Pennsylvania natural gas production from horizontal wells totaled 1.88 Tcf or 20.6 Bcf/d in the third quarter, down 0.8% from the third quarter of 2021, according to data from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

This marks the third straight quarter in which output did not rise on a year/year (y/y) basis, DEP said, and the strongest y/y decline in quarterly production since the publishing of monthly data began in 2015.

The number of new horizontal wells spud, however, totaled 158, a 47-well increase from 3Q2021.

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“This uptick in drilling was likely in response to the dramatic increase in prices in late summer,”...