West Virginia

M-U Rigs Steady @ 35; National Rig Count Drops Another Rig @ 582

The Baker Hughes national rig count dropped another rig last week and now sits at 582. The national count continues to be rangebound between 581 and 589 since June. Slicing the national count slightly differently—by oil-focused vs. gas-focused rigs—oil rigs fell by two to 477 last week, their lowest since July, while gas rigs rose…

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EPA Set to Bestow WV with CO2 (Class VI) Injection Well Primacy

A key issue has come about with the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification…

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M-U Rigs Steady @ 35; National Rig Count Drops One Rig @ 583

The rig count in the Marcellus/Utica appears to have stabilized, and that’s a good thing. For a while, it was in freefall, at least in Pennsylvania. In October, Pennsylvania’s rig count dropped to just 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low;…

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Closed Fairmont, WV Wastewater Plant Not Cleaned Up 1.5 Years Later

On May 30, 2023, a fire and subsequent explosion damaged an above-ground storage tank and the upper process building at the already-closed Fairmont Brine Processing plant in Fairmont, WV (see Unrelated Explosions at OH Utica Well Pad, WV Brine Plant). Following the fire, elevated readings of TENORM radiation were found in several areas of the…

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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 11 – 17

For the week of Nov 11 – 17, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica were strong, with 30 new permits issued, down just slightly from the 34 issued the prior week (but way up from the piddly numbers issued in prior weeks). The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits, with seven going to Range Resources,…

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When Will the M-U Get Another New Greenfield Pipeline Project?

Environmental wackos have made building a new natural gas pipeline anywhere in the northeast (or southeast) such a heinously nasty experience with multiple and repeated regulatory challenges and a blizzard of lawsuits that nobody has ventured to propose a new “greenfield” (brand new from scratch) pipeline since Mountain Valley Pipeline, which took a decade to…

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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 4 – 10

For the week of Nov 4 – 10, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica came roaring back with a total of 34 permits issued (up from 13 issued the prior week). There were some VERY interesting things to note about some of the permits issued. The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits, with five going…

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PA Re-Adds a Rig to 14; National Rig Count Even 3rd Week @ 585

Three weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s rig count dropped to just 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low; National Rig Count Even @ 585). Two weeks ago, PA picked up a rig, returning to 13 active rigs. Last week, Baker Hughes reported PA…

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EQT, Diversified Settle WV Class Action Lawsuit re Old Wells

In August, MDN brought you up to speed on a lawsuit filed by several West Virginia landowners (turned into a class action) against Diversified Energy and EQT over EQT’s sale of 11,350 conventional wells and 2.5 million acres of leases spread across several states, including West Virginia (see WV Landowner Lawsuit Against EQT, Diversified re…

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13 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 28 – Nov 3

For the week of Oct 27 – Nov 3, there were 13 permits issued to drill Marcellus/Utica wells, down from 17 permits issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had just three new permits, one each for EQT, Range Resources, and Snyder Brothers (three different counties). The Buckeye State (OH) issued no new permits…

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DT Midstream Expanding Marcellus Gathering Pipe Connection to MVP

DT Midstream (DTM), headquartered in Detroit, owns major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region and other regions like the Haynesville. DTM issued its third quarter 2024 update last week. Of high interest to us was the announcement that DTM is upsizing a previously announced project to connect its Stonewall Gathering System to Equitrans Midstream’s (now EQT)…

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PA Drops Another Rig to 17-Year Low; National Rig Count Even @ 585

The realignment we spoke of several weeks ago about Pennsylvania losing rigs to its neighbors has deepened. Last week, PA lost another rig, going from 13 rigs down to 12 rigs, while Ohio picked up one rig and now has 10 active rigs. West Virginia also operated 10 rigs last week. Just two months ago…

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Hope Gas Gets Ready to Roll Out WATT Fuel Cells to WV Customers

WATT fuel cell A fuel cell manufacturer located in Westmoreland County, PA — WATT Fuel Cell — manufactures Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (“SOFC”) stacks and systems that operate on common, readily available fuels such as natural gas and propane. Instead of burning and combusting natural gas (or propane), those fuel sources are subjected to an…

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