Doddridge County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wetzel County
Unplanned Outage at 2 WV MarkWest Plants Knocks 2.4 Bcf/d Offline
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s disconcerting. We’re talking about an “operational event” (i.e. outage) at not one but two MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plants–both in West Virginia. MarkWest’s Sherwood plant in Doddridge County and Mobley plant in Wetzel County are affected. According to NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index, four pipeline receipt locations affected by the outage are scheduled to go to zero beginning today “until further notice.”
Read More “Unplanned Outage at 2 WV MarkWest Plants Knocks 2.4 Bcf/d Offline”
Is our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, being corrupted by the Biden White House? Maybe. The EIA published a post on their Today in Energy website yesterday to trumpet the fact that “nonfossil fuel sources” accounted for 21% of all energy consumed in the U.S. in 2020. The post should have had the headline that fossil energy provided 79% of all energy consumed in the U.S. last year. Yes, that was a new low for fossil energy (and a new high for nonfossil fuels) in the modern age, but not by much. We dug into the numbers and discovered a startling revelation: natural gas was the #1 source of energy consumed in the U.S. last year–even more than oil!
The Supreme Court decision from earlier this week allowing PennEast Pipeline to use the federally delegated power of eminent domain to cross tiny pieces of land owned (or controlled by) New Jersey is still reverberating across the country (see 
As encouraging (indeed critical) as this week’s Supreme Court decision was and is for the PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) pipeline from northeastern Pennsylvania to New Jersey, the court victory does not automatically mean the pipeline will get built. Not one square inch of pipe has been laid yet. What are the potential obstacles that could derail the project?
In April, CNX Resources Corp. announced instead of just blowing smoke about ESG (environmental, social, governance) with pretty slide shows and hoopla, they would donate $30 million to local, underserved communities and populations in the tri-state region (see 
With all of this blather about ESG (environmental, social, governance) and net zero and so-called “renewable” natural gas (RNG), has anyone stepped back to ask the question, Will utility companies (and their ratepayers) actually pay more for green gas? Reuters has asked the question and it seems that right now, the answer is a resounding NO!
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: NYC hates nuclear power and natural gas – now they have to turn off their air conditioners; NATIONAL: US weekly LNG exports and Henry Hub price rise; Shadow lenders take over in the U.S. shale patch; Video: China, Universities & Climate Change; INTERNATIONAL: Oil prices end trading day above $75; Global natural gas benchmarks to rise through 2023 amid supply deficit.