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OH Senate Passes Bill Extending Time Drillers Can Frack State Land

In something of a surprise (for us), the Ohio State Senate passed House Bill (HB) 308 yesterday, a bill that extends the standard lease terms for drillers who want to drill under (not on) state-owned land from three years to five years. The bill also extends the total amount of time fracking operations can last from six years to eight years. Sensible increases in both cases. The Ohio House previously passed the bill. The Senate version is slightly different from the House version, so it heads back to the House to reconcile the two versions, and then it heads to the desk of RINO Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. No telling whether he will sign it or not. Read More “OH Senate Passes Bill Extending Time Drillers Can Frack State Land”

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$11B Power Line from Upstate NY Solar & Wind to NYC Canceled

For those unlucky enough to live in New York City and its sprawling suburbs, get ready for blackouts due to the lack of electricity. The state of New York and developers of the 175-mile Clean Path NY transmission line have “mutually agreed to terminate” contracts underpinning the project, which was planned to come online in 2027. Clean Path was supposed to bring 5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from windmills and solar farms in Upstate New York to liberal elites living in and around NYC. The project was billed as “critical” to achieving New York’s climate goals, including 70% renewable electricity consumption by 2030 and developing a zero-emission electric grid by 2040. That’s all down the toilet now. Get ready to sit in the dark. Read More “$11B Power Line from Upstate NY Solar & Wind to NYC Canceled”

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O&G Coalition Presses Speaker Johnson to Vote on Permitting Bill

In July, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (West Virginia), the Democrat chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Senator John Barrasso (from Wyoming), the ranking Republican member of the same committee, drafted and released the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (see Barrasso, Manchin Release Bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Bill). The bill aims to accelerate the permitting process for critical energy and mineral projects of all types, including fossil fuels, in the United States. A coalition of oil and gas trade associations, representing over 80% of U.S. domestic production, issued an urgent call this week to House Speaker Mike Johnson for immediate action on the Manchin/Barrasso bill to get a vote on the measure before the close of the 118th Congress. Read More “O&G Coalition Presses Speaker Johnson to Vote on Permitting Bill”

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New Jersey Readies Massive New Tax on Oil & Gas Facilities

You can’t fix stupid. You can only vote it out of office. From the outskirts of New York to the Delaware River shoreline across from Philadelphia, New Jersey is home to numerous oil and natural gas facilities. A New Jersey Senate committee is seriously discussing (planning) an insane new tax on those facilities as a way of creating a slush fund supposedly to help the state fight the effects of climate change. It would be just another pile of money for corrupt politicians to line their own (and friends’) pockets with. Hello, Tony Soprano! Read More “New Jersey Readies Massive New Tax on Oil & Gas Facilities”

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S&P 2025 Energy Outlook: Fossil Fuels Needed to Save the Day

Yesterday, the analysts at S&P Global Commodity Insights, the leading independent provider of information, data, analysis, benchmark prices, and workflow solutions for the commodities and energy markets, released their 2025 energy outlook. S&P published the top 10 “key themes” from the report. Key theme #2 was this: “Total energy demand growth to outstrip clean energy supply growth.” The concomitant conclusion is that *something* has to meet that new energy demand, and since unreliable renewables can’t and won’t, fossil fuels will ride in to save the day—as they always have. Read More “S&P 2025 Energy Outlook: Fossil Fuels Needed to Save the Day”

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U.S. Supremes Signal Willingness to Curb NEPA Enviro Reviews

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could fundamentally change how the federal government conducts environmental reviews. We first told you about the case last week (see U.S. Supremes to Consider How Far is Too Far with Enviro Reviews). The case deals with a proposed railway that would connect Utah’s oil-rich Uinta Basin to Colorado. The case considers what should and should not be part of a so-called environmental review. How far is too far? A Circuit Court of Appeals wanted more nonsense included in such a review. At Tuesday’s hearing, the court’s conservative justices signaled they might be willing to put some new guardrails around the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its requirements to conduct environmental reviews. It seems the Supremes think things have gone too far with endless (costly) environmental “reviews.” Read More “U.S. Supremes Signal Willingness to Curb NEPA Enviro Reviews”

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Timing & Future of Venture Global’s CP2 LNG Project Murky

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The timing (even the very future) for Venture Global’s proposed Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG export plant is murky at best. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June issued a 2-1 decision to approve the project (see FERC Approves Expansion of Venture Global’s CP LNG Export Plant). However, the project is on hold (with more than a dozen other projects) from Joementia’s “pause” on new export approvals that began in January (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). Even if President Trump overturns Biden’s pause on LNG approvals and stamps “approved” on CP2’s application on January 20th, there’s still a major roadblock. Read More “Timing & Future of Venture Global’s CP2 LNG Project Murky”

Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Dec 12, 2024

NATIONAL: Analysts examine today’s USA natural gas price rise; Exxon raises capital spending as worldwide oil glut looms; Biden EPA spends $735 million on electric school buses; Improving well productivity helps U.S. oil companies increase production at a lower cost; Trump, Congress to alter, not erase Biden energy legacy; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC makes deepest cut yet to 2024 world oil demand forecast. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Dec 12, 2024”