The U.S. onshore rig count continues to collapse. Over the past week another 22 rigs disappeared from the count, mainly located in oil plays (like the Permian). Yet the news continues to be spun as “the bottom appears closer” when the decrease will stop. Really? We don’t see it! Last week the Marcellus (dry gas area of northeastern PA) lost another rig.
Read More “Rig Count Continues Crash to 311 – Marcellus Loses 1 More Rig”
One of our favorite M-U reporters, Paul Gough of the Pittsburgh Business Times, went in search of news about Appalachian shale drilling and its future. He found some rays of light. Gough talked with several of our favorite M-U people–CNX CEO Nick DeIuliis, Deep Well Services CEO Mark Marmo, and Range Resources COO Dennis Degner. Those three (and others) are certainly not Polyanna about what the future holds. There will be bumps. But they do offer hope that on the other side of this pandemic the M-U will actually emerge stronger and better.
Read More “Hopeful Signs for Turnaround in the Marcellus/Utica Industry”
MDN was launched in January 2009, during the heyday of leasing for shale drilling in the Marcellus/Utica region. One of our early focuses was to highlight lease deals by landowner coalitions. (Indeed, it was one such deal, in Deposit, NY, that inspired Jim Willis to begin writing MDN.) These days you don’t read or hear much about landowner coalitions because most properties are now leased (not all, but most). MDN friend Nicole Jacobs from Energy in Depth highlights a successful coalition in Belmont County, OH in a recent post.
Read More “Belmont County, OH Landowner Group a Huge Success”
Although many landowners in the Marcellus/Utica (at lease those who are interested) have already signed leases to allow shale drilling on and under their property, not all have. And sometimes leases expire with no drilling. Plus, not all landowners have leases that allow pipelines and other development (like solar projects). The Ohio State University Extension is offering several webinars at the end of June of interest to all landowners general, and Ohio landowners in particular, with an interest in leasing and mineral rights.
Read More “Ohio State University Offering Shale Leasing, DMA Webinars in June”
Massachusetts produces most (perhaps all) of its electricity from natural gas-fired power plants and some 3.5 million people in the state use it to heat their homes. And yet MA Attorney General Maura Healey (radical leftist Democrat), in what can only be described as a psychotic break, has demanded the state Dept. of Public Utilities “study” how the state can completely phase out the use of all natural gas. Yes, Healey has completely lost her mind!
Read More “Mass. AG Loses Her Mind – Asks DPU to Study No NatGas Future”
We’ll say it right up front: We’re not impressed with so-called “renewable” natural gas (RNG) and all of the machinations companies go through to obtain and deliver it to their customers. RNG is chemically identical to regular old natural gas. It’s called methane (CH4). It burns the same and releases the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it burns. Chesapeake Utilities (nothing to do with Chesapeake Energy), which operates in the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia), is the latest utility company to cook up an RNG scheme–to use chicken “droppings” as the source of methane. Whatever.
Read More “Chesapeake Utilities Turning Chicken Poop into “Renewable” NatGas”
NATIONAL: US weekly LNG exports drop to ten cargoes; How is improving crude price triggering rapid shale recovery?; Devon makes sealed wellbore pressure monitoring available to entire shale sector; US working natural gas volumes in underground storage rise 102 Bcf on week; INTERNATIONAL: Fossil fuels for decades and beyond; Why OPEC+ oil production cut agreed under COVID-19 stress is destined to fall apart.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jun 5, 2020”