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EQT Board Votes to Split Company in Two Beginning Nov 12

We now have a date for when EQT (the driller) and EQT Midstream (the pipeline company) will split and become two separate, independent companies that will no doubt continue to work together, but will in fact be two companies. That date is November 12. In a pair of press releases issued yesterday, EQT outlined how the transition to two publicly traded companies, EQT Corporation (stock ticker EQT) and Equitrans Midstream Corporation (ticker ETRN) will happen. One of the releases names four new members for the EQT board once the split occurs, and reaffirms that current EQT CFO Robert McNally will stop “Acting” and become the full, official President & CEO of EQT.
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EPA Head Andrew Wheeler Addresses Shale Insight re “New EPA”

EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler

The Marcellus Shale Coalition’s annual Shale Insight conference and expo is currently under way–both yesterday and today. The big draw at this year’s event is (or rather was) EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. He spoke yesterday to some 900 delegates in attendance. He told attendees he is leading a “new EPA” focused on deregulation and streamlined permits. Music to our ears. While Wheeler spoke favorably of the shale oil and gas industry, he also included words of support for the coal industry (he’s a former coal lobbyist). Trump did the same thing two years ago when he addressed Shale Insight–hyping coal. When will these guys learn that a pro-coal message falls flat at a shale gas conference? Anyhoo, by all accounts Wheeler gave a rousing speech. Here’s some of what he said.
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Other Voices at Shale Insight: Utica, Pipelines, Public Health

EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler wasn’t the only speaker at yesterday’s Shale Insight event in Pittsburgh (see EPA Head Andrew Wheeler Addresses Shale Insight re “New EPA”). There were a number of other sessions addressing issues from the technical to the philosophical. A speaker from XTO Energy said the Utica Shale is only just getting started and the potential of the Utica “enormous.” A panel spoke to the critical nature of pipelines and addressed the issue of how we can better “tell our story” to the public with respect to pipelines. And another panel discussed whether and how natural gas development is affecting public health. Here’s a few select reports.
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Handful of Imported Indians & Hippies Protest Shale Insight

Click for larger version

Unfortunately MDN editor Jim Willis was not able to attend this year’s Shale Insight in Pittsburgh (first time in last six years). In years past Jim had had to run a gauntlet of protesters to enter the event (he always enjoys watching fruit loops make fools of themselves). However, he hasn’t seen protesters at the event in several years. He wishes he were there this year to see a group of Indians and what looks to be young and old hippies protesting outside the convention center. It was a small group–perhaps 45-50 max, while inside there were over 900 people. One of the protesters/agitators was an Indian not even from the Marcellus/Utica region–but imported from Minnesota. Which illustrates how these protests are organized and funded by Big Green (with a number of outsiders attending). These protests are not the organic uprisings they’re made out to be.
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Trump Appoints Chatterjee Chair of FERC, McIntyre Stays for Now

Neil Chatterjee appointed Chairman of FERC

Last week MDN told you the rumor that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Kevin McIntyre would like step down due to “health issues” (see Rumor: FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre to Step Down). Indeed it has happened. In a letter dated yesterday, McIntyre announced he is stepping down as Chairman but will remain (for now) on the board–which is good news. If he also resigned from the board, we’d have two Democrats (who vote against most pipeline projects) and one Republican–Neil Chatterjee. With McIntyre’s announcement, President Trump officially elevated Chatterjee into becoming the full, permanent Chairman of FERC.
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The Way Investors Evaluate Shale E&Ps (Drillers) is Changing

Investors are a critical part of the shale picture. Without big investors putting big money into shares of stock, and without private investors financing drilling programs, E&Ps (exploration and production) companies would cease to exist. Which is the aim of the divestment movement we sometimes talk about. However, the focus of this post is that the way investors size up and decide whether (and how much) to invest in an E&P is changing. The ratios and numbers investors track to help them make investment decisions is shifting.
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Report: Natural Gas Outshines Solar, Blows Past Wind

What’s the best, most efficient way to produce electricity? The winner, hands down, is natural gas. That’s according to a recent report from the Manhattan Institute titled “The Real Fuel of the Future: Natural Gas” (full copy below). The report indicates that dollar-for-dollar, investment in natural gas generates 16 times the amount of power as solar panels, and eight times the amount of windmills. Tell us again how superior wind and solar are!
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Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Oct 25, 2018

The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Cuomo has utterly failed the people of upstate New York; Montgomery County, Va. supervisors approve permit for MVP gate station; Political shift seen unlikely in Appalachia as midterms near; WVU research on display at Shale Insight; $1B power plant investment energizes community; Rehoboth selectmen approve natural gas pipeline moratorium; How natural gas prices could double in 2019; Gas storage inventories are near historic lows. What if this winter turns frigid?; ExxonKnew crackdown by Massachusetts and New York AGs threatens free speech; ‘Frack Master’ agrees to 12-year prison term, surrendering $23.8M for oil, gas fraud; Fracking in Lancashire halted by earth tremor; Schlumberger and Halliburton warm on global market, cooler on US shale; Saudi Arabia proves that oil is power.
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