Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation
Clown Judges from 4th Circus Block Atlantic Coast Pipe…Again
The same U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals judges who quoted from Dr. Seuss’ book “The Lorax” in a previous decision against Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) have, once again, delivered another blow to ACP. In a very poor decision issued on Friday, the clown judges overturned reissued permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the project, claiming the permits don’t do enough to protect bumble bees and bats.
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Cabot Oil & Gas is the only Marcellus/Utica driller that is profitable quarter after quarter and year after year. So the market pays attention to what Cabot does, because they’ve figured out how to make money in a low commodity price environment. Last Friday Cabot released second quarter numbers. CEO Dan Dinges talked about the balance of 2019 and even a bit about what to expect in 2020.
Production for Range Resources was up a healthy 10% year over year in second quarter 2019, according to Range’s 2Q19 update issued late last week. Range produced 2.3 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) in 2Q. For the first half of the year Range brought online 39 Marcellus/Utica wells and plans to bring online another 49 wells in the second half of 2019. The company is on track to spend roughly $750 million on drilling in 2019.
In March we told you about National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) FM100 Project in northwestern Pennsylvania that will beef up and extend an existing pipeline network to flow an extra 330 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of Marcellus gas to Williams’ mighty Transco Pipeline (see 
Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), headquartered in Newark, NJ, says it will shutter all but its three of its natural gas-fired electric plants by 2046, in a misguided effort to reduce “climate-warming emissions to net zero by 2050.” But they’ll do it *only* if the government adopts an economy-crushing, totally regressive “carbon tax” (to punish the use of natural gas). PSEG’s ultimate goal is to force their customers to use less electricity. That’s their big solution. Use less, and they’ll charge you more for what you still use. The end result of dumping gas-fired plants is predictable–grid unreliability and rolling blackouts.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Ohio agencies say they don’t get many fracking health complaints; Gulfport Energy Fund opens second grant round of 2019; Deep Well Services jump-starts funding campaign for Butler County Emergency Services Unit; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: U.S. approves commercial service for Sempra Louisiana Cameron LNG export plant; Saltwater disposal wells make up nearly one-third of new well permits; NATIONAL: More U.S. coal-fired power plants are decommissioning as retirements continue; Natural gas glut is crushing US drillers; A new U.S. oil production peak looks imminent; Congress considers carbon tax plans that will hurt poor; Shale oil & gas are hurricane-proofing U.S. energy markets; INTERNATIONAL: Gas is part of the solution in the planet’s energy transition, Goldman Sachs strategist says.