Gulfport Asks Judge to Force Cheniere Pipe Co. to Return $76M
Last Monday we brought you the news that Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale, had filed for bankruptcy (see Gulfport Energy Files for Pre-arranged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Today we bring you the news that Gulfport has asked the bankruptcy judge to force one of the pipelines Gulfport uses to ship natural gas, Midship Pipeline Company (a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy), to give back $75.6 million it took in October.
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Last Wednesday Shawn Lehman, from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources’ (DCNR) Resource Inventory and Monitoring Section, gave an update on DCNR’s ongoing efforts to monitor environmental and natural resource impacts of shale gas drilling on state forest land. We learned some interesting facts about shale drilling on PA state land as part of the presentation.
When a pipeline company considers whether or not to build a new pipeline, the company conducts an “open season”–a time when drillers (producers), traders, buyers and others who want guaranteed capacity along that pipeline can sign long-term contracts. Such contracts guarantee pipeline companies will be able to make back the considerable amount of money they have to spend to build the pipeline. What happens when those 5-, 10-, and 20-year contracts expire?
The plot thickens in the $60 million FirstEnergy nuclear subsidy bribery scandal. Last week MDN brought you the news that Ohio’s Attorney General, David Yost, had filed a second lawsuit to stop the collection of money from ratepayers that funds $150 million annual payments to FirstEnergy provided for under the law known as House Bill 6 (see 
The natural gas industry is proving effective at policing itself–far more effective than having the jackboots of the federal government step on its neck. Case in point: an industry group called Our Nation’s Energy Future (ONE Future), a coalition of 32 natural gas companies, released its 2019 report (below) that shows member companies collectively beat the group’s methane intensity goal by 67% for the year.
Kimmeridge Energy Management Company is a private equity investment firm focused on the upstream energy sector (drillers). Last week the firm published a white paper entitled, “Bringing Alignment and Accountability to the E&P Sector” (full copy below). The thesis of the paper is this: the alignment between drilling company executives and shareholders is “broken” and “a root cause” for the problem of poor earnings at drilling companies.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pennsylvania House votes to impose fees on electric cars; NYSEG to raise rates slightly, scale back natural gas; Local firefighters attend oil and gas training; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Bakken’s robust production threatened by low prices and Biden presidency, North Dakota officials say; Utility’s application for natural gas pipeline approved; INTERNATIONAL: Millions in Africa being sacrificed to extreme poverty, premature death on altar of ‘green energy’.