Continued Concerns with Water Wells Near EQT Frac-Out in Greene Co.

In July 2022, MDN brought you news of a possible frac-out, or “inadvertent return” that happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to — places outside the borehole being drilled (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A landowner who lives near a well being…

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Profits (Earnings) for Most M-U Drillers Plunged in First Quarter

While oil-focused and large diversified drillers in the U.S. made healthy profits during the first quarter of this year (January through March), such was not the case for natural gas-focused drillers. RBN Energy tracks 43 exploration and production (E&P) companies that are publicly traded and reports of those 43 that the 16 oil-focused and 15…

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EQT & Equinor Land Swap in Pennsylvania & Ohio Now Completed

In April, EQT Corporation and Equinor (formerly known as Statoil) announced a deal to swap land in Pennsylvania and Ohio (see Equinor Swaps Acreage with EQT in PA & OH, Exits Operated US Shale). EQT filed an SEC report to announce that the deal was done as of last Friday. As we highlighted in our…

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Signs that EQT has Restored Production Previously Cut in February

The country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh and solely focused on drilling in the Marcellus/Utica, previously announced it had sliced 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of its production as of late February because of the ongoing low price of natgas (see Boom! EQT is Curtailing 1 Bcf/d of Gas…

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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 20 – 26

Two weeks ago, 16 new permits were issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica region. Last week, May 20-26, the number increased by two to 18. Two drillers tied for the top prize for most new permits. Chesapeake Energy received five new permits, all of them for drilling in Sullivan County, PA. Ascent Resources also received…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 13 – 19

Permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica continue to bounce up and down. One month ago, there were 26 new permits in the M-U for a one-week period. Three weeks ago, 16 new permits were issued. Two weeks ago, just ten new permits were issued. And last week, May 13-19, the number increased to 16, but only…

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OH Supreme Court Reverses “Drilled Too Deep” Decision TERA v Rice

Back in the summer of 2020, MDN told you about a lawsuit brought by an Ohio rights owner called TERA, an organization that owns the royalty rights for a number of leases with wells in Belmont County, OH, drilled by different producers, suing the producers for drilling into the Point Pleasant shale layer when the…

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EQT Merger With Equitrans Clears Important Federal Antitrust Hurdle

The merger of EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream into a single company took one giant leap forward on Wednesday when the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Act waiting period expired. In November 2018, under intense pressure from activist investors, EQT split itself into two companies: EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream (see It’s Here! EQT Midstream Division Now…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 29 – May 5

Two weeks ago, during the week of April 22 – 28, there were 26 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, for April 29 – May 5, there were just 16 new permits issued. Encino Energy was the top receiver of permits with 7 permits between two counties: Carroll and Harrison, both…

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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 22 – 28

Two weeks ago, during the week of April 15 – 21, there were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, for the week of April 22 – 28, there were 26 new permits issued. Finally! A little good news on the permit front. Snyder Brothers took the top prize with eight…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 11 – 17

There were 16 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 11 – 17, down 3 from 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Penn Production Group (PPG) and EOG Resources tied for most…

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OH Federal Judge Allows “Drilled Too Deep” Case to Proceed

Here’s a strange one we don’t quite understand. Yet. Two weeks ago we brought you the news that a jury in a federal court had decided a group of Utica shale drillers, including Rice Drilling (now EQT), Ascent Resources, XTO, and Gulfport Energy, were not guilty of “unjust enrichment” by drilling into the Point Pleasant…

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Appalachian Methane Initiative Concludes 2023 Test, Expands in 2024

In January 2023, three Marcellus/Utica companies — Chesapeake Energy, EQT, and Equitrans Midstream — launched the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI), a coalition committed to further enhancing methane monitoring throughout the Appalachia Basin and reducing methane emissions throughout the region (see EQT, Chessy, Equitrans Form M-U Methane Monitoring Club). The initial pilot campaign from 2023 is…

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Toby Rice Sounds Off at CERAWeek on Better Market for Gas Than LNG

The annual CERAWeek by S&P Global conference is happening now in Houston. Everybody who’s anybody is there. (Yes, we’re nobodies; we’re not there!) Oil and gas CEOs, politicians, regulatory agencies — they all convene in Houston to talk about energy at what is billed as “the world’s premier energy conference.” Toby Rice, CEO of EQT…

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The Main Reason EQT is Buying Back Equitrans Midstream

Yesterday, the big news broke that driller EQT Corporation is reuniting with pipeline company Equitrans Midstream (see Stop Press! EQT Buying Equitrans Midstream in All-Stock Deal). It’s not a total surprise. In February, Equitrans had telegraphed to the market that it was actively considering an offer from an unnamed buyer (see Equitrans Looking at Potential…

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