Since it is a stock exchange holiday, and to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and because it is the second inauguration of Donald J. Trump, MDN is taking today off, Monday, Jan. 20. It’s going to be a busy day with over 200 Executive Orders, many of them related to energy. We’ll keep track of developments and report in on Tuesday!
For the week of Jan 6 – 12, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells remained healthy. There were 27 new permits issued last week, down three from 30 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued 13 new permits, with four going to Snyder Brothers in Armstrong County, four going to Coterra Energy in Susquehanna County (must be Coterra has restarted drilling), three for Infinity Natural Resources (INR) in Indiana County, and two for Range Resources in Washington County. Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 6 – 12”
Baby, it’s cold outside! And it’s getting colder beginning this weekend and moving into next week. The cold weather, combined with less natural gas in storage (less than the average), has increased the NYMEX “front month” futures contract for natural gas. Yesterday, the NYMEX price closed at $4.2580 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), the highest close since Dec. 30, 2022. Temps across the eastern half of the country (especially in the northeast) are set to hit lows not seen in years beginning next week. We think prices for NYMEX and many spot prices at trading hubs will spike higher. Read More “NYMEX Gas Futures Price Soars to Close at $4.2580 MMBtu”
Marathon Petroleum’s MPLX, formerly MarkWest, operates five complexes in the Marcellus shale. One of the five is the Bluestone Complex in Butler County, PA. Bluestone gathers 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas. Bluestone processes 400 MMcf/d of natural gas, separating methane from other hydrocarbons. The facility then further separates ethane (C2H6) from other NGLs like propane and butane in a process called C2+ fractionation—producing some 81,000 barrels per day. Yesterday, MPLX announced that the Bluestone plant has become the only U.S. natural gas processing facility to achieve the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry. Read More “MPLX PA Bluestone Gas Processing Plant Gets Big Sloppy Kiss from EPA”
In most states, when a deed or lease agreement is signed for mineral rights, it includes natural gas and oil on the theory that the gas and oil come from a mineral—shale rock. But that has not been the case in PA. Going back to a case in 1882, PA has had “the Dunham rule,” which separates natural gas rights from the broader concept of mineral rights (for background on the Dunham rule, see the MDN article PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Critical O&G Case). In 2013, the PA Supreme Court upheld the Dunham rule in a key decision (see Big News: PA Supreme Court Decides Shale Mineral Rights Case). Last November, the PA Superior Court reaffirmed and upheld the Dunham rule again in a different case. Read More “PA Superior Court Reaffirms Dunham Rule Separating O&G from Minerals”
Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) announced a contract to supply electricity to its first hyperscale data center customer yesterday. A joint venture between PowerHouse Data Centers and Poe Companies is developing a cutting-edge 400-megawatt (MW) data center campus in Louisville. The first 130 MW will be available in October 2026. While no mention was made in the announcement, we’re pretty sure Marcellus/Utica molecules will power this new data center via the electricity generated by LG&E and Kentucky Utilities (KU). Read More “LG&E and KU Announce New Hyperscale Data Center in Louisville, KY”
Here’s a story that illustrates how the radicalized left continues to destroy jobs and the economy with its kneejerk reaction against *any* fossil fuel pipeline, no matter how large or small. Some five years ago, Dominion Energy announced the River Neck to Kingsburg project, a short 15 miles of 16” natural gas transmission main line that would run in an existing right-of-way with another pipeline along Old River Road near Pamplico in Florence County, SC. It was supposed to be built and flowing in 2022. Dominion still hasn’t built a square inch, thanks to the lawfare launched by the anti-fossil fuelers of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Read More “Antis Block 15-Mile Pipe Causing Gas Moratorium in Myrtle Beach”
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Ed “Lackey” Markey (Dem from Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Jeff “Malarkey” Merkley (Dem from Ore.) reintroduced the Banning In Government Oil Industry Lobbyists (BIG OIL) from the Cabinet Act, which would prohibit the appointment of executive officers and lobbyists of fossil fuel entities or trade associations as the heads or political appointees of certain government departments that work on issues related to American energy policy for a 10-year period. Curiously, the bill does not include the same ban on radicalized leftists from Big Green in the 10-year ban. Can anyone say HYPOCRITES? Read More “Sen. Ed Markey Bill to Deny Big Oil from Cabinet, but Not Big Green”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Virginia needs to protect the natural gas choice in law; NATIONAL: Extreme cold from NY to Texas threatens to topple records; Jeff Bezos’ space ambitions take flight as new rocket blasts off; INTERNATIONAL: Trump team readies oil sanctions plan for Russia deal, Iran squeeze; WTI corrects after five-month highs. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 17, 2025”
Hart Energy is reporting some startling statements from Bernstein Research in a new report. One insight (statement) offered by Bernstein is that U.S. natural gas will average $5/Mcf in 2025 and 2026, and that’s “conservative, in our view.” Bernstein predicts “a coming U.S. gas super-cycle.” The Bernstein team expects U.S. gas demand will grow from some 120 Bcf/d today to 150 Bcf/d by 2030 as new AI data centers and LNG export trains come online. Read More “Bernstein Research Predicts NatGas Price to Average $5 in 2025/26”
The Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline Company (aka TETCO) recently filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to make a change in its plans related to upgrades at the pipeline’s Entriken Compressor Station located in Todd Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, TETCO (owned by Enbridge) filed to build the Appalachia to Market II Project (A2MII) and the Entriken HP Replacement Project (see FERC Chair Phillips Surprises, Moves to Quickly Advance 3 Gas Pipes). The two projects combined work together to flow 55,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d, same as 55 MMcf/d) of natural gas from the Marcellus/Utica in southwest Pennsylvania to existing local distribution companies in New Jersey. Read More “TETCO Asks FERC to Swap Gas for Electric Compressor in Pa. Project”
Going back perhaps more than a decade, we have told you about the shortcomings of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the timely review and issuance of permits used during the drilling process. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation Permit or Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit could take two, three, or even six months for approval — instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. Current Gov. Josh Shapiro made it a goal to “fix” the permit issue when he assumed office two years ago. In November, the DEP announced it had eliminated its permit backlog (see PA DEP Claims Permit Backlog for O&G Now Completely Eliminated). The DEP recently released a new tool the public can use to monitor permits filed and issued. It’s quite useful. Read More “PA DEP (Finally) Gets It Right with New Permit Tracking Website”
Enverus, a prominent analytics and advisory firm in the oil and gas space, released its Top 50 Public E&P Operators of 2024 list last week. Enverus is famously guarded in not allowing the media to publish their data, so we don’t have the full list of 50. However, Enverus shared the top three most prolific (by production) shale drillers for last year. Two of the top three are oil drillers in the Permian Basin (Exxon at #1, Occidental Petroleum at #3). However, at the #2 spot, nestled between those two, is Expand Energy, the new name for the combined Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy. Yes, a natural gas company (gas converted to barrels of oil equivalent) is the #2 most prolific producer in the entire country, beating out Oxy! Most of the gas Expand produces is produced in the Marcellus/Utica. Read More “Expand Energy Ranked #2 Most Prolific Shale Producer in 2024”
A judge has dismissed New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell liable for misleading the public about their products and claims that their commitment to renewable energy and fighting climate change are false. The case was so weak not even a Democrat judge appointed by Kathy Hochul could stomach it. In her ruling, Justice Anar Rathod Patel told the city it could not have it both ways. The city claimed its residents knew about mythical climate change and how it is caused by burning nasty fossil fuels. Yet the city’s lawsuit claims Big Oil has tricked people into using fossil energy with false and misleading advertising. Patel wrote, “The city cannot have it both ways.” Touché! Read More “Judge Tosses NYC Lawsuit Against Big Oil re Climate Change”
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to grill Chris Wright, CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, and Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Energy. By all accounts of the coverage we’ve read, Wright (like Trump’s other picks) hit the ball out of the park. He began his prepared remarks with the statement that his first task/goal is to “unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance.” The way to do that? “We must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquified natural gas, and cut the cost of energy.” How refreshing to hear such common sense coming from someone who would lead our nation’s energy strategy! Read More “Energy Pick Chris Wright Vows to “Unleash” LNG & Nuclear at Hearing”
Two days ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), which we reported on yesterday (see Jan. STEO: NatGas Production & Demand to Hit New Highs in 2025). The EIA subsequently published a post on its Today in Energy site to review “five key energy forecasts through December 2026” from the latest STEO. One of those five forecasts is about how much natural gas will be imported (mainly via pipeline from Canada) and how much will be exported via pipeline and LNG. Read More “EIA Predicts U.S. Will Import Less, Export More NatGas in 2025/26”