EIA DPR: M-U Hit New All-Time High Production Record in March
According to our records, the Marcellus/Utica hit a new record-high rate of natural gas production in March of 36.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), finally blowing by the previous all-time record high of 35.6 MMcf/d set in December 2020. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) yesterday for March 2022, which shows not only did we set a new record this month, but predicts production in the M-U will go higher yet, to 36.5 Bcf/d. It seems we have finally turned the corner on the pandemic.
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On Monday, Jan. 31, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced PA had been awarded its initial allocation of $25 million, and will receive a total of $104 million, from Biden’s so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to plug orphaned and abandoned wells in the state (see
An updated report issued by the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) shows that PA exports far more electricity out of state than any other state in the entire country. In 2021 PA generated 241.6 million megawatt-hours (MWH) of electricity. The state itself used 156.2 million MWH, and exported 85.5 million MWH to other states. The number one source (by far) of fuel used to generate that much electricity? Marcellus natural gas. PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s insane Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax threatens to shut down that gas-fired production.
It must be sad to live your life focusing all your energy on something you hate. You live in a prison of someone else’s making. You hand the keys of your happiness to someone else, rather than being the captain of your own destiny. Such must be the life of the Pennsylvania “Green” Party’s candidate for governor, Christina “PK Ditty” Digiulio, whose mission in life is to defeat new pipelines, like the now-completed Mariner East 2 pipeline.
The CERAWeek conference was held in Houston, Texas all of last week. We’re still analyzing important news from the event. The CEOs of major drillers and midstream companies were there, as were heads of government agencies (like Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s incompetent Secretary of Energy). For example, we spotted a report from a session where the heads of three drillers, Pioneer Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips, and Chesapeake Energy, shared their insights on what lies ahead for 2022 and 2023. The panel provided insight into how and why growth (new drilling, more production) is being limited in U.S. shale plays, including in the Marcellus/Utica.
The mighty BP (formerly British Petroleum) admits they were wrong in the company’s latest Annual Energy Outlook for 2022 (full copy below). In BP’s Energy Outlook for 2020, BP (wrongly) predicted the world had hit so-called “peak oil” demand for crude oil and other liquid fuels, topping out at around 100 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019. Whoops. That was wrong. BP now says oil/liquids demand will rise to 101 million bpd by 2025 and stay there for another five years, to around 2030. As for natural gas, the LNG trade “grows strongly over the first 10 years of the outlook” and then tapers off. By 2050 LNG production, claims BP, will only be 10% higher than it was in 2019.
NATIONAL: US gas exports can ‘easily’ replace Russian; How refined FERC policies will affect new LNG terminals; Sen. Joe Manchin signals opposition to Sarah Bloom Raskin for Fed; INTERNATIONAL: Drillers awaken in Canada; Europe is a key destination for Russia’s energy exports; What will happen at the next OPEC meeting?