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FERC Rejects NY AG’s Anti-Constitution Pipeline Petition

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NY AG Eric Schneiderman – petition rejected by FERC

In May MDN told you about a sleazy political move by New York’s corrupt Attorney General, Eric Scheiderman, who petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to investigate Williams over the Constitution Pipeline, with a recommendation that FERC withdraw its approval of the project (see NY Attorney General Asks FERC to Investigate Constitution Pipe). Schneiderman claimed that Williams was cutting trees along the path of the pipeline before the state had issued stream crossing permits (which it decided not to do). We told you, in a follow-up story, that Schneiderman’s claims of premature tree cutting by Williams was a fraud (see NY AG’s Allegation of Tree Cutting by Constitution Pipe a Fraud). A Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin investigation found that some trees along the pipeline’s path in New York State had been cut–but not by Williams. The landowners themselves were cutting the trees in anticipation of the project–to profit from the sale of the timber. On Friday FERC officially responded to the corrupt Schneiderman’s petition by saying, in so many words, to stuff it…
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Former NY AG Emasculates Current AG, ExxonMobil Not Like Tobacco

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Dennis Vacco – former NY AG

Let’s add some insult to injury, because New York’s corrupt Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, so richly deserves it. Today’s lead story on MDN is about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejecting a petition by AG Schneiderman–his request that FERC withdraw its approval of the Constitution Pipeline and investigate Williams over false allegations of premature tree clearing related to the project (see FERC Rejects NY AG’s Anti-Constitution Pipeline Petition). Schneiderman is a power-mad leftist, hellbent on shaking down so-called Big Oil companies like Exxon Mobil. Schneiderman himself has been caught in a collusion scandal with several other AGs and with Big Green groups to try and smear and extort Exxon (see NY AG, Others Served Congressional Subpoena re Exxon Witch Hunt). One of Schneiderman’s favorite (false) claims is that Exxon Mobil “knew” that mankind is causing mythical global warming by burning fossil fuels–and that they kept it secret–like Big Tobacco companies knew their product was causing cancer. Schneiderman hopes to sue Exxon and other Big Oil companies and extort gazillions of dollars from them. The Dems are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect. Except…except none of their fairy tales are true and no one believes it. Into this mix, along has come a former New York Attorney General, Republican Dennis Vacco, who served as NY AG from 1995-1999. Vacco was part a group of AGs who successfully sued Big Tobacco, so he knows a thing or two about that case. Vacco says, writing in the Washington Post, that Schneiderman’s claims of a case against Exxon is NOTHING LIKE the case against Big Tobacco. Vacco emasculates Schneiderman and his claims of a case against Exxon…
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Radical Enviro Groups Suffer Big Court Defeat re Cove Point LNG

Gavel-falling.jpgAnti-drilling zealots attempting to stop the Cove Point, Maryland LNG (liquefied natural gas) from going online have failed in court, again. And they failed big time. MDN reported in April that a group of Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Patuxent Riverkeeper, EarthReports Inc. and Earthjustice colluded together to sue in federal appeals court to try and stop the project (see Green Groups Ask DC Judge to Stop Construction at Cove Point LNG). On Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against the groups. The argument they raised (and keep raising) is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not take into account so-called cumulative effects in permissioning such a facility. That is, because there is an export facility, that means there will be more drilling and fracking, and that means more air pollution, etc. The court rejected that claim and said in their decision (full copy below) that FERC is not required to consider such cumulative affects. Indeed, FERC’s charter prohibits them from considering such effects. This is a crushing defeat for Big Green–people and corporations who seek to profit from uneconomical solar and wind projects by unfairly crushing the competition (natgas)…
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Crack of Light – OH Sand Producer Says Market Turning Around

crack of lightFairmount Santrol, an Ohio-based sand producer that sells sand as a proppant for use in Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling, released their preliminary second quarter 2016 results last week. Although the company expects to lose between $91-$93 million for the quarter (compared to a profit of $14.1 million a year ago), things are not all bad. Yes, it’s been tough for Fairmount and other companies in the oil and gas industry. Really tough. But Fairmount’s CEO Jenniffer Deckard, said this: “…we are also encouraged by the early signs of improvement we are seeing in the proppant market.” In other words, a crack of light is peeking through the door and we’re beginning to see the great slowdown in drilling come to an end…
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Hubris: PA Gov. Wolf Caves on Budget, then Claims He Won

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PA Gov Wolf takes credit for budget he didn’t sign

As MDN reported last week, the Pennsylvania Republican-controlled legislature passed a budget, and then passed $1.3 billion in new taxes to help pay for it. Not part of the package was a severance tax (see PA Legislature Passes $1.3B in Tax Hikes, No Severance Tax). Last year PA Gov. Wolf threw a temper tantrum and waited nine months before allowing a budget to pass, without his signature and with no severance tax (see PA Gov. Wolf Caves on Budget Deal After 9 Mo. of Temper Tantrums). This year it only took a few weeks for Wolf to cave. He got virtually nothing he wanted in the budget–education funding far below levels he wanted, etc. And yet, he’s claiming this year’s budget was a success–because of him. Talk about hubris…
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Media Downplays Sunoco’s Huge Court Victory re Mariner East 2

Sunoco LogisticsLast Friday MDN brought you the really big news that Sunoco Logistics Partners had won a major appeals court case that recognizes them as a public utility in Pennsylvania with the right to use eminent domain to build the Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline (see Sunoco LP Wins Major Court Decision for Mariner East 2 Pipeline). Although Big Green groups like the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council are attempting to spin the decision as no big deal–it is a big deal, and they know it. So how does the Associated Press, in bed with Big Green, report the decision? This is their headline: “Sunoco clears 1 legal hurdle after pipeline project ruling.” Laughable! It’s more than one hurdle. Sunoco essentially put another 7 points on the board with 5 seconds left to play…
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Spectra Energy LNG Storage Project Proposed for Somerset, MA

Somerset MAIt’s hard to believe something as simple and uncomplicated and safe has a storage tank for liquefied natural gas (LNG) could be controversial. But if you irrationally believe all fossil fuels are evil, you’re against such a storage tank. That’s the battle now shaping up in Somerset, Massachusetts. Spectra Energy is looking to build “two giant storage tanks full of liquefied natural gas” at a site in town , near Walker Street. The town administrator is in favor because Spectra will pay the town $10 million in lieu of taxes. But anti-fossil fuel nutters are rising up to oppose the project–even though they do so using the very fossil fuels the abhor every single day of their pathetic lives–being wholly dependent on fossil fuels for their very existence…
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MSC Says Scranton Newspaper “Plays Fast and Loose” with Tax Truth

David Spigelmyer
David Spigelmyer

A couple of weeks ago MDN noticed a typical anti-drilling “tax the $#@!” out of the Marcellus editorial in the Democrat-run Scranton Times-Tribune. We ignored it. They run such blather on a regular basis and it’s largely un-noteworthy–at least for MDN readers. Except the Times-Tribune continues to pollute the minds of its readers with half-truths and outright lies. Somebody noticed this particular whopper, that somehow the Marcellus industry isn’t paying its “fair share” of taxes. The somebody who noticed was Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Spigelmyer. He wrote a letter to the editor. His response scorches the Times-Tribune editorial and exposes the lies in it…
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Marcellus Shale Gives Dominion Unstoppable Competitive Advantage

wide moatEver hear of a “wide economic moat?” No, we hadn’t either. That is, until we read a Morningstar analyst writing about mighty utility and midstream giant Dominion. A “wide economic moat,” according to Investopedia, is “A type of sustainable competitive advantage that a business possesses that makes it difficult for rivals to wear down its market share and profit. The term is derived from the water filled moats that surrounded medieval castles.” Makes sense. We’d call it being so far ahead of the pack no one else can catch up. Whatever metaphor floats your boat. The interesting part (for MDN) in the Morningstar analysis of Dominion is *why* they are head and shoulders above their midstream and utility peers. Why? “[N]otably the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Cove Point LNG facility.” That is, because of the Marcellus Shale. The analyst predicts Cove Point LNG will be the only LNG export facility on the East Coast. That would certainly qualify as a competitive advantage for Dominion…
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Goldman Sachs Says Jobs Will Soon Return to Shale O&G Fields

new-jobs.jpgAlthough we’ve begun to hear rumblings about jobs coming back to shale fields, like the Marcellus/Utica, this is the first time we’ve read about a massive comeback on the way. According to a news report, big investment bank Goldman Sachs is saying upward of 100,000 jobs are on the way back to oil and gas fields–after the industry lost 170,000 jobs since 2014. That’s still a 70,000-job deficit, but hey, we’ll take it. Here’s the good news that the job picture is about to turn around in our beloved industry…
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jul 18, 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: Does pipeline age matter?; industry getting its DUCs in a row; Chart Industries names new president; UC launching yet another sham research study of fracking; why Dimock really really loves fracking; Chesapeake royalties settlement in TX; the biggest shale fracking companies; and more!
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