Facts & Rumors # 659
October 3, 2026
Marcellus, Utica, Permian and Eagle Ford Plays
Nearly 3,000 Acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest Leased for Fracking as Legal Fight Looms. The Cool Down. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has leased nearly 3,000 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to five out-of-state oil and gas companies for over $11 million — the first such lease sale for the forest since 2017. The decision will kick off the installation of horizontal fracking wells in the area, which already has around 1,200 conventional oil and gas wells. Conventional wells have been in place there since 1990.
Appalachian NatGas No Pipelines – No LNG Opportunities. Thanks, MDN. Expand Energy, the country’s largest natural gas producer, opened Shale Insight 2026 with a price forecast and a warning. Marcel Teunissen, Expand’s Chief Financial Officer, predicted gas prices of $3.50 to $4.00 through 2030 and $4.00 to $4.50 from 2030 to 2035, with plenty of volatility along the way. The warning was that most of the new gas needed to meet Gulf Coast LNG demand won’t come from Appalachia, because there aren’t enough pipelines to get it there. The Haynesville will fill the gap instead.
The Middle East’s Oil Export Arteries Are Flowing Again. That’s what analysts at J.P. Morgan, including J.P. Morgan’s Head of Global Commodities Strategy, Natasha Kaneva, said in a J.P. Morgan report sent to Rigzone by Kaneva late Tuesday.
“With flows through the Saudi East-West pipeline restored, regional exports are now just 11 percent below pre-war levels – a remarkable recovery for a region still at war,” the analysts stated in the report.
“Over the past five days, the 10‑day average for total oil exports has held at 20.5 million barrels per day, or 89 percent of 2025 levels,” they added.
The analysts warned in the report, however, that this recovery is uneven.
DTE Plans to Build Two NatGas Plants in MI. Thanks, MDN. Last month we told you DTE Energy was about to ask Michigan regulators for permission to build two new natural gas-fired power plants totaling 2,100 megawatts (MW) (see DTE Asks Michigan for 2 Gas Plants — 2,100 MW of New M-U Demand). On Thursday, Sept. 24, the formal ask landed. DTE Electric filed its 20-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), and this time the plants come with addresses, price tags, and dates. A 1,400 MW combined-cycle plant in Handy Township (Livingston County) would cost $3.9 billion and come online by the end of 2031. A 700 MW plant in Milan Township (Monroe County) would cost $2.5 billion and come online by the end of 2032. Together, they replace the 3,066 MW coal-fired Monroe Power Plant, which will shut down in two stages in 2028 and 2032. Michigan produces very little gas of its own, and both sites sit close to pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica gas into the state.
Oil Output Up in TX, NM and LA in the 3rd Qtr. U.S. oil, gas output up in Q3, producers wary of price outlook, Dallas Fed says. Reuters. Oil and gas output in the producing states of Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico rose in the third quarter of 2026, the Dallas Fed said in a survey on Wednesday, but producers worry whether sky-high oil prices will stick. The spike in oil prices since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February has encouraged producers to ratchet up drilling. But some are growing wary about whether prices will stay high enough for long enough to justify the added production.
Let’s Hope this Permitting Reform Becomes the Law. U.S. oil and gas groups back bipartisan Senate permitting reform. World Oil. The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) also backed the proposal, highlighting the effects of permitting delays on smaller independent producers. IPAA President and CEO Edith Naegele said the legislation would provide “clear and enforceable timelines, greater levels of certainty, and fewer unnecessary delays” while maintaining environmental and safety standards. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said the package would modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), reduce duplicative reviews and litigation, and increase certainty for energy projects. “The bipartisan package would modernize NEPA, reduce duplicative reviews and unnecessary litigation, and provide greater certainty for critical projects,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said.
PA September 21, to October 1, 2026
County Township E&P Companies
1. Bradford Monroe Expand
2. Lycoming Anthony Beech
3. Washington Buffalo Range
4. Washington Buffalo Range
5. Washington Buffalo Range
6. Washington Buffalo Range
OH September 20, to September 20, 2026
County Township E&P Companies
1. Noble Stock Ascent
WV September 20, to September 25, 2026
1. Doddridge Antero
2. Harrison Antero
3. Wetzel Antero
4. Wetzel Antero
5. Wetzel Antero
6. Wetzel Antero
7. Wetzel Antero
8. Wetzel Antero
9. Wetzel Antero
