MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Nov 20, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Ohio natural gas plant purchase approved for Indiana Michigan Power; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: New York Gov. Hochul gets a message – legalize natural gas!; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas price gains ahead of inventory data; US risks winter blackouts on data center demand; U.S. propane stays well supplied as export strength levels off; INTERNATIONAL: Oil falls on rising fuel stocks.

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION

Ohio natural gas plant purchase approved for Indiana Michigan Power
Fort Wayne (IN) WFFT-TV
Indiana Michigan Power has received final approval to purchase a significant natural gas plant in Ohio. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the company’s plan to acquire the Oregon Clean Energy Center. This facility is an 870-megawatt natural gas power plant located in Oregon, Ohio. Indiana Michigan Power anticipates taking ownership in March. The plant is expected to help meet the growing demand for power across its system. [MDN: More gas-fired power plants changing hands. We see it a lot these days.]

OTHER U.S. REGIONS

New York Gov. Hochul gets a message – legalize natural gas!
MasterResource/Robert Bradley Jr.
The article criticizes New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s “anti-energy” stance and the state’s expensive, unachievable climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandates a 40% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030. It argues that wind and solar are not delivering affordable, reliable energy, making natural gas the essential “phantom fuel.” The core of the piece is a letter sent to Governor Hochul by various community and business leaders, urging her to support energy infrastructure, specifically the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project. They claim the NESE project, which would increase natural gas capacity by 13%, is vital for economic growth, job creation, system reliability, and is projected to save New Yorkers up to $6 billion over 15 years, thereby addressing the state’s rising cost-of-living crisis. [MDN: Hochul needs to do more than just approve NESE (and the Constitution Pipeline). She needs to allow fracking and drilling in the Southern Tier region of the state where there are huge supplies of Marcellus/Utica gas. It would be a game-changer in the rapidly sinking Empire State. We’re not holding our breath.]

NATIONAL

U.S. natural gas price gains ahead of inventory data
Wall Street Journal
U.S. natural gas futures rise as weather forecasts turn colder for the last few days of November and the market banks on a colder start to December. The EIA’s weekly inventory report due Thursday is expected to show the first storage withdrawal of the season. Analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey expect a 14 Bcf draw, reducing the surplus over the five-year average to 146 Bcf from 172 Bcf the week before. A smaller surplus and wider deficit to a year-ago “fits a market transitioning from injections to sustained withdrawals,” Gelber & Associates says in a note. Nymex natural gas settles up 4.1%, at $4.55/mmBtu. [MDN: Back into the mid-$4 range. Life is grand!]

US risks winter blackouts on data center demand
Bloomberg/Naureen S. Malik
Rising electricity demand, primarily from a data center boom driven by artificial intelligence, is increasing the risk of blackouts across a wide swath of the US this winter, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC). Power consumption has grown by 20 gigawatts since last winter, and supply has not kept pace. While resources are adequate under normal conditions, a repeat of severe winter storms could trigger energy shortfalls from the Northwest to Texas to the Carolinas. Winter poses extra risks due to lower solar availability and potential natural gas supply constraints. Regions like the Southeast, parts of the West, Texas, and New England face elevated risks. [MDN: Have you noticed how the left and its mouthpieces (like Bloomberg) are attempting to paint data centers as the new cause of evil in the world? Just like every storm we have is the fault of man causing global warming (as if there were never any storms throughout history until now), every blackout that happens will be because of data centers (because we’ve never had blackouts before, right?). Facts don’t matter—only narratives endlessly repeated by the media and Dems.]

U.S. propane stays well supplied as export strength levels off
RBN Energy/Christine Groenewold
The EIA reported a much smaller-than-expected withdrawal of 42 Mbbl in U.S. propane/propylene inventories for the week ended November 14, compared to industry expectations of a 688 Mbbl decline. Despite the draw, total inventories stand at a robust 105.4 MMbbl. This level is 8% above the same week in 2024, 7% above the 5-year maximum, and 16% above the 5-year average, indicating a comfortable supply cushion ahead of the heating season. Weekly propane exports averaged 1.9 MMb/d, a slight decrease from the prior week but still surpassing the year-to-date average of 1.85 MMb/d. This signals sustained underlying export demand, although current volumes remain below the 2.2 MMb/d recorded a year ago, showing that export strength trails the prior year. [MDN: Propane is an NGL that comes out of the ground along with oil and natgas. Record natgas and oil production would lead to record propane production.]

INTERNATIONAL

Oil falls on rising fuel stocks
Bloomberg/Mia Gindis, Will Kubzansky
Crude oil prices, with West Texas Intermediate dropping 2.1% to close at $59.44, retreated due to rising US inventories of gasoline and distillate fuels, which eased immediate supply concerns. This increase in refined product stocks, reported by the US Energy Information Administration, countered fears of heating fuel shortages stemming from sanctions on Russian oil producers and high diesel market tightness. Additionally, diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s visit to Turkey and reports of US consultation on a new peace plan, raised hopes for de-escalation among investors who had largely dismissed such possibilities. Overall, oil prices continue to lose ground this year amidst forecasts of a record supply glut from the International Energy Agency. [MDN: Brent for January settlement fell 2.1% to settle at $63.51.]