Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

New PA Bill Defines Word “Royalty” – Doesn’t Change Contracts
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

A new bill just introduced in the Pennsylvania House by State Rep. Eric Davanzo (Republican from Westmoreland County), House Bill (HB) 1763, clears up the confusion and bastardization of the term “royalty,” making it easy for everyone to know what can and cannot be deducted from royalties with respect to oil and gas leases. Davanzo got 23 of his fellow House members to co-sponsor the bill. It is a refreshingly simple bill that does not change any existing contracts. It defines the point to establish the value of gas (or oil) as that point when it is sold to an unrelated third-party purchaser. Simple!
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Energy Companies | Seneca Resources

Seneca FY3Q: More Drilling to Fill New Pipeline Capacity
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

Last Friday National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), the parent company for Seneca Resources and Empire Pipeline, issued its latest quarterly update for the quarter ending June 30 (NFG’s third fiscal quarter, everyone else’s second quarter). The exciting news from the update is that with two pipeline projects getting completed this year, Seneca Resources is ramping up its Marcellus/Utica drilling program to take advantage of selling more gas at higher prices.
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Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy

Gulfport 2Q: New Board, New Leadership, “Lumpy” Production
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), emerged from bankruptcy in May with a new board and new top management (see Gulfport Energy Emerges from Bankruptcy w/New Board, CEO/CFO Gone). Gulfport’s new management issued its first quarterly update on Friday. The company’s new focus, at least for the next year: Keep production steady at 1 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day), and keep spending for drilling even at $300 million per year.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Greenbrier County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | West Virginia

Two Kids Arrested for Blocking MVP Pipeline Construction in WV
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

Protesters arrested (credit: WOAY-TV)

Two out-of-state anti-fossil fuel protesters, one just a girl of 19 years old, were arrested Friday morning after they chained themselves to equipment at a construction site for the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Greenbrier County, WV. Anna Grace Woolly, 19, of Viles, NC, and Thomas George Tackett, 25, of Jackson, MO were arrested and charged with trespassing, obstructing an officer, and conspiracy.
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Industrywide Issues | Storage

More Natural Gas Storage is Needed – Will We Get It?
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

Types of underground natgas storage (click for larger version)

There are a number of factors that influence the availability and price of natural gas. Without a doubt, the #1 factor in gas prices is the weather. Another factor not often discussed is storage. Natural gas is stored mainly in large underground caverns during the “summer” months (called “injection season,” April through October). Natgas is later withdrawn for use during the “winter” months (“heating” or “withdrawal” season, November through March). RBN Energy takes a look at this often overlooked aspect of the industry, providing a quick history of natural gas storage and making predictions about a possible coming storage expansion.
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Taxation

Fed “Clean Electricity Standard” New Carbon Tax on Power Plants
August 9, 2021April 20, 2022

Get ready for another body blow from the radical Democrats who now run the country (Biden & Congress). They are preparing to slip a noose around the neck of natural gas-fired power plants with their upcoming so-called “reconciliation” bill in which they plan to reward big donors and radicalized environmentalists by destroying the coal and gas-fired power plant industry. The way they plan to do it is to introduce a so-called “clean electricity standard” (CES) in the reconciliation bill. It’s new language (new lipstic) on the same old pig of fossil fuel hatred. The bill contains a carbon tax applied specifically to fossil fuel plants that produce electricity. Sound familiar? PA Gov. Tom Wolf is trying this in his state with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The new federal bill in essence forces the equivalent of RGGI on all states everywhere. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN. RESIST!
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Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Aug 7, 2021
August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Natural gas extension – critical Bluefield project up for federal funding; Schumer joins environmentalists in denouncing Brooklyn natural gas pipeline; NATIONAL: Steamy summer drives big gains for weekly spot natural gas prices; The U.S. maintains its natural gas dominance; Carbon-neutral cargoes of LNG and other hydrocarbons; Shale giants hit hard by poor hedging decisions; INTERNATIONAL: To save the planet, focus on cutting methane – U.N. climate report; Exxon Mobil suspended from climate advocacy group; Chinese firms seek LNG cargoes, demand is strong.
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