INGAA Prevails in PHMSA Lawsuit, New Biden Pipeline Regs Tossed
In May 2023, the Dept. of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a proposed new rule that would slap onerous and very expensive new requirements on pretty much all natural gas pipelines in the country, including 2.7 million miles of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipelines; 400+ underground natural gas storage facilities; and 165 liquefied natural gas facilities (see Biden DOT Issues New Partisan Methane Rules for All Gas Pipelines). The country’s top trade organizations representing the midstream (pipeline) industry filed comments pointing out major flaws in the new rule (see Major Pipeline Associations File Comments Against New PHMSA Regs). One of those organizations, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), filed a lawsuit last December in federal court challenging the new rule (see INGAA Files Lawsuit Challenging PHMSA’s New Pipeline Safety Regs).
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Have you ever noticed how anti-drilling leftists demand the right to mouth off whenever and wherever they want? If you deny them that opportunity, they get grumpy, fast. Last Friday, representatives from the U.S. Dept. of Energy and private company Allegheny Science and Technology (coordinating the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2) held a virtual briefing about the ARCH2 project. So-called concerns and questions were not addressed until 40 minutes into the briefing, and then, only about 10 of the hundreds of questions antis flooded the call with got addressed. That ticked off the antis.
Add Virginia to the list of states refusing to invest in companies and investment funds that push so-called ESG investing. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an official Attorney General’s Opinion on the permissibility of basing Virginia Retirement System (VRS) investment decisions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The Opinion confirms that the VRS Board of Trustees must prioritize financial returns and the best interests of beneficiaries above ESG policies when making investment decisions. Virginia joins a growing list of states, including West Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee that eschews investing in funds and companies that advocate anti-fossil fuel positions.
According to an analysis by Reuters, U.S. electricity generators consumed a record amount of natural gas in the first four months of the year as prices dropped to the lowest level in real terms for more than half a century. Ultra-low prices encouraged more power production from some of the least-efficient single-cycle gas and steam turbines at the expense of coal. From January through April 2024, natural gas was the #1 source of fuel used to generate electricity with 42% of all electricity generated coming from natgas. Coal was used to produce 15% of all electricity, meaning between the two fossil fuels, 57% of all electricity came from fossil fuels. Further meaning your EV runs on fossil fuels, not “batteries.”
Here’s a sobering fact: A web of red tape and environmentalist lawfare in the courts have derailed six of the last seven proposed interstate pipeline projects that could have delivered Appalachian natural gas to New England, the Southeast, and other regions of critical demand. The only pipeline to survive was the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and it took a literal Act of Congress to get it across the finish line. Here’s another sobering fact: Oil and gas pipeline approvals have dropped by 50% during the Biden-Harris administration (compared to the last three presidents before Biden). The precipitous drop was on purpose.
We are officially range-bound with respect to the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count. The count has gone up and down every few weeks. But since the third week of June, the range has been as low as 581 and as high as 589. And that’s it. Last week, the national rig count lost two rigs and now stands at 586. The Marcellus/Utica also lost one rig and now uses 35 active rigs. Pennsylvania remained the same with 21 active rigs. Ohio lost a rig (second week in a row) and now operates nine active rigs. West Virginia remained the same with five active rigs.
NATIONAL: Joe Manchin says Harris has brought a ‘vivacious energy’ to 2024 campaign; INTERNATIONAL: Oil services group SLB digs deeper in Russia; Second ‘dark-fleet’ LNG ship departs sanctioned Russian terminal; 85% of Russia’s oil finds buyers in China and India.