US Supremes Reject Big Green Case to Gut Eminent Domain Using MVP
Finally, it’s the end of the road for Big Green using (abusing) six uppity Virginia landowners who didn’t want the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to cross their well-groomed horse pastures. The landowners, funded by Big Green and using Big Green lawyers, sued repeatedly to try and overturn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) right to delegate its eminent domain authority to pipeline companies like MVP in order to build pipelines. Big Green and the landowners knew it wouldn’t stop MVP — the hope was to block all (and we mean ALL) future pipelines from getting built. That was the end game. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will not revisit the case. It had already looked at this case once before. This is well and truly the end of the line for these landowners and Big Green in attempting to gut FERC’s eminent domain authority. Finally.
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The ghost of Doug “the ax” Lawler is once again roaming the halls of Chesapeake Energy (see 
American Environmental Partners (AEP) and its owner, Brad Domitrovitsch, had their first day in court yesterday in Belmont County, OH, to address a motion by Ohio’s Attorney General, David Yost, to hold the company and Domitrovitsch in contempt for not complying with an order to clean up the Austin Master Services (AMS) facility owned by AEP. Although the hearing was scheduled to begin at 10 am, it didn’t actually start until 11:10 am. The judge gave the attorneys for the parties involved time to talk in an effort to arrive at a resolution. Which obviously didn’t happen as the hearing went forward. There was just one witness for the day yesterday.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) approved two bids to drill for oil and gas under (not on) state-owned lands yesterday. Antero Resources was the sole bidder to drill under a Dept. of Transportation (DOT) property in Noble County. Southwestern Energy won its bid to drill under DOT land in Monroe County along the Ohio River. The OGLMC also advanced five other nominations to drill under state-owned properties to the bidding process. One nomination advancing is a request to drill under the 84-acre Keen Wildlife Area in Harrison County (see 
We’ve read the canard a number of times in recent months that the Biden administration has been good for oil and gas. Why? Because (goes the Democrat line), O&G is producing more now than ever. Because O&G companies are more profitable now than ever. Because O&G shareholders are doing better now than ever. So the Dems believe O&G should love the Biden administration. But here’s the truth: O&G is doing OK now DESPITE the onslaught against it by the Biden administration. The health and well being of O&G companies today is NOT the result of Biden’s policies (which have sought to destroy fossil energy), but despite those policies. We are doing OK today because of the lingering benefits of the policies put into effect under Donald Trump, not because of anything Joe Biden has done.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: McCormick says he’ll term-limit himself if elected; Swing-state Senate Dems running from Biden; NATIONAL: Americans want natural gas; Energy CEOs split on pursuing Biden incentives close to election; INTERNATIONAL: Macquarie, JP Morgan examines upcoming OPEC meeting; QatarEnergy’s CEO says LNG is here to stay for years on end.