boneheaded move on Shell’s part, if…

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Ascent Resources Buying Back $25 Million of Its Own Units (Stock)

Corporations have two primary ways of enriching the owners (shareholders): issuing periodic dividends (cash payments) to shareholders or buying back shares, which reduces the number of outstanding shares, thereby increasing the value of each share (which can be sold for a higher profit). How do privately held companies like Ascent Resources make their owners/investors richer?…

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Using “Digital Twins” in Marcellus to Improve Well Performance

We have to confess this was a new one for us. We happened across a story about the use of “digital twins” in the energy space and how the use of digital twins is “transforming operations in North America.” So, what the heck is/are digital twins? According to the article, a digital twin is “a…

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Return of the Wildcatters – Utica Oil Drillers Grow Organically

Oil wildcatting is the process of drilling exploratory wells in areas with little to no history of oil and gas production. Wildcatting is a high-risk activity that involves drilling in unproven or fully depleted areas. Wildcat wells are often drilled far from other wells and without the use of well logs or other geological data….

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Infinity Natural Resources Picks Up Another 7 Banks for Utica IPO

MDN reported that in early October that Infinity Natural Resources (INR) filed an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hoping to raise $100 million (see M-U Driller Infinity Natural Resources Files for $100 Million IPO). Citigroup, Raymond James, and RBC Capital Markets were the original Big Bank underwriters. At the end of November,…

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Encino CEO Says Ohio Utica Oil Boundaries Likely to Expand

We’ve brought you the news (a number of times) of how Encino Energy was the first driller to figure out how to coax large quantities of oil from the Ohio Utica Shale (see Oil Prod. in Northern Utica Comes Alive – Encino Cracks Oil Code). According to Encino founder and CEO Hardy Murchison, the oil…

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PA DEP Fails to Followup Forest County Shale Violations for 12 Yrs

A December 11 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) inspection of a shale gas well pad and water impoundment owned by Nucomer Energy LLC in Hickory Township, Forest County, found the company still had not done final cleanup of the site more than 12 years after the wells were completed and 33 months after…

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28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 2 – 8

For the week of Dec 2 – 8, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica bounced back nicely. There were 28 new permits issued last week, more than doubling the 12 issued the week before (and matching the 28 issued three weeks ago). The Keystone State (PA) issued 18 new permits, with eight going to EQT spread…

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Northern Oil and Gas Investing $160M in Marcellus/Utica in 2025

Yesterday, Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG) announced it had entered a Joint Development Program with an unnamed Marcellus/Utica driller to invest $160 million in 2025 for new well drilling. In return, NOG will receive a 15% working interest (i.e., ownership) in the assets. NOG did not identify the driller but called it “one of…

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SRBC Approves 1 New, 3 Renewed Water Requests for Shale Drillers

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Yesterday, the SRBC board approved 14 new (or renewed) water withdrawal requests within the basin,…

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Feds & PA Soak PennEnergy with $2M Fine, $3.6M Upgrades re Emissions

PennEnergy Resources, LLC, the 11th largest shale driller in Pennsylvania, agreed to a “deal” with the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ), the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Josh Shapiro Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to pay a $2 million fine and spend another $3.6 million on “upgrades” related to air emissions at its…

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Ohio O&G Commission Approves More Fracking Under State Lands

Yesterday, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) voted to award a contract to Gulfport Energy to drill and frack under (not on) about 30 acres of the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont County. Commissioners also voted to open an additional 884 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County for…

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Details on Diversified Deal to Plug More Wells in WV, OH, PA

One month ago, we brought you the news that Diversified Energy and EQT Corporation had settled a class action lawsuit originally brought by several West Virginia landowners (see EQT, Diversified Settle WV Class Action Lawsuit re Old Wells). There is the money aspect of the lawsuit, a payout of up to $6.5 million (subject to…

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