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FERC Approves MVP Southgate 2nd Time – Rejects Rehearing

MVP Southgate map (click for larger version)

In June the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued final approval for Equitrans Midstream’s 75-mile expansion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from southern Virginia into North Carolina, a project called MVP Southgate (see FERC Approves Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Extension to NC). Well-funded Big Green groups immediately filed a “rehearing” request, the first step on the way to a court challenge. Yesterday FERC commissioners denied the rehearing request.
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OH Approves Gas-Fired Power Plant for OSU – Antis Pledge to Fight

Yesterday the Ohio Power Siting Board approved the construction, operation, and maintenance of a Utica-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant on the main campus of Ohio State University in Columbus. Wonders never cease! Of course, irrational fossil fuel haters are not giving up the fight to try and block it.
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Enbridge Asks FERC to Start Up Weymouth Compressor in 2 Weeks

Last week Enbridge began testing its Weymouth, Massachusetts compressor station project, the final piece of the company’s $452 million Atlantic Bridge expansion project (see Weymouth, MA Compressor Stn Begins Testing, Coming Online Soon). As sometimes happens when you begin testing, there was a problem. A gasket failure led to an unplanned release of 265 Mcf of gas Friday morning (see Emergency Shutdown at Weymouth Compressor During Initial Test). Even with that hiccup, Enbridge says the plant is now ready to go online.
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Enverus Rig Count Up Slightly – Marcellus Steady, Utica +1

Time for our weekly check of the rig count. We like to check the Enverus count because we believe it’s more accurate than the Baker Hughes count. According to S&P’s analysis, the rig count climbed by 6 for the week ending Sept. 16 to hit an eight-week high of 293 active rigs. The Marcellus remained stable at a total of 26 rigs (between wet and dry gas areas). However, the Utica added one rig, moving from an average of 6 rigs to 7 rigs.
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M-U Drillers Prominently Featured at DOE Virtual NatGas Summit

Richard Weber, CEO of PennEnergy

Yesterday the U.S. Dept. of Energy hosted a virtual 2020 Natural Gas Summit in Washington, D.C. DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette and Director of the White House National Economic Council Larry Kudlow were the two hosts and speaker/moderators. However, at least two prominent Marcellus/Utica driller CEOs participated, including Richard Weber from PennEnergy Resources and Jeff Ventura from Range Resources. Their message? We need more pipelines!
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Biden Goes to Scranton, Says He Won’t Ban Fracking “Right Now”

Joe Biden held a drive-in “town hall” with a couple hundred of his closest friends attending last night in Scranton, PA. CNN, which hosted the town hall, covered up what Biden actually said about his intention to ban fracking. Why are we not surprised? What Biden said was that he would not ban fracking “right now,” leaving the open question of when (not if) he intends to ban it.
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Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Sep 18, 2020

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Most WV consumers will see lower natural gas rates this winter; NATIONAL: D.C Circuit Court stay’s U.S. EPA’s amendments to new source performance standards for oil/gas industry; EIA survey of energy use by U.S. manufacturers shows increased use of natural gas, HGLs; DUCs in a row: US shale players lean on uncompleted well inventory to power through 2020; Natural gas craters after weak demand, glut blindside bulls; Biden’s energy plan could wipe out 5M blue-collar jobs.
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