Olympus, CNX Still Blocked from Using Reservoir Water for Fracking

In November, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) issued a water conservation warning asking more than 56,000 MAWC customers to conserve water due to the lack of rainfall and the low level of the Beaver Run Reservoir (see Olympus, CNX Blocked from Using Reservoir Water for Fracking). MAWC provides water to more than 122,000…

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Antero Trying to Collect $11 Million from Former Employee

Antero Resources is one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica (with major assets in West Virginia). As good and careful as companies like Antero are when hiring, sometimes there’s a rotten apple found in the barrel. Such was the case with a former employee who headed up the company’s operations in WV — where…

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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 1-7

There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the first full week of 2024 (Jan. 1-7), versus 24 permits issued for the final two weeks of last year (Dec. 18-31). Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 1 — which was to drill a Marcellus (not a Utica)…

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Haynesville & LNG the Main Driver of Chesapeake/Southwestern Deal

Even though separately (and together) Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy own MORE assets in the Marcellus/Utica than in the Haynesville shale play, the main driver to do a merger between the two companies is the Haynesville and that play’s close proximity to LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast. That is the conclusion of most…

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EQT Announces Deal to Send 66 MMcf/d to LNG Export Plant in S. Texas

Somewhat lost in yesterday’s big news of the Chesapeake/Southwestern merger (which sucked up most of the news oxygen) was an announcement by EQT Corporation, the current largest natural gas producer in the U.S. EQT unveiled a new 15-year deal with Glenfarne Energy’s Texas LNG export facility to liquefy 0.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) for…

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Olympus Makes the Case for 6-Unit Compressor Station in Penn Twp

Hyperion Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy, is seeking a special exception to a Penn Township (Westmoreland County) zoning ordinance so it can build a six-generator compressor station along Wilderness Road over the next four years. Last night, Hyperion representatives and witnesses testified at a township zoning hearing in favor of the plan. Those…

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Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger

This morning, Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company announced that the two companies agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion, or $6.69 per share, based on Chesapeake’s closing price on January 10, 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, Southwestern shareholders will receive 0.0867 shares of Chesapeake common stock for…

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Seneca Gets “A” Grade Certification for 100% of Its M-U Production

Another noteworthy achievement for Seneca Resources, the wholly-owned shale drilling subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company (NFG). All of Seneca’s natural gas production, approximately 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/d), has received an “A” letter grade under Equitable Origin’s EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development certification. In August 2022, Seneca’s production…

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PA EHB Allows Moot Challenge to Already Drilled & Fracked Wells

For years, anti-fossil fuel haters have made the same false claims: Drilling and fracking will destroy the environment, contaminate your water, make you sick, and create death and destruction everywhere it’s tried. Then, a responsible driller, like Olympus Energy, comes along and drills wells not far from the lefties in Pittsburgh, and none of those…

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Chesapeake + Southwestern Merger Would Face Regulatory Hurdles

Interest in and speculation about a potential mega-merger between Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and Southwestern Energy (SWN) continues to build. On Monday, MDN told you about a story in the Wall Street Journal citing sources who say a merger is close and could be announced this week (see Chesapeake & Southwestern Very Close to Announcing $17B…

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American Enviro. Reverse Merger w/Hospital Supply Chain Co Coming 1Q

Last October, MDN told you that American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT), based in Allentown, PA, with its fingers in several different pies, including subsidiaries in drilling, remediation, water, and more, changed its name to American Environmental Partners, Inc. (see American Energy Partners Changes Name, Swaps Enviro. for Energy). A few days later, MDN exclusively broke…

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Nick Deiuliis: Rational Thinker’s Guide to Climate Change, Part 1

We have a special treat for you today. One of our favorite Marcellus/Utica people is Nick Deiuliis, CEO of CNX Resources. Apart from the great work Nick does in leading CNX, he is also a writer and a thinker. He understands the political and philosophical issues related to energy like few others. And Nick isn’t…

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Chesapeake & Southwestern Very Close to Announcing $17B Merger

In mid-October, the rumor mill kicked into high gear with talk that Chesapeake Energy was sniffing around a merger with Southwestern Energy (see Chesapeake Energy Exploring a Merger with Southwestern Energy). Both Chesapeake and Southwestern have significant, long-time Marcellus assets (in Pennsylvania), and both have added new assets in the Louisiana Haynesville in recent years….

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EQT CEO Toby Rice: NatGas Price Below $3.50 Means Less Production

EQT CEO Toby Rice appeared on CNBC’s ‘Money Movers’ program last Friday to discuss what he expects for natural gas prices this year, what lower natural gas production means for EQT, and more. It was an interesting segment (watch it below; it is just four minutes long). Rice said, among other things, that a key…

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24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 18 – 31

We are catching up on permits issued…for the last two weeks of December. Normally we cover permits issued for a single week. This report covers permits issued for the two weeks covering Dec. 18 – 31. Perhaps it’s a good thing we’re reporting on two weeks as Ohio’s ODNR seems to have taken the last…

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