Utica Shale

The Biden administration is planning to invest $660 million to clean up orphaned natural gas and oil wells, with most of the funds earmarked for the energy producing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. The goal is for the states to receive “economic growth and revitalization,” Department of Interior (DOI) officials said. The program would…

Zefiro Methane Corp., which plugs orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in North America to create carbon credits, has pre-sold some of the portfolio to trader Mercuria Energy America LLC.  Zefiro’s current projects include plugging abandoned or orphaned wells in the Appalachian Basin and Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins. “For too long, investors have not had…

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) developers expect to have the long-delayed and oft-challenged natural gas pipeline in service by the end of this year thanks to a major assist from provisions included in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal signed by President Biden. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, negotiated between the Biden administration and lawmakers, and signed…

Williams capitalized on heightened natural gas price volatility and recorded all-time high gathering volumes during the first quarter, countering the unfavorable impacts of a harsh winter on its gathering system in the West. Management credited the success of marketing arm Sequent Energy Management LP, purchased in 2021, in optimizing the assets in its base business.…

Natural gas and oil operations in eight Ohio counties alone provided $364 million in property taxes between 2010 and 2021, with taxes in 2020 and 2021 reaching record highs. Ohio’s top ranking counties for property tax generation in 2021, the most recent year for data, were Belmont ($17.26 million), Jefferson ($11.19 million) and Monroe ($10.63…

Pennsylvania’s natural gas production declined by 5.1% in the final quarter of 2022, the largest year/year decline since monthly production data began, according to the state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO). This was the fourth consecutive quarter in which production did not increase on a yearly basis, according to the IFO’s Natural Gas Production Report compiled…

Privately-held Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC, Ohio’s largest natural gas producer, is joining its publicly-traded peers in keeping production and activity flat this year as the commodity outlook has softened. Ascent, also one of the nation’s largest private natural gas producers, is guiding for 2-2.1 Bcfe/d of production in 2023, in line with the 2.1…

EQT Corp., the largest natural gas producer in the United States, has donated production equipment to Ukraine’s largest gas producer, JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya, to restore facilities damaged in the war with Russia.  Ukrgasvydobuvannya, a unit of Naftogaz, produces 70% of Ukraine’s gas, which totals around 12.5 Bcm. “Ensuring a reliable supply of energy is a challenge,…

Range Resources Corp.’s management team on Tuesday brushed aside questions about whether they’ve discussed the possibility of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. acquiring the company after reports surfaced last week.  CEO Jeff Ventura told analysts during a call to discuss year-end financial results Tuesday that a statement Pioneer issued downplaying the reports was “good news” for…