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Chesapeake Energy Prepares Potential Ch. 11 Bankruptcy Filing

It’s not a done deal yet, but according to sources willing to speak with Reuters, Chesapeake Energy is preparing the paperwork for a bankruptcy filing as one of its options to deal with debt payments it likely will not be able to pay this year. This should not be a surprise to anyone. We’ve been warning about a potential bankruptcy filing since last November (see Chesapeake Energy 3Q – Slash Drilling 30%, Bankruptcy Possible).
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Barging Shale Wastewater on Ohio River Back on the Radar

In a piece of stellar investigative journalism and reporting, MDN friend Bob Downing (at Kallanish Energy) has broken a story that barging Marcellus and Utica Shale wastewater (brine) on the Ohio River is once again under active consideration. Downing discovered applications recently filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build three barge terminals in Ohio, all of them located near injection wells to handle barged shale wastewater.
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Virginia Tech Drilling 15,500-Foot Rogersville Shale Test Well

The VCCER and Virginia Tech Field Laboratory site in Wise County, Virginia (click for larger version)

Is Virginia energy-schizophrenic? For years it has appeared The Old Dominion has had a grudge against fossil fuels. Lawmakers and residents consistently attempt to block federal pipeline projects, like Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley, from crossing in and through the state (see Virginia Passes New Law Aimed at Stopping Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Virginia Landowners Sue to Emasculate FERC in Bid to Block MVP). The state recently passed a law outlawing (in the future) the stuff every citizen exhales with every breath–carbon dioxide (see Virginia Adopts Regulation to Limit Carbon Pollution, Fight Climate Change).
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FERC Scales Back Review of Pipe Connecting M-U Gas to Gulf Coast

In September 2018 MDN brought you the exciting news that Enable Midstream Partners had announced a plan to build a new interstate natural gas pipeline project called the Gulf Run Pipeline which will, in part, connect Marcellus/Utica gas supplies to the Gulf Coast for exporting (see New Pipeline Designed to Connect M-U Gas to Gulf Coast LNG Exports). Fast forward to this year and although the project is still alive and kicking, Enable has scaled it back.
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New York’s Frack Ban Cuts Off 12M Acres of the Marcellus Shale

click for larger version

Earlier this month in New York State while no one was paying attention, distracted with literal life and death issues due to the coronavirus pandemic, the uber-corrupt and sleazy Andrew Cuomo slipped in a permanent ban on fracking into the annual state budget bill, which is now the law of our fallen (and sick) land (see Cuomo PERMANENTLY Bans NY Fracking in Now-Adopted Budget). New York has 12 million acres under which the Marcellus/Utica Shale lies, yet accessing it is now banned. NY produces 1% of the natural gas it uses each year. The rest is imported.
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Penn State Uses Microwaves to Make Natgas 100% Clean and Green

A partnership between Penn State EMS Energy Institute researchers and a Pittsburgh-based start-up company may hold the answer to reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions while also paving the way to disrupt the chemical and material industries. The collaboration has resulted in several research projects that aim to “reinvent” both coal and natural gas as clean, cost-effective sources of fuels and high-performance materials.
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Oil Markets are From Mars, Natural Gas Markets are from Venus

Our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, published a blog post yesterday to outline the differences between the oil markets and natural gas markets and how each market responds to world events vis-à-vis pricing. EIA says crude oil markets respond quickly and often dramatically to world events, but natural gas markets have tended to be driven by regional factors and have been less connected to the international market. Oil markets are from Mars, natgas markets are from Venus.
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Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Apr 30, 2020

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Kinder Morgan’s NGPL declares force majeure on Sabine Pass gas flows; Texas Railroad Commission rolls out proposed order for crude oil production cuts; Opinion: Texas capping oil production? Chairman Wayne Christian picks a side; NATIONAL: Moody’s maintains natural gas price outlook; Blockchain’s value proposition in the oil and gas industry; Oil’s unbelievable fall must spark us energy dominance rethink; Democrats should support America’s oil industry; COVID-19: Energy supply chain companies support care givers and families; INTERNATIONAL: TC Energy completes the sale of Ontario natural gas-fired power plants for proceeds of $2.8 billion; Natural gas follows oil, hits record low prices in Europe.
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