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Fed Court Certifies Class Action Lawsuit Against Range Resources

Today, we bring you news about a lawsuit filed just over three years ago, in September 2021, by four landowners in southwestern Pennsylvania who leased their land to Range Resources for drilling. The lawsuit is just now coming on our radar screen. Range did drill and, claims the landowners, deducted expenses from royalty checks for both methane and NGL production that were not allowed. The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of PA and continues to advance. On September 30, a judge certified the case as a class action with the potential to affect 204 landowners with leases containing specific language. Read More “Fed Court Certifies Class Action Lawsuit Against Range Resources”

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PA DEP Program Gives Fed $$ to Plug “Lower Priority” Orphaned Wells

In August, the Biden-Harris administration promised (but hasn’t yet delivered a dime of) up to $152 million in “Phase 2” federal money, i.e., your taxpayer dollars, to help plug old conventional oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania (see Convenient Timing: Biden-Harris Promise Pa. Another $152 Million). In September, Biden-Harris said a check was in the mail for $76 million for “Phase 1” of the same thing (see Biden-Harris Bribe Pa. with Check for $76 Million to Plug Old Wells). It is grotesquely CORRUPT. It is vote-buying. PA Gov. Josh Shapiro says the check was received, so he’s now handing out some of that $76 million to buy votes among the oil and gas sector. Yesterday, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced a new program that hands out some of the $76 million to “lower priority” orphaned wells. Read More “PA DEP Program Gives Fed $$ to Plug “Lower Priority” Orphaned Wells”

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PA Sen. Yaw Bill Plugs Old Conv. Wells Using $$ from Solar Credits

Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw believes he has a solution to help fund plugging many of the state’s ~350,000 orphaned and abandoned conventional oil and gas wells. Yaw recently introduced a bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1330, that directs the PA Department of General Services to sell any alternative energy credits it owns from buying unreliable solar energy and use the funds to plug old wells. The proposal, which could generate upward of $227 million, drives the enviro-left nuts. Read More “PA Sen. Yaw Bill Plugs Old Conv. Wells Using $$ from Solar Credits”

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Work on Shale Wastewater Injection Well in McKean County Progresses

In January, MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing conventional gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see PA DEP Approves Shale Wastewater Injection Well in McKean County). The well would handle up to 30 truckloads of wastewater per day. The prospect of the traffic and location near some homes did not sit well with some area residents. However, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the plan on Jan. 11. More than 40 residents of Cyclone appealed the DEP approval (see Sanctioned Lawyer Meets Cyclone Residents Against Injection Well). Even as the appeal plays out, construction to convert the well is underway. Read More “Work on Shale Wastewater Injection Well in McKean County Progresses”

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U.S. LNG Feedgas Dropped Last Week Due to Maintenance & Hurricane

MDN previously told you that gas flows (called “feedgas”) heading to the Cove Point LNG export facility along the coast of Maryland had fallen to zero as of Sept. 20 because the facility is undergoing annual maintenance (see Flows Drop to Zero @ Cove Point LNG, Closed for Annual Maintenance). Maintenance will likely last about three weeks at Cove Point. Flows to Venture Global’s not-commercially-ready but still producing LNG like crazy plant in Calcasieu Pass (in Louisiana) were down last week. Plus, a brief electricity outage at Elba Island (in Georgia) due to Hurricane Helene caused a temporary decrease in feedgas there. All of those factors combined to lower LNG feedgas flows last week. Read More “U.S. LNG Feedgas Dropped Last Week Due to Maintenance & Hurricane”

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Ascent Resources Issues $600M in New IOUs to Replace Old IOUs

We’re not high finance people (nor are we lawyers), but we do the best we can to explain financial (and legal) news that impacts companies and individuals in the Marcellus/Utica. Yesterday, Ascent Resources, a privately held company focusing 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale, announced it is floating new unsecured notes that mature in 2032 to purchase and payoff already-existing unsecured notes that were due to be paid (“maturing”) in 2026. We call them IOUs. Ascent is hoping to raise $600 million by selling the new notes. Read More “Ascent Resources Issues $600M in New IOUs to Replace Old IOUs”