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PA Gov. Shapiro Proposes Own Version of Marcellus-Killing Carbon Tax

Some fairly big news broke last week just as MDN editor Jim Willis was taking a two-day break. So let’s get caught up. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to Scranton, PA, to announce a proposal to “immediately pull Pennsylvania out of a multi-state carbon cap-and-trade program” (the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI) and instead enroll PA in its very own RGGI-like carbon tax program. Same end result: It would kill Marcellus-fired power plants in the state, driving them to close and relocate to West Virginia and Ohio, states that don’t engage in the lunacy of taxing carbon emissions from power plants.
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Mouthy Delaware Riverkeeper Disrupts PA Gov. at Hydrogen Rally

This one is too funny. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a leftist liberal Democrat and the chosen candidate of the environmental left, appeared at a Philadelphia union hall for a speech last week to tout a hydrogen hub that is supposedly coming to the area, called the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2). The MACH2 project is actually centered in Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware but will give a few economic table scraps to the Philly area, which excites and titillates PA politicians. Early in Shapiro’s “ain’t hydrogen just great” speech, Maya van Rossum, THE Delaware Riverkeeper (that’s what she calls herself), got up and began to shout down Shapiro. That’s right! The guy SHE voted for and helped elect! You see, Miss Maya (hereinafter to be called Mouthy Maya) doesn’t like hydrogen hubs, even “clean” hubs like the MACH2 project.
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Fed Court Quizzes Enviros and NJ re Williams Transco Expansion

A three-judge panel from the federal D.C. Circuit spent two hours on Friday hearing arguments for and against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of Williams’ Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project. REAE is an expansion of the mighty Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland. Part of the project was done and went online last year (see Williams 1Q – Regional Energy Access Pipe Coming Online Early). The balance of the project is scheduled to be completed and online by the end of this year.
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Elba Island LNG Expansion Gets Positive Enviro Assessment from FERC

In April 2022, MDN reported that the top brass at Kinder Morgan, the owner and operator of the Elba Island LNG export facility (also known as Southern LNG), was considering an expansion of its modestly-sized facility (see Kinder Morgan Considers Expanding Marcellus-fed Elba Island LNG). KM subsequently submitted an application to federal regulators last year requesting an expansion of the facility. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) personnel issued a positive Environmental Assessment (EA) on March 8. But, there’s a wrinkle.
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CNX Failed to Ask “Mother, May I?” for Reservoir Water Withdrawal

CNX Resources was slapped with a “notice of violation” (NOV) by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for withdrawing over 1.8 million gallons of water in Washington County, PA (for use in shale gas fracking) without first seeking the proper “Mother, May I?” approvals. The withdrawals happened over a 22-day period in the summer of 2023. Yes, it takes the DEP a looooong time to respond to so-called violations. When CNX realized it didn’t have express permission to withdraw the water, the company immediately reported the situation and corrected it. Still, DEP wants a new plan to prevent it from happening again. The plan is due today.
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19 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Mar 4 – 10

There were 19 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Mar. 4 – 10, up 2 from 17 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits. Ohio issued 5 new permits. And West Virginia issued 3 new permits. Range Resources and Ascent Resources tied for most new permits with 5 each. Range received 5 permits to drill in two PA counties: Lycoming and Washington. Ascent received 5 permits to drill in Belmont County, OH. Chesapeake Energy got 3 permits to drill in Bradford County, PA, and Seneca Resource also received 3 permits for Tioga County, PA. Southwestern Energy scored 2 permits for Ohio County, WV, and CNX Resources received a single permit for Marshall County, WV.
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Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Adds 7 @ 629, M-U Drops 1 @ 43

Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count added the seven rigs it had lost the week before. The count went from 622 active rigs two weeks ago back up to 629 last week. The national count is officially rangebound. Since last October, the national count has gone as low as 616 and as high as 629. And that’s it. No higher and no lower. The Marcellus/Utica cumulatively lost one rig last week and now runs 43 rigs. Pennsylvania lost two rigs and now operates 22 rigs. Ohio stayed the same at 12 rigs. And West Virginia picked up one of PA’s rigs and now operates nine rigs (up from eight the prior week).
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Jim Willis is Back – A Personal Thank You

Thank you to the MDN audience for your understanding during my absence last Thursday and Friday and the many (many!) well wishes, kind thoughts, and prayers as my family endured the funeral of my only sibling, my beloved sister Jennifer, who died unexpectedly. Although the funeral was difficult, we were surrounded by a large and loving extended family and friends, for which we are grateful. I am also deeply grateful to the fantastic MDN audience for your uplifting words. You are the very best. – Jim Willis

Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Mar 18, 2024

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Wood Mackenzie looks at EQT-Equitrans deal; EIR examines EQT-Equitrans deal; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Venture Global LNG asks FERC to keep documents confidential; NATIONAL: The energy transition has become a Big Green hot mess; Biden LNG freeze delaying projects and risking USA market share; Methane emissions set to decline despite record growth in US crude production; Winter storms have disrupted U.S. natural gas production; Court halts SEC climate disclosure rule; US economy scores a win from the bear market in natural gas; INTERNATIONAL: Rystad looks at the buzz around white hydrogen.
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CNX Delays Completing 11 Wells, Slicing Production 30 Bcfe in ’24

CNX Resources, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is the latest major Marcellus/Utica driller to announce a pullback in spending and production due to low-low prices that natural gas is fetching. Yesterday, CNX announced the company will “delay completions activities on three upcoming Marcellus Shale pads consisting of 11 wells to avoid bringing incremental volumes into the current oversupplied market.” The delay means CNX will spend $50 million less on drilling in 2024 and produce 30 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) less over the course of this year.
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Temporary Setback for CNX Gas & Water Pipeline Project in SWPA

CNX Resources filed a request with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) in April 2023 to build two pipelines — two for natural gas — along a 13.9-mile route in Bell, Loyalhanna and Salem Townships in Westmoreland County. An additional 4-mile pipeline would be built for water. Called the Slickville Trunkline Project, the DEP told CNX last December (yes, it took the agency eight months to reply!) that the application was “incomplete” and that CNX had 60 days to provide the extra info.
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PA DEP Uses Carrot & Stick re Paperwork from Conventional Drillers

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently (maybe yesterday?) posted a notice on its website announcing that conventional oil and gas well operators will not be eligible for new methane reduction well plugging grants (free money!) if they are not in compliance with state law paperwork requirements. Channeling their inner schoolmarm, the DEP tells drillers if they don’t have the proper “reports” filed about those wells, they (a) won’t see any money from Biden’s bloated giveaway program, and (b) the DEP will, sooner or later, come knocking and will fine them for paperwork transgressions. The old carrot and stick.
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PA Gov Shapiro Puffs His Chest to Announce Plugging 200 Old Wells

The blowhard Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, took a bow last year to tout that “his” administration (as opposed to the Democrat who preceded him, Tom Wolf) had plugged more than 130 abandoned old oil and gas wells in the state, more than “the previous eight years combined” (see PA DEP Spending $44M This Yr, $76M Next Yr to Plug Orphaned Wells). The blowhard is back, puffing his chest out to announce the number is now 200.
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NY Assembly Passes Bill to Ban Using CO2 to “Frack” Wells

Last month, MDN told you that several New York Democrat legislators introduced a new bill to ban the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) in any process to extract natural gas or oil in the Empire State (see NY Democrats Release Bill to Ban Use of CO2 in Gas Extraction). Following pressure from Big Green groups like Food & Water Watch, the corrupt Democrat legislators in the NY Assembly voted yesterday 97-50 to adopt this illegal bill. Now, it’s on to the Senate, where we’re sure corrupt Senators will pass it, too. Welcome to the People’s Republic of New York.
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Chinese Co. Signals Opposition to Venture Global LNG Time Extension

Venture Global has been defrauding its contracted customers for more than two years by not officially christening its Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana as officially open for business, denying customers cargoes under contracted prices. Yet during that time, Venture Global has exported (on the spot market) more than 250 LNG cargoes! It’s a sham, and everybody knows it. Venture Global got the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the “must officially be open by date” for an extra year last year (expired Feb 21st of this year). Unbelievably, Venture Global wants FERC to extend it for ANOTHER year (see Venture Global Asks FERC for Another Year to Finish CP LNG). Needless to say, Venture Global’s contracted customers, the ones being defrauded (including a Chinese company), object…
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