Biden Flip Flop – FERC’s Phillips Still Just “Acting” Chairman
It seems that the Bidenistas at the White House are keeping Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Willie Phillips on a VERY short chain. Phillips was named “Acting” Chairman of FERC in January when Richard “Dick” Glick exited stage left (see Willie Phillips Takes Over as Acting FERC Chairman, Dick Glick Gone). For more than eight months, FERC could not produce the documentation to confirm Phillips’ appointment as Acting Chairman. Finally, under threat of a lawsuit and a court order from the Institute for Energy Research (IER), FERC (or rather the White House) produced a short one-page letter signed by Biden that says Phillips is full-blown Chairman, with no “Acting” in the title (see Turns Out Willie Phillips Isn’t Just Acting – He’s FERC Chairman). But now the White House has flip-flopped and said no, Phillips is just Acting Chairman after all.
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Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, wants to extend the pipeline by an extra 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric generation. The extension is called MVP Southgate. In typical fashion, Democrats oppose it (see 
In August 2022, MDN brought you the news that Hearthstone Utilities, a Naperville, Illinois-based company, was planning to move its corporate headquarters to Morgantown, West Virginia (see 
The so-called Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), backed with FOREIGN MONEY, is behind most of the lawsuits filed by municipalities around the country (cities, counties, states) against Big Oil & Gas companies, claiming fossil energy companies know and have known for years that using their products is toasting Mom Earth into oblivion. It is the most outrageous abuse of the justice system we know of. The lawsuits are instigated (and funded) by CCI and a litany of colluding tax-free nonprofits. In August, we told you all the signs are pointing to CCI targeting Pennsylvania (see 
U.S. natural gas exports set a record high in the first half of 2023, largely thanks to LNG exports. However, don’t forget that nearly as much natural gas is exported to Mexico and Canada via pipelines as LNG is exported to other countries via cargo ships. For the first six months of 2023, the U.S. exported an average of 11.6 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of gas via LNG, and 8.8 Bcf/d via pipelines. Added together, the 20.4 Bcf/d of natgas we exported during 1H23 was the most ever exported for the first half of any year on record. Pop the cork!
New shale permits issued for Sep 25 – Oct 1 in the Marcellus/Utica were up a few ticks from the previous week. There were 23 new permits issued last week, up from 21 permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 10 new permits in Pennsylvania, no new permits in Ohio, and a surprising 13 new permits in West Virginia. Two companies tied for top permittee, one you know, one you may not know. Olympus Energy received 5 permits to drill in Westmoreland County, PA. Consol Mining Company received 5 permits to drill in Monongalia County, WV. Consol used to own CNX Resources before spinning off CNX into its own company. Consol concentrates on coal mining. We were surprised to see Consol wandering back into shale drilling.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Tellurian seeks more time to complete Driftwood LNG terminal; NATIONAL: Exxon Mobil closing in on megadeal with shale driller Pioneer; Oil drops below $83 on demand fears; Oil could hit $100/bbl as OPEC+ sticks with supply cuts; Peak hourly U.S. electricity demand in July 2nd highest since 2016; ESG has lost its meaning; Haaland’s daughter has ties to Cuban Communists; INTERNATIONAL: Rystad analysts say oil demand peaking, predict $60 a barrel by 2027; Chevron Australia LNG workers threaten to resume strikes.