Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Energy 4Q Update: Aims to Produce 5 Bcf/d in 2022
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

Southwestern Energy, which has become a natural gas-producing behemoth second only to EQT Corporation, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 update on Friday. The company also issued projections for 2022. Southwestern produced 4.27 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) of natural gas and equivalents in 4Q21 across both plays where it operates–the Marcellus/Utica in the northeast and the Haynesville in the Gulf Coast region. Of that 4.27 Bcfe/d, some 3.14 Bcfe/d (74%) came from the M-U.
Read More “Southwestern Energy 4Q Update: Aims to Produce 5 Bcf/d in 2022”
DT Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NEXUS Pipeline | Pipelines

DT Midstream Open Season to Expand Shipping on NEXUS Pipeline
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

click for larger version

Last summer DTE Energy spun off its pipeline assets into a new/separate company called DT Midstream (see DT Midstream Plans to Expand Organically, Decarbonize). The new pipeline company owns some key Marcellus/Utica assets, including several gathering systems and a 50% stake in the mighty NEXUS interstate gas pipeline. On Friday DT Midstream issued its quarterly update, which includes mention of something not previously on our radar screen: DT is (or did) conduct an open season to expand flows along the NEXUS pipeline.
Read More “DT Midstream Open Season to Expand Shipping on NEXUS Pipeline”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Legislature Gets Closer to Revised NatGas Property Tax Rule
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

The West Virginia State Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2581 on the last day of the annual WV legislative session in April 2021. HB 2581 required the State Tax Commissioner to develop a revised methodology to value oil and natural gas properties for the purposes of assessing property taxes. The State Tax Department submitted an emergency rule last summer that was, quite frankly, a mess. The rule created a complex system that is currently mired in controversy with both drillers and landowners confused about how much of a tax bill they will owe this year. Last week the WV House of Delegates worked on and pushed along a compromise bill to try and fix the mess created last year (see WV Legislature Wants Tax Dept. Do-Over of NatGas Property Tax Rule).
Read More “WV Legislature Gets Closer to Revised NatGas Property Tax Rule”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Senate Republicans File to Intervene in Wolf’s Carbon Tax Lawsuit
February 28, 2022April 20, 2022

In contravention to the Pennsylvania State Constitution, PA Gov. Tom Wolf is attempting to force a multi-billion-dollar energy tax on the citizens of his state without approval by the state legislature. Wolf’s new tax is called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a whopping tax on carbon dioxide emissions (the stuff you breathe out with every breath you take) that are emitted by coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. The aim is to gradually shut down all coal- and gas-fired plants in favor of unreliable, intermittent, so-called renewable power. Wolf is suing to force the printing of new RGGI rules in the Pennsylvania Bulletin so he can begin his destruction of fossil energy in the state. The Republican legislature has filed to intervene in the lawsuit, to stop Wolf.
Read More “PA Senate Republicans File to Intervene in Wolf’s Carbon Tax Lawsuit”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Westmoreland County

Murrysville Antis Appeal Fracking Ordinance to PA Supreme Court
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

In May 2017, Murrysville Township (Westmoreland County) struck a zoning compromise with local drillers on the distance of setbacks (see Murrysville, PA Drilling Ordinance – Anatomy of a Compromise). In a lawsuit that went from county court to Commonwealth Court, the case brought by climate change cultists failed. Since they have access to piles of Big Green money (some of which likely comes from Russia), a local Big Green-backed anti-fossil fuel group is trying one last “Hail Mary” pass, appealing the lawsuit to the Democrats of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Read More “Murrysville Antis Appeal Fracking Ordinance to PA Supreme Court”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Nacero | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants

PA Anti-Fossil Fuelers Hold Online Session to Bash Nacero GTL Plant
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

In late October Nacero announced a $6 billion gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery, to be built on the site of a former coal mine in Newport Township and Nanticoke in Luzerne County, PA (see NEPA Huge Deal – $6B Plant to Convert Marcellus Gas to Gasoline). The plant will convert Marcellus natural gas into zero-sulfur gasoline for use in existing cars and trucks without modification. Local anti-fossil fuel zealots hosted an online session to bash away at the plant, hoping to scare a few more people into opposing it. Thing is, nobody believes them anymore.
Read More “PA Anti-Fossil Fuelers Hold Online Session to Bash Nacero GTL Plant”
Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PA Chamber: We Need More American O&G Drilling, New Pipelines
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

Gene Barr, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, unloaded on Joe Biden and his inept energy policies in a recent op-ed in which Barr says it’s time for U.S. energy policy to stop empowering Russia. In addition to more oil drilling and oil pipelines, Barr advocates for more natural gas drilling and more natural gas pipelines here in the Marcellus/Utica. Do you want to help Europe? Stop blocking American oil and gas, President Biden!
Read More “PA Chamber: We Need More American O&G Drilling, New Pipelines”
Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Feb 28, 2022
February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Utica Shale to create outdoor welding lab; Abandoning fossil fuels irrational; NATIONAL: Biden admin vows to avoid Russia oil sanctions; Should we grow up about energy?; Unleashing U.S. oil industry offers Biden path to avoid energy crisis; INTERNATIONAL: The biggest problem with the green energy revolution; Linde develops world’s first plant to extract hydrogen from natgas pipelines; Nuclear, coal, LNG: ‘no taboos’ in Germany’s energy about-face.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Feb 28, 2022”