{
  "state": {
    "name": "Pennsylvania",
    "abbreviation": "PA",
    "slug": "pennsylvania"
  },
  "county": {
    "name": "Susquehanna",
    "slug": "susquehanna",
    "url": "https://www.americanroyaltybuyers.com/mineral-rights/pennsylvania/susquehanna",
    "basinSlug": "marcellus",
    "description": "American Royalty Buyers acquires mineral rights and royalties in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Known for its prolific Marcellus Shale production, we provide comprehensive valuations.",
    "overview": "Susquehanna County is the crown jewel of Pennsylvania's northeast dry-gas Marcellus — the county where Cabot Oil & Gas built one of the most productive gas fields in America, now developed by its successor Coterra Energy at an unmatched pace: 119 horizontal wells spudded since 2023, with Coterra spudding 57 in the trailing twelve months and Expand Energy adding roughly 19 more. Over 2,000 wells are active. For mineral owners this is a working royalty county: producing units nearly everywhere, new laterals still being added, and steady buyer demand.",
    "geology": "The county produces dry natural gas from the Marcellus Shale at its thickest and most pressured — the reservoir quality that made Cabot's position famous — with long laterals and multi-well pads the standard development style. As pure dry gas, royalty income tracks natural gas prices closely; checks swing with the gas market.",
    "activity": "Coterra Energy — the 2021 combination of Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex — runs the county's dominant program: 57 wells spudded in the trailing twelve months. Expand Energy (the Chesapeake–Southwestern combination) adds a second active program. Royalty checks here commonly still arrive under Cabot payor names — the owner number on your stub carries across the name changes.",
    "keyFormations": [
      "Marcellus Shale (dry-gas core)",
      "Utica (deeper, untested at scale)"
    ],
    "stats": [
      {
        "label": "Basin",
        "value": "Appalachian — NE PA dry-gas Marcellus core"
      },
      {
        "label": "Horizontal Spuds Since 2023",
        "value": "119"
      },
      {
        "label": "Most Active Operators",
        "value": "Coterra (57 spuds/12 mo), Expand (~19)"
      }
    ],
    "faqs": [
      {
        "q": "Who is drilling in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania?",
        "a": "Coterra Energy dominates — 57 horizontal wells spudded in the trailing twelve months in the county where its predecessor Cabot Oil & Gas built its legendary dry-gas field — with Expand Energy running a second program of roughly 19 spuds. Both develop the Marcellus with long laterals from multi-well pads."
      },
      {
        "q": "My royalty checks still say Cabot Oil & Gas — who actually operates my wells?",
        "a": "Coterra Energy. Cabot combined with Cimarex Energy in 2021 to form Coterra, and Susquehanna County royalties commonly continue under Cabot payor names. Your owner number carries across the name change, and your decimal is unaffected. If checks stopped or changed unexpectedly after the transition, your account may need attention — and if you are weighing a sale, buyers underwrite Coterra-operated units readily."
      },
      {
        "q": "What drives Susquehanna County royalty value?",
        "a": "Reservoir quality and operator commitment — the county has both. Value for a specific interest turns on your unit's producing wells and remaining laterals, your royalty rate and deduction language (NE PA leases vary widely on post-production costs), your net acres, and natural gas prices. With 119 wells spudded since 2023, development is ongoing rather than finished — which supports both royalty growth and buyer competition. ARB's free valuation shows the number and the reasoning."
      }
    ]
  }
}