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Boston LNG Import Terminal Continues to Demagogue Pipelines

self interestOne of the opponents of new pipelines to New England has been LNG importers in the region–specifically GDF Suez importing gas at the Everett, MA LNG import terminal, near Boston (see New England Importer Received 59% of All LNG Ship Imports 1H15). LNG imports are one of the primary sources of natgas for New England. The antis holler and scream, “Forget the pipelines. If you must use gas, use LNG. There’s more than enough LNG to supply New England.” In a macro sense that may be true–the world is awash in LNG. But arranging shipments and sources for it takes months, even years. Right now most of the LNG GDF Suez imports comes from Trinidad. The problem with that is, Trinidad’s natgas is drying up and the country is falling behind and not meeting their LNG commitments (see Is New England Heading for Huge NatGas Price Spike this Winter?). It’s not a stretch to imagine that even an average New England winter, coupled with fewer imports from Trinidad, means trouble ahead for New England. We spotted yet another story by mainstream media, this time Bloomberg, quoting the self-serving GDF Suez repeating the same, old hackneyed lies: “It doesn’t make sense to build a pipeline to satisfy demand for 30 to 40 days a year.” Horse manure…
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List of 85 Bankrupt O&G Companies Since 2015; 4 in Marc/Utica

Haynes BooneIn November 2015 MDN brought you a list of 36 North America drillers that had, as of that time, declared bankruptcy (see List of 36 Oil & Gas Companies that Filed for Bankruptcy in 2015). In April, just three short months ago, the list stood at 59 bankruptcies (see List of 59 Oil & Gas Companies Filing for Bankruptcy in 2015/2016). The law firm compiling the list, Haynes and Boone, keeps updating the list. The most recent version was issued on June 30 and it shows the list growing to 85 declared bankruptcies, with more on the way. As of April we noted there was only one Marcellus/Utica driller on the list–Magnum Hunter Resources–which has since emerged from Chapter 11 and is once again up and running. However, in the latest list of 85 bankruptcies, we now must add three more companies with operations in the Marcellus/Utica…
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FERC’s Glowing Draft Review of NEXUS Pipeline; Antis Respond

NEXUS map
NEXUS map – click for larger version

On Monday MDN brought you the great news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given the $2 billion, 255-mile interstate NEXUS pipeline a glowing draft environmental impact statement (see Spectra’s NEXUS Pipeline Gets Favorable Draft EIS from FERC). NEXUS is a critically needed pipeline to move Utica and Marcellus Shale gas from an over-saturated market in the northeast to markets in the Midwest and Canada, via a pipeline that traverses the state of Ohio. We have now what we didn’t have on Monday–a copy of the FERC draft EIS (see a full copy below). You can’t read it and not see the meticulous detail and work that has gone into researching such a project. To falsely claim, as do anti-fossil fuel nutters, that FERC is simply a “rubber stamp” for Big Oil & Gas is not supported by documents like this one. Although the review is glowing, there is one teeny, tiny criticism/suggestion from FERC recommending an alternative route near Green, Ohio. The anti-drilling group CORNballs (our name for CORN, or COalition to Reroute Nexus), is glomming on to that tiny crack of the door and plans to drive a Mack truck through it…
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Anti-Frack Radicals Plant Piles of Paper Poop Near Dem Convention

donkey poopWe can not be more crystal clear on this: a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to end the use of fossil fuels, and a vote to plunge our great nation into economic depression. Over the weekend the Democrat Party hashed out its official party platform–the tenants by which the party, if it should be so lucky as to hold on to power, will live by for the coming four years. The Dems are composed of radical idiots of all stripes, but some are more radical than others. The official platform calls for a tax on carbon (the stuff you breathe out with every breath) to tackle so-called (and non-existent) “climate change.” The platform also calls for a “phase down” of drilling on public lands. What the platform does not call for, however, is a total ban on all fracking. And that lack of a total ban in the official platform has set off some of the craziest of the crazies in the party. A group of them, spurred on by the odious and misnamed Food and Watch Watch, are making the rounds in Philadelphia. Near the convention center are several dozen donkey statutes, placed there in honor of the upcoming Dem convention in two weeks. So what are the FWW crazies doing? Placing piles of papier-mâché poop under the business end of the donkeys and spray painting “No ban on fracking, the Dem platform is crap.” Hilarious! We’re finally seeing the Dem party crack up and self-implode, thanks to anti-frackers…
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Co-Author of Retracted OH Air Study Admits Results were Wrong

retractedLast week MDN reported that a previously trumpeted so-called research study of air quality near fracking sites in Ohio had been retracted (see Ohio Air “Study” Near Frack Sites Retracted for Basic Math Error). At the time the study was released in 2015, one of the authors of the study implied elevated toxins in the air near fracking sites may lead to cancer. We now know it was fully loaded horse manure. The numbers used to draw conclusions were erroneous. Simple spreadsheet formulas used to calculate the numbers were wrong. The researchers should be ashamed of themselves. And now, one of the authors of that report is on the record admitting the data, when corrected, shows air quality risks near those fracking sites are “below EPA levels” for such risks. Here’s an update…
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Whatever Happened to the PA DEP Air Study Started in 2012?

update.jpgIn July 2012 MDN told you about a one-year study of air quality in and around Chartiers Township in Washington County, PA being conducted by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see PA DEP Announces 1 Year Study on Air Quality in Marcellus). The aim of the study is to determine whether or not Marcellus drilling, pipelines and the MarkWest natural gas processing plant in the Chartiers area causes an unhealthy increase in various air pollutants for residents. What did the research find? In 2013 the DEP said testing so far showed “no levels of any pollutant that would violate federal ambient air quality standards.” However, the DEP decided to extend the study until Spring 2014 (see DEP Marcellus Air Study in SW PA Extended Extra Half Year). Then all the wheels came off the cart. The DEP didn’t finish the report, and the good citizens of Pennsylvania made a huge mistake by installing Tom Wolf as their governor. Along with Wolf came an anti-driller as the head of the DEP, John Quigley, who looked over the report and told the DEP to do it over again because it didn’t find enough bad stuff to suit him…
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Bear Head LNG Gets GHG Plan Approval from Nova Scotia

Games People PlayWe’ve previously reported on a number of LNG (liquefied natural gas) export projects planned for the eastern shore of Canada. There are four to five such projects, depending on how you count them. However, one of those projects–Bear Head LNG in Nova Scotia–seems to have the most momentum. Such projects needs loads of permits and approvals before the first shovel ever hits the dirt. It seems like Bear Head has most of its ducks in row, ready to begin. Importantly, both the U.S. (because the gas will come from the U.S.) and Canadian regulators have signed off on the project. But there are, as we are learning, still more permits and approvals needed. Bear Head just scored another important approval. The government of Nova Scotia has just granted Bear Head its approval of their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Management Plan. Silly, we know. Adults with brains have to pretend that leaking CO2 or methane into the atmosphere is somehow endangering Mother Earth. But these are the games that people play in order to get business done. The Bear Head LNG project is important for the Marcellus/Utica because our gas will feed it via the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, making it an important new market for northeast natgas…
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US to Become Net NatGas Exporter in 2017, 1st Time Since ’57

Adam Sieminski
Adam Sieminski, EIA

Yesterday the head of MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, delivered some big news. Adam Sieminski, EIA Administrator, said that for the first time since 1957 (nearly 60 years ago!) the U.S. is on track to export more natural gas than it imports–making us a net exporter. That momentous occasion will happen sometime in the second half of 2017. Here’s what else Sieminski had to say…
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Financial Finagling: Patterson-UTI Extends Date for Line of Credit

Patterson-UTI logoEach month MDN reports on the rig count for oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy. Why? Because Patterson-UTI has major operations in the Marcellus/Utica and we use their rig count as a proxy for predicting the pickup or slowdown of drilling in the northeast. Last week we reported the exciting news that Patterson’s rig count had, after more than a year, reversed and went up (see Tide has Turned: Patterson-UTI June Rig Count Ticks Up by 2). Today we report that Patterson is, like so many other companies in the oil and gas sector, playing around with its financing. Patterson announced it has extended its line of credit. Some $358 million of the company’s $500 million line of credit was due to be paid off by September 2017. They cut a deal with their bankers to extend that to March 2019. Plus they’re doing some other financial finagling…
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jul 13, 2016

best of the restThe “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Nobody wins if northeast pipelines don’t get built; PA Gov Wolf to veto tweaked drilling rules; more on Shell’s PA cracker plant; PA’s conventional drilling industry regulation in disarray; US gas glut disappearing; future of shale production hinges on high tech; shale hits bottom in 1H16, what’s next; Bloomberg analyst predicts the end of the fossil fuel industry (yawn); Obama science advisor says keep-it-in-the-ground movement “unrealistic”; OPEC output nears 8-year high; and more!
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