MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Oct 6, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Utica Shale Academy exceeds expectations; Natural gas power plants powering WV’s future; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Virginia could pay $500 million per year in higher electricity costs if Spanberger wins gov race; NATIONAL: Natural gas futures face mild temperatures; Execs predict where natgas price will land in future; The Supreme Court should end climate lawfare once and for all; Beware how climate crusaders ‘partner’ with the media and ‘educate’ the courts; INTERNATIONAL: Oil rises as Trump warns Hamas; OPEC+ 8 decide to implement production adjustment; Saudi Arabia’s spending spree meets oil price reality.

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION

Utica Shale Academy exceeds expectations
Lisbon (OH) Morning Journal
The Utica Shale Academy (USA), a career-tech community school in Salineville, Ohio, exceeded expectations on the 2024-2025 Ohio State Report Card, earning high marks in progress, gap closing, and graduation rates. Students averaged two levels of growth in reading and math, while the academy’s 63.7% gap closing score far surpassed the state average of 33.8%. Its graduation rate of 89.5% also exceeded the state’s 44.3% average. Superintendent Bill Watson emphasized real-world success, noting 46 of 48 graduates last year entered trades or trade schools. Since 2011, USA has grown to 170 students, expanded facilities, and awarded over 1,100 certifications. [MDN: The USA is a huge success story. Congrats!]

Natural gas power plants powering WV’s future
Clarksville (WV) WV News
New natural-gas power plants planned in Clarksburg and Morgantown could play a pivotal role in West Virginia’s economic and energy future. The 579-MW Wolf Summit plant near Clarksburg is projected to create 400 construction jobs, 30 permanent jobs, and $10 million annually in tax revenue, while Mon Power and Potomac Edison are considering a 1,200-MW unit near Morgantown to replace retiring coal plants and strengthen grid reliability. With U.S. electricity demand surging from data centers and AI, these efficient, flexible gas plants can anchor investment, bolster local economies, and attract high-tech firms, while balancing renewable integration despite environmental concerns. [MDN: An editorial from WV News editors touting the benefits of two announced gas-fired power plant projects.]

OTHER U.S. REGIONS

Virginia could pay $500 million per year in higher electricity costs if Spanberger wins gov race
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)/Kevin Mooney
A new report from the Thomas Jefferson Institute warns Virginia households could face $500 million in higher annual electricity costs if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger succeeds in rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade carbon tax program. Spanberger’s Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, opposes RGGI and is campaigning on lowering living costs. Gov. Glenn Youngkin withdrew Virginia from RGGI in 2023, citing rising carbon taxes—up 163% from 2020 to 2023—that utilities like Dominion Energy passed directly to consumers. Critics argue RGGI functions as a direct tax, while Spanberger has backing from environmental groups supporting stricter climate policies. [MDN: Complete disaster if the radical Spanberger wins and she sentences the state to the RGGI carbon tax.]

NATIONAL

Natural gas futures face mild temperatures
Wall Street Journal
Natural gas futures extend yesterday’s loss but still log a second consecutive weekly gain. Demand is expected to be light in the coming days due to warmer-than-normal high pressure in most of the U.S., according to a NatGasWeather.com report. It adds that “national wind energy generation will be quite strong the next few days,” likely adding downward pressure on natural gas. Baker Hughes reports that the natural gas rig count increased by one to 118. The front-month contract fell 3.4% to end the week up 3.7%, at $3.324/mmBtu. [MDN: Hey, we’re still far above the $3 mark, and that’s a major win in our book.]

Execs predict where natgas price will land in future
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
The Dallas Fed Energy Survey revealed that oil and gas executives expect Henry Hub natural gas prices to average $3.35 per MMBtu in six months, $3.53 in one year, $3.94 in two years, and $4.50 in five years, with year-end 2025 forecasts averaging $3.30. These projections are lower than those in prior quarters, which had shown slightly higher expectations. The survey also noted a wide forecast range between $2.20 and $4.75. Meanwhile, EBW reported the November contract closing at $3.476, and Standard Chartered and BMI issued differing medium-term forecasts, ranging from $2.80 to $3.80 through 2027. [MDN: Everybody has their own crystal ball. The consensus appears to be prices drifting higher, but not by much.]

The Supreme Court should end climate lawfare once and for all
Institute for Energy Research/Thomas J. Pyle
The article argues that recent legal actions against energy companies represent a new tactic by environmental groups and Democratic allies to advance climate goals outside the political process. Highlighting a case from Boulder County, Colorado, where ExxonMobil and Suncor are being sued for climate-related damages, it questions the legal basis of holding companies liable for global emissions. The companies have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, citing conflicts with prior federal rulings that classify greenhouse gas regulation as a federal matter. The piece warns that allowing such lawsuits could raise energy prices, undermine grid reliability, and effectively impose backdoor climate regulations. [MDN: The only winners of these lawsuits are the lawyers. It’s time to end this madness of climate lawfare by the left.]

Beware how climate crusaders ‘partner’ with the media and ‘educate’ the courts
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)/Gary Abernathy
The article argues that climate advocacy groups are exerting significant influence over both the media and the judiciary, raising concerns about bias and fairness. It highlights CBS News’ partnership with Climate Central, which provides data, editing, and scientific framing for climate stories, often resulting in content co-produced by Climate Central staff rather than CBS journalists. Critics argue this undermines journalistic independence and objectivity. Similarly, the Climate Judiciary Project, launched by the Environmental Law Institute, has trained over 2,000 judges on climate science, prompting congressional scrutiny over whether such programs improperly sway rulings. The piece concludes that these efforts threaten media trust and judicial impartiality. [MDN: Does anyone (with a brain) still watch and believe CBS News? Or ABC? Or NBC? Or CNN? Or MSNBC? Or read the New York Times? Washington Post? Etc. They are all corrupt and no longer report the news. They are propagandists and not to be trusted.]

INTERNATIONAL

Oil rises as Trump warns Hamas
Bloomberg/Mia Gindis, Alex Longley
Oil prices edged higher Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump warned Hamas to accept his Gaza peace plan or face consequences, fueling concerns of broader Middle East conflict that could disrupt supplies. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.7% to $60.88 a barrel, though it fell 7.4% for the week, while Brent settled at $64.53. Geopolitical risks—including Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Orsk refinery—were overshadowed by bearish fundamentals. Traders expect OPEC+ may fast-track supply hikes as the market faces a record 2026 surplus, while rising output, U.S. export efforts, and weak demand signals—particularly from China—kept pressure on prices despite temporary geopolitical tailwinds. [MDN: It just strikes us that traders and journalists who follow commodities prices (like oil) read way too much into every tea leaf they can find.]

OPEC+ 8 decide to implement production adjustment
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman agreed on October 5, 2025, to implement a modest production increase of 137,000 barrels per day starting in November, far below market fears of a 500,000 bpd rise. The adjustment, part of previously announced voluntary cuts, reflects cautious optimism over healthy market fundamentals but preserves flexibility to reverse course. Analysts noted Brent prices rebounded 1.2% to $65.30 per barrel on the decision, though concerns persist over weakening demand and surging supply. Rystad Energy warned that OPEC+ unwinding cuts could push the market into a sustained surplus through 2026. [MDN: The thug dictators are hoping they can raise output some to chase more revenue into their coffers without causing the price to completely crash.]

Saudi Arabia’s spending spree meets oil price reality
OilPrice.com/Julianne Geiger
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions face mounting strain as weaker oil prices and rising spending widen its fiscal deficit. Fitch Ratings warned the shortfall will reach 5.3% of GDP in 2025—nearly double earlier forecasts—before narrowing in 2026, driven mainly by weaker oil income despite stable non-oil revenues. The kingdom’s massive megaproject outlays, including NEOM, highlight the tension between fiscal discipline and Vision 2030’s trillion-dollar agenda. Falling crude prices, amplified by OPEC+ supply debates, further complicate Riyadh’s strategy. Fitch expects eventual consolidation via modest cuts and non-oil growth, but for now, Saudi finances remain vulnerable to oil market swings. [MDN: The Saudis can’t afford all of the welfare programs they’ve promised, meaning the thug dictators’ hold on power is weakening. They walk a fine line between flooding the market with more oil to gain more revenue, and driving the price of oil into the ground.]