Marcellus Drilling News

What Marcellus Drilling News does

Marcellus Drilling News is a privately held, subscription-based daily news service founded in 2009 by Jim Willis that covers the Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling industry across the Appalachian basin. The publication is operated as a single-editor business based in Binghamton, New York, and serves a heterogeneous readership that includes landowners, drilling companies, law firms, realtors, financial firms, and government officials across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, and Virginia. The platform maintains a content archive of more than 26,000 stories and roughly 30,000 total posts, and has progressively extended its editorial scope into adjacent energy topics such as AI and data center power demand in Northeastern states.

The business operates a dual revenue model combining paid subscriptions with display advertising. Subscriptions are priced at $7.95 per month or $79.50 per year, and the site delivers more than 100,000 ad impressions per month. Distribution and audience access are reinforced through formal media partnerships with the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA), Energy Leaders Network, the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Land Association (POGLA), and LDC Gas Forums, which provide event coverage and advertising inventory. Customer testimonials span both retail individual readers (e.g., landowners) and enterprise energy services users (e.g., Schlumberger), indicating that the publication serves both B2C and B2B audiences within the shale value chain.

Structurally, MDN is a sole-proprietor editorial operation with no disclosed funding, no headcount scaling, and no enterprise contracts. Its competitive position rests on a deep, domain-specialized archive, an established editorial voice, and entrenched relationships with Appalachian basin trade associations rather than on technology, distribution scale, or platform effects. The asset is best characterized as a niche, cash-generative media micro-business with high domain authority and low operating leverage.

Name

Marcellus Drilling News

Legal name

Marcellus Drilling News

Website

https://marcellusdrilling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Marcellus Drilling News is a subscription-based daily news service founded in 2009 that covers Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling across the Appalachian basin, serving landowners, energy companies, legal professionals, and government officials via subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Industry News / Shale Gas Intelligence

NAICS

Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations (213112), Support Activities for Mining (2131)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389)

akta.pro primary industry

Drilling & Well Construction (E&P Operator-led) (EUALAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Exploration & Production Drilling Services (RC, Core, Directional, Sonic, Auger) (IMAKAKAB), Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK)

Keywords

• Shale gas news
• Energy industry news
• Daily news curation
• Marcellus Shale coverage
• Oil and gas intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Binghamton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: MDN generates revenue through monthly ($7.95) and annual ($79.50) subscription fees. Subscribers gain access to full articles, searchable archives of 26,000+ stories, and webinar interviews with industry experts.
2. Advertising: MDN accepts direct advertising sales, displaying ads over 100,000 times per month to a highly targeted audience of shale gas industry professionals. Ads must be relevant to the site's constituencies and are not available through advertising networks like Google.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Marcellus Drilling News is a subscription-based daily news service that aggregates and curates Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling news from hundreds of sources into 6-10 stories per business day. The service provides individual subscribers and industry stakeholders with a searchable archive of 26,000+ stories, free daily email headlines, and access to webinar interviews with industry experts. It is delivered via a website platform and email newsletter, with direct advertising sold to industry suppliers.

Product overview

Marcellus Drilling News operates as a single unified subscription news product, delivering daily curated coverage of Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling activity. The service aggregates news from hundreds of sources, providing subscribers with 6-10 original stories per business day, searchable access to a 26,000+ story archive, and access to webinar interviews with key industry figures. Content covers energy companies, pipelines, regulation, litigation, landowner issues, and market data. The product is delivered via a website platform with optional daily email alerts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MDN Daily News Subscription Subscription-based daily news service covering Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling activity. Each business day, the editor sifts through hundreds of news sources to deliver 6-10 curated stories, with subscribers gaining access to a searchable archive of 26,000+ stories and webinar interviews with industry professionals. Offered at $7.95/month or $79.50/year with a 100% money-back guarantee.
• MDN Direct Advertising Direct advertising placements sold to industry suppliers targeting the shale gas professional audience. Ads are displayed over 100,000 times per month to MDN's targeted audience; ads are not available through advertising networks like Google and must be relevant to the site's constituencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Editor saves readers 5-6 hours per day by sifting through news sources

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PIOGA (Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPIOGA advertising partnership includes ad placements in PIOGA materials and event sponsorships. MDN displays ads over 100,000 times monthly to reach shale gas industry professionals through this partnership.
• Energy Leaders NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMDN is listed as a media partner/sponsor for Energy Leaders Network events including Pirates Tailgate & Game in Pittsburgh and Escape to The Tropics in Morgantown WV.
• POGLA (Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Landowners Association)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMDN covers POGLA Tioga County O&G Rights Town Hall Meeting events as part of its industry coverage.
• LDC Gas ForumsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMDN covers and promotes LDC Gas Forums events including Northeast, Rockies & West, Mid-Continent, and Natgas to Power Forum events across the US.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Argus Media: Global energy and commodities price reporting and news agency covering natural gas, LNG, oil, and power markets with subscription publications. Comparable in subscription energy news delivery, but serves institutional rather than niche landowner audiences.
• Hart Energy (Oil and Gas Investor, E&P): Established B2B media company covering upstream oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production with magazines, websites, and events. Comparable in covering drilling industry news for an industry audience, but at significantly broader scale and scope.
• S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts): Major energy and commodities information provider covering oil, gas, NGLs, power, and emissions with subscription news, pricing assessments, and data. Overlaps with MDN in energy news subscription, but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• World Oil (Hydrocarbon Processing family): Long-running trade publication covering upstream oil and gas drilling, exploration, and production technology worldwide. Comparable as a drilling-focused news outlet for industry professionals, though broader geographic scope and different delivery format.
• Reuters Energy: Major newswire covering global energy markets including natural gas, LNG, and shale drilling. Comparable in reporting on Marcellus/Utica and broader energy topics, but generalist versus MDN's shale-specific niche.
• Bloomberg Energy: Global financial news and data provider with deep energy coverage including natural gas markets, pipeline operators, and shale producers. Overlaps with MDN on shale gas industry intelligence, but targets institutional financial audiences.

Direct peers

• Energy Intelligence: Subscription energy news and analysis service covering oil, gas, power, and policy globally. Comparable as a paid, expert-curated energy intelligence publication, though broader in geographic and topical scope than MDN's Appalachian focus.
• OilPrice.com: Energy news and analysis site covering oil, natural gas, and broader energy markets with a mix of free and premium content. Comparable as a digital energy news publisher serving industry-adjacent audiences, though MDN is far more narrowly specialized.
• Natural Gas Intelligence: Subscription-based news and intelligence service focused specifically on natural gas markets, pricing, pipelines, and drilling activity. Closest direct comparable in business model (paid subscription news + data) and topical focus on natural gas industry stakeholders.
• RBN Energy: Niche subscription energy research and daily blog platform covering oil, natural gas, NGLs, and midstream infrastructure. Comparable as a paid, expert-curated energy intelligence service targeting industry professionals and investors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/marcellusdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/MarcellusDrilling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marcellus Drilling News