The Marcellus Shale | September 2021
Field Overview
The Marcellus Shale is the largest gas play onshore in the US. Located in the Northeast, it supplies the high-demand markets along the East Coast. Most of the basin’s gas is produced through unconventional methods, while the little oil produced is mostly by conventional means. Some of the top formations include the Onondaga and the Huntersville.
State Drilling Statistics
Active Drilling Rigs in Basin- 26
Total Rigs in Pennsylvania- 18
Total Rigs in United States- 528
Total U.S. Rigs up 98% YTD
State Permitting Data
Permits Approved (PA) – 126
Marcellus Top Producers
Top Producer By BOE – EQT
Basin Highlights
PennEast Kills its $1.1 Billion Natural Gas Pipeline Project
PennEast Pipeline announced that it would halt construction of the natural gas pipeline it planned to build from Pennsylvania to New Jersey due to a lack of licenses. Despite receiving federal authority to build the pipe in 2018, PennEast claims it has yet to secure some licenses, including the New Jersey water quality certification. Several gas pipeline projects in the United States’ Northeast have been stalled by state authorities in recent years. Williams Cos. Inc’s Northeast Supply Enhancement from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and New York, as well as Constitution from Pennsylvania to New York, are some of the others.
Rockdale Marcellus Files for Chapter 11 Protection
In the Western District of Pennsylvania, Rockdale Marcellus LLC filed voluntary applications for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. In 2017, Rockdale Marcellus LLC was founded with the purchase of Shell’s operational Marcellus holdings in Pennsylvania’s Tioga, Lycoming, and Bradford counties. EOG Resources’ Marcellus holdings were purchased by the business in 2020. Rockdale Marcellus owns and operates 66 producing wells on a 48,000 gross acre contiguous land position with a 100% working interest. As of March 2021, the company’s total production was 110 MMcf/d.
Cabot, Cimarex Shareholders Approve Merger to Create US Shale Giant
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Cimarex Energy Co. shareholders agreed to merge, creating one of the major oil and gas businesses in the United States. Unlike most previous oil and gas acquisitions, which have been between businesses with overlapping footprints, the merger brings together Cabot’s gas-rich Marcellus shale properties in the United States northeast and Cimarex’s oil-heavy acres in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The corporations estimated the merged entity’s enterprise value to be around $17 billion in May. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the deal is scheduled to close.
Operators with Most Permits in PA
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Pennhills Resources | 19 |
| 2 | Cabot | 16 |
| 3 | Pennenergy Resources | 12 |
| 4 | CNX | 11 |
| 5 | Cameron Energy | 8 |
Top Producers By Gas
| Rank | Company | Gas Production (mmscf) (7/21) |
| 1 | EQT | 871.4 |
| 2 | Chesapeake | 686.8 |
| 3 | Cabot | 561.4 |
| 4 | Southwestern Energy | 525.4 |
| 5 | Antero Resources | 504.8 |
Rig Count
PA Oil Production
PA Natural Gas Production
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