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Toby Rice Gives Tour of PA “Monster Well Pad” to Intl Customers
EQT CEO Toby Rice is and has been on a mission–to spread the gospel of LNG (see EQT CEO Toby Rice Unveils Nationwide Plan to “Unleash” U.S. LNG). Rice continued his LNG mission this week when he wined and dined and gave tours to officials from the countries of Slovakia, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Latvia, and Thailand. One of the tour stops was a site in Greene County, showing off a well pad with 15 Marcellus wells that produce a cumulative 200 MMcf/d! It’s truly a monster well pad.
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Each month the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issues a monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Last month, in May, the STEO made the startling prediction that the average Henry Hub price for natural gas (the national benchmark) would hit $8.13 for 3Q22 and $8.59 for the entire second half of this year (see 
The number-crunchers at our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, published their analysis of LNG exports for the first four months of 2022. Unsurprisingly, because of the Ukraine war, EIA found that 74% of the LNG exported from the U.S. during that time has gone to Europe. It’s pretty much a reversal of last year when 34% of our LNG went to Europe. Last year most of our LNG went to Asia–China and South Korea. The percentages of how much U.S. LNG goes to Europe and how much goes to Asia have changed places over the past year.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” (Quote attributed to Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda) The left so often adopts the attitude if you keep repeating the same lie over and over–preferably the bigger the lie the better–the lie will become accepted as the truth. State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery, chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and Sen. Jim Brewster, D-Allegheny, are expert practitioners of this strategy with respect to lying about the Marcellus Shale and fracking. They were at it again last week holding a public (i.e. propaganda) hearing at the Community College of Allegheny County.
A group of international scientists has discovered a fourth type of natural gas. Wait, there are different “types” of natgas? Yes, at least different types of origins for natural gas. To date, three main sources of natural gas had been identified–microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic. Scientists have discovered a fourth type or origin for natural gas–natgas generated by radiolysis, which is the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation of the organic matter in shale rock. Yeah, it’s science and it’s complicated. Let us bottom line this for you right here: The presence of natural gas with a “thermogenic” signature (i.e. fingerprint), which indicates gas coming from a drilled shale well, has been blamed for contaminating water supplies in places like Dimock, PA. It’s quite possible thermogenic gas has been misidentified as radiolysis gas, and that leaky wells are not the cause of gas in water.
Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering are developing a new way to reduce the environmental impact of drilling and fracking by cleaning produced water for reuse. Produced water is the water that comes out of the hole long after drilling and fracking is done. It is “water from the depths”–far below the water table–and it’s full of minerals, which is why it’s often called brine (or salt). Pitt engineers have researched membrane distillation (MD) to treat this salty wastewater. Pitt has discovered how to use MD to economically recycle and reuse produced water from shale.
NATIONAL: Andros launches mineral platform with $122M mineral, royalty acquisition; U.S. LNG exports stay near record levels in May; Biden to usher in cheap Chinese panels with solar power shake-up; Banning U.S. oil exports would be Biden’s ultimate energy folly; INTERNATIONAL: Environmental groups sue to end support for 30 EU-backed gas projects.