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EQT Loses Post-Production Deduction Lawsuit to WV Couple

It’s this kind of story that makes our blood boil–we won’t lie. EQT tried to shaft an elderly couple in Ritchie County, West Virginia out of royalty money by slipping in not only post-production deductions never agreed to in the contract, but also by slipping in a deduction for WV severance taxes owed by EQT itself. Maddening!
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Royalty Bill to be Discussed in PA House Committee Meeting Oct 9

In early 2017 at the beginning of a new session of the Pennsylvania Legislature, PA State Senator Gene Yaw introduced a pair of bills he dubbed the “Oil and Gas Lease Protection Package” (see  2 Royalty Bills Focus of PA Senate Hearing Today). Senate Bill (SB) 138 allows landowners the right to review drilling company records to verify proper royalty payment, and require drillers to pay royalties within 90 days of production.

10/9/18 Update: The House meeting to discuss SB 138 has been postponed to a later, unspecified date.
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Mariner East 2 Pipe Startup Delayed Due to “Regulatory Issues”

ME2 Pipeline (red dotted line) – click for larger version

Energy Transfer Partners and their Sunoco Logistics unit had previously predicted the Mariner East 2 NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline would be up and running no later than Sept. 30. That date came and went, and the pipeline is still not ready. According the ET, the reason is due to “regulatory issues.” Meaning, what exactly? We have a list of the “issues” holding up ME2 from launching.
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CELDF Loses Yet Again – Toledo Anti-Fracking Measure Blocked

In September, MDN told you that the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a ballot measure backed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) in Columbus, OH, a measure meant to ban fracking to send a “you’re not welcome” message to Utica drillers, is in fact illegal and will not appear on the November ballot (see OH Supreme Court Rules Columbus Anti-Utica Ballot Measure Illegal). The Ohio Supremes have ruled again, this time declaring a similar CELDF ballot measure in Toledo is also illegal.
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Con Ed Plans 2-5 CNG/LNG Storage Facilities in Westchester County

Clinton’s $1.7M Westchester County estate

Only in New York. Utility company Con Edison is proposing to build up to five compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage sites in Westchester County, NY–to increase the local supply of natgas available for customers. Con Ed wants to invest in “renewable” natural gas and “offer new incentives for Westchester customers who upgrade their heating equipment or install heat pumps to reduce natural gas usage.”
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Dominion’s Supply Header Pipe to Feed Atlantic Coast Pipe

A part of Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project is a less-talked-about, smaller pipeline called the Supply Header Project. As indicated by its name, the Supply Header is a short, 37.5-mile pipeline at the “head” of ACP, a pipeline that will flow natural gas from West Virginia, Ohio and western Pennsylvania into the top of (i.e. supply) ACP–shale molecules that will eventually go as far south as North Carolina.
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Turning Ethane into Plastics – A Primer for Anti-Fossil Fuelers

Without natural gas, modern life as humans know it would cease. And no, that’s not hyperbole or bluster. And yet, non-thinking anti-fossil fuel protesters refuse to acknowledge that basic truth. We spotted an excellent article in Forbes that outlines the vital importance of shale gas (specifically the ethane that comes as part of shale gas extraction). We love the straightforward simplicity of the article in describing how the shale ecosystem works–and how it touches on virtually every aspect of our modern existence.
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Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Oct 2, 2018

The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: West Virginia accepted as Energy Council member; Four Permits Issued in Ohio’s Utica; Pennsylvania utility regulator sharpens focus on cybersecurity threats; Martin’s Ferry clergyman opposes Belmont cracker plant; Natural gas pipeline noise concerns residents; Oil and gas industry praises Trump’s new NAFTA deal; U.S. net natural gas exports in first half of 2018 were more than double the 2017 average; NYC lawyer’s comments at odds with city’s official filings on climate lawsuit; Forget Tesla, the money is in the unstoppable force of U.S. natural gas; FERC Chairman appoints Patricia M. French as new Administrative Law Judge; U.S. power producers’ coal consumption falls to 35-year low; 3 reasons nuclear power plants are more expensive in the West (it’s not regulation).
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