| | | | | |

PA DEP Fines Equitrans $650K for SWPA Gas Storage Field Violation

Equitrans (nee EQT Midstream) owns a natural gas storage field in Greene County, PA, in the southwest corner of the state, called Swarts Field. Natural gas storage fields are an important, but often overlooked, part of the natgas ecosystem. Last December the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) threatened to shut down Swarts Field because of coal mining in the area, saying Equitrans had not properly mapped old/abandonded conventional gas wells in the area (see PA DEP Threatens to Close Equitrans Gas Storage Field in SWPA). The good news is the DEP threat is now over. The bad news is that Equitrans has to pay a $650,000 fine.
Continue reading

|

CNX 3Q – Production & Spending Up, Profits Down, but Stock Pops

click for larger version

An interesting reaction by investors to CNX Resources’ third quarter update. The company reported production of 128 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) in 3Q19, an increase of 8% from the 119 Bcfe in 3Q18. They also reported spending $336 million on drilling in 3Q19, compared to $297 million in 3Q18–up 13%. But profits were down–from $125 million in 3Q18 to $116 million last quarter. And yet, the share price for CNX stock jumped up 16%! Why?
Continue reading

| | |

Northeast PA Rail Yard Expanding to Handle More Miss. Frac Sand

Frac sand

Good news for drillers in the Marcellus/Utica: You’re about to have access to even more frac sand than before. In May 2018 Shale Support Global Holdings signed a deal to become the exclusive provider of frac sand to the Shale Rail terminal located in Wysox (Bradford County), PA (see Shale Support Exclusive Frac Sand Supplier for NEPA Facility). Shale Support and Shale Rail have just signed an extension to keep working together, and Shale Rail announced it’s adding an extra new track in their Wysox rail yard, to increase capacity of incoming shipments.
Continue reading

| | | | | |

OH Lawmakers Plan to Block Foreign Ownership of Power Plants

We’re still feeling the fallout of FirstEnergy’s sleazy campaign to keep their $1 billion ratepayer bailout in Ohio. Last week we told you about FirstEnergy’s Mafia-like tactics in attempting to block petitioners from gathering signatures to overturn House Bill 6 that hands FirstEnergy $1 billion (see FirstEnergy Uses Questionable Tactics Against Referendum Workers). Part of FirstEnergy’s strategy was to gather signatures on a competing petition–aimed at confusing residents. It is that petition that is the subject of this post.
Continue reading

| | |

Explaining the U.S. LNG Marketplace – Who Sells It, Who Buys It

While on the surface the liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketplace may seem simple and straightforward, when you dig down you’ll find it is complex. There are different kinds of contracts between those who sell the gas, those who liquefy and ship it, and those who buy it. The LNG marketplace is, with the entrance of the U.S., changing rapidly. Our friends at RBN Energy recently posted an explanation for how it all works.
Continue reading

| |

U.S. Natural Gas Exports Double Jan-Jun 2019

Quick, when we ask you how natural gas gets exported from the U.S. to other countries, what do you think of? LNG, right? That’s true. Yet while LNG grabs all the headlines, more than twice as much natural gas is exported to Canada and Mexico via pipeline every day than is exported to other countries via LNG ships. LNG is expanding and catching up–but it has a ways to go. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, during the first half of 2019 natural gas exports from the U.S. to other countries doubled–largely because of LNG.
Continue reading

Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Oct 30, 2019

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Nation’s largest coal producer files Chapter 11 bankruptcy; 8 drilling permits awarded by ODNR; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Floating shale gas LNG producer moving ahead with build out plans; San Jose moves to boost electric use in homes, mayor touts electric cars as PG&E power shutdown continues; NATIONAL: BP bearish on natural gas prices, LNG exports to 2021; INTERNATIONAL: One of the Sustainable Buses of the Year runs on natural gas; More bad news for Canada’s crumbling oil industry.
Continue reading