PA DEP Aids Efforts by Antis to Establish 3,000+ Foot Setbacks
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is aiding and abetting radical environmental groups in circumventing the state legislature. In what amounts to a classic leftist “sue-and-settle” case, radical environmental groups (including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project) petitioned the state Environmental Quality Board (EQB), asking the board to amend 25 Pa. Code Chapter 78a by increasing “setbacks” for oil and gas well drilling to a minimum of 3,281 feet from any building or water wells (5,280 feet from hospitals and schools), and 750 feet from any river, creek, or mud puddle (i.e., surface waters). Such an increase in setbacks would stop ALL new shale drilling in the state, which is the goal of these radicals. The DEP ruled that the petition to the EQB was right and proper and should move forward. Read More “PA DEP Aids Efforts by Antis to Establish 3,000+ Foot Setbacks”
A key issue has come about with the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. Who regulates Class VI wells is a flashpoint of controversy. Right now, the EPA is the primary regulator (has “primacy”) in regulating Class VI wells in all but three states (North Dakota, Wyoming, and Louisiana). According to a notice coming in tomorrow’s Federal Register by the EPA, a fourth state is about to be added to the list: West Virginia. 
We have fantastic news to share. Elba Island LNG, which accepts and liquefies Marcellus/Utica molecules just offshore from Savannah, Georgia, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last Thursday to expand the facility to produce an extra 0.4 million metric tons/year (mmty). By our calculations, that would mean an extra 16.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of M-U natural gas flowing to Elba over the course of a year. 
The analysts at the federal U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) are cautioning (we’d call it warning) that the global natural gas market may experience a tighter supply-demand balance this winter than in the prior two winters. Why? Several reasons, chief among is the coming colder winter. El Niño changes to La Niña this season. La Niña generally brings colder, drier weather to the Northern Hemisphere. But weather isn’t the only factor for EIA. So, too, is the lack of growth this winter in new LNG exports from the U.S. 
There’s no shortage of articles about the incoming Trump administration and what it will mean for the energy space. We’re trying not to bury you with such speculation. However, when we notice items that pique our curiosity and interest, things that make us sit up and take notice, we will bring you those items. This is one such article. Writing on the OilPrice.com website, a pair of economist/financial analysts write that gas-fired power plants will be the big winner in the coming Trump administration. They explain their reasoning, which we find cogent… 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Grants available for Pa. fire companies responding to gas well incidents; West Virginia’s energy legacy can help shape the future; NATIONAL: Marathon Oil now part of ConocoPhillips; Trump’s energy secretary nominee promises to be climate cartel’s nightmare; Natural gas price is surging again; Biden’s IRA – watch your wonderful tax dollars at work; INTERNATIONAL: Oil drops below $69 amid Middle East de-escalation; How much crude oil is the world producing?; COP got the attention but CLINTEL got it right; The messy affair of divorcing Russian gas and bridging EU’s energy price gap.