Marcellus Drilling News

Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Gov Shapiro’s Secret Energy Group Endorses RGGI Carbon Tax
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

Newly-elected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed a working group in April to help guide him on what he should do concerning the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax and the broader issue of global warming (see PA Gov Appoints Secretive Group to Work on Global Warming Plan). The panel was super-secret, with only a few names for some of the participants leaking to the press (see New Details Revealed re Gov. Shapiro’s Secret Global Warming Group). The super-secret group’s work is done, and unsurprisingly, they love the idea of an RGGI-like carbon tax that would destroy gas-fired power plants in the Commonwealth.
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Chesapeake Energy | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Chesapeake Seeks More LNG Deals, Wants 20% of Production Going Intl
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

In March, Chesapeake Energy announced a 15-year deal to provide natural gas for LNG exports to Gunvor Singapore Pte (see Chesapeake Cuts Back on Marcellus, Signs Haynesville LNG Deal). In an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights at the time, Chesapeake CEO Nick Dell’Osso expressed the view that over the next several years, as much as 20% or 25% of U.S. production will flow to international markets (see Chesapeake CEO Says 20-25% of U.S. Gas Production Will be Exported). Dell’Osso is acting on that belief, attempting to find more deals for the company to export LNG.
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Crash Continues – U.S. Rig Count Cuts 7 @ 623, M-U Loses 1 @ 38
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

Two weeks ago, the U.S. rig count erased a couple of weeks of anemic gains by dropping 11 rigs from the total, sinking to 630 active rigs, the lowest count since February of 2022 (see Dead Cat Bounce? U.S. Rig Count Cut 11 @ 630, M-U Stays Even @ 39). The active count in the Marcellus/Utica remained at 39 (for three weeks running) — the lowest count in the M-U this year. Things got worse last week. The national rig count dropped *another* seven rigs, down to 623, and the M-U dropped one more rig (in the PA Marcellus), now down to 38 active rigs.
Read More “Crash Continues – U.S. Rig Count Cuts 7 @ 623, M-U Loses 1 @ 38”
Diversified Energy | Energy Companies

Diversified CEO Says Gulf Coast has Brighter Future than Appalachia
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

Diversified Energy (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil), with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions, too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with 67,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. For years, we have highlighted Diversified’s “contrarian” business model (see our Diversified stories here). Recently, oil and gas expert David Blackmon (who writes for the Forbes website) interviewed Diversified CEO Rusty Hutson, who had some interesting comments about the Appalachian region.
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Shale Can Play Big Role in World LNG – But Not Without New Pipes
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

Dumitru Dediu, McKinsey & Co. (Source: Hart Energy)

According to consulting powerhouse McKinsey & Co., world demand for LNG is forecast to see robust demand growth through at least 2040, and U.S. shale gas producers can effectively compete to fill a coming supply gap. But only if we can build enough new pipelines and liquefaction plants to meet the demand. And that’s the open question. As we report in a related story today (see Diversified CEO Says Gulf Coast has Brighter Future than Appalachia), it’s easier to build new pipelines in the Gulf Coast than in the Marcellus/Utica region. At the recent America’s Natural Gas Conference, McKinsey Partner Dumitru Dediu commented, “Without new infrastructure, we may see Henry Hub prices increasing and, respectively, other less competitive basins supplying these LNG projects.”
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Bidenistas Attack Your Gas Furnace with New DOE Regulations
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

Not content to kill off your natural gas stove, the Bidenistas at the U.S. Dept. of Energy are now coming for your gas furnace. On Friday, the Biden Dept. of Energy (DOE) published a new rule that cracks down on gas furnaces in homes, essentially phasing out many existing models and requiring new ones to meet onerous new standards. The DOE now requires a 95% annual fuel efficiency standard, up from the 80% that was on the books before the new rule was published Friday. New models will be mandatory by 2028–and you’ll pay an average $4,700 for your new gas furnace. But that’s not the only cost…
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Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Oct 2, 2023
October 2, 2023October 2, 2023

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Progressive PACs heavily outspend free-market advocates in Pa.; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Largest EV charging station in world powered by diesel generators; TXOGA analysis finds Texas output hits record highs; NATIONAL: DOE targets key energy challenges with $264MM funding; US power grids must adapt to rapid electrification, operators say; BP’s US boss to leave company weeks after CEO Looney; White House prohibiting official travel to fossil fuel conferences; INTERNATIONAL: French say you should only be able to fly 4 times in your life.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Oct 2, 2023”