A rebound in Permian oil and gas permitting, along with a lift in the Haynesville and Marcellus shales, lifted the Lower 48 count in July to a three-year high, according to state and federal data.

Permian

The “midsummer boost” compiled by Evercore ISI analysts, found that permitting overall rose by 707 month/month (m/m) and was 63% higher year-to-date. Permian permitting increased by 273 from June, up 22%. 

“July’s permitting levels increased from May 2020 (plus 25%) and 2021 (plus 81%), but were still lower from 2017 to 2018 by 22% on average,” the analyst team led by James West noted. Haynesville permitting increased by 137 m/m, or 54%, while Marcellus had 132 more permits than in June, or up 111%. Permitting in the “smaller plays” rose overall by 152, or 54% from...