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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5

For the week of Dec 30 – Jan 5, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded from holiday lows. There were 30 new permits issued last week, up from just 12 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued nine new permits, with six going to Range Resources in Allegheny County and three to EQT, split between Lycoming and Washington counties. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5”

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MVP Flows Full 2 Bcf/d for First Time Since Starting Last June

On June 14, 2024, the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) that runs from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA, announced the pipeline had, after a decade of planning and building, finally begun to flow Marcellus/Utica molecules (see Confirmed: M-U Gas Now Flowing Through Mountain Valley Pipeline). The effect of the molecules flowing through MVP was profound and immediate, raising prices for M-U gas at the source and lowering the gas price at the destination (see MVP Lowers Gas Prices in Southeast, Raises Prices in Northeast). However, in the first month that the pipeline was online, it only flowed about half of its rated 2 Bcf/d capacity. Since then, other pipelines connecting to and taking gas from MVP have come online, gradually boosting flows on MVP. Here’s some exciting new news: Just this week, for the very first time, MVP flowed a full 2 Bcf/d (technically 1.96 Bcf/d) of yummy Marcellus/Utica gas. Read More “MVP Flows Full 2 Bcf/d for First Time Since Starting Last June”

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Are U-Turn Wells the Future of Drilling in the Marcellus/Utica?

We never cease to marvel at the genius of the oil and gas industry and those who seek to find better ways to drill. According to an Oil and Gas Investor article examining major shale play trends, drillers across the Lower 48 are drilling U-shaped double-long laterals, finding lower-cost new-well inventory in the acreage they already hold. And they’re doing it “problem-free.” Did you know there are two U-shaped wells in our region? There’s one in the Pennsylvania Marcellus (in Susquehanna County) and one in the Ohio Utica (Belmont County). Who knew?! Read More “Are U-Turn Wells the Future of Drilling in the Marcellus/Utica?”

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ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Open House Brings Out Anti-Fossil Fuelers

Last August, MDN told you that the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) officially received its first $30 million from the Bidenistas (see EQT & Others Enter “Phase 1” of Hydrogen Hub; DOE Cuts $30M Check). ARCH2 is getting $925 million from a $7 billion pot. ARCH2, one of seven projects to win approval, was selected specifically because it will use Marcellus/Utica shale gas as the feedstock to create hydrogen (so-called “blue” hydrogen). At an open house yesterday in Ohio, anti-shale protesters showed up to register their discontent with “clean” hydrogen because it will “perpetuate fracking.” We wonder how it feels never to have graduated from kindergarten. Read More “ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Open House Brings Out Anti-Fossil Fuelers”

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New Bill in Congress Would Block Presidents from Banning Fracking

Last Friday, Republican Congressman August Pfluger (from Texas) introduced a new bill that will prevent any future president from banning fracking nationally without the consent of Congress. Pfluger’s “Protecting American Energy Production Act” would explicitly require an act of Congress to impose a fracking moratorium and prevent the president from doing so directly. We must ensure future administrations don’t repeat the catastrophic damage inflicted by the Bidenistas over the past four years. This is a good first step. Read More “New Bill in Congress Would Block Presidents from Banning Fracking”

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World’s Largest Investment Firm, BlackRock, Dumps Net-Zero Club

Elections certainly do “have consequences,” as Lord Obama once famously said. Less than two months after Donald J. Trump won the election and Republicans won both houses of Congress, the six largest banks in the U.S. all withdrew their membership in the United Nations Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), with the largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, leaving earlier this week (see Largest Bank in U.S. Drops Out of UN’s Net Zero Banking Alliance). And now, wonder of wonders! The investment equivalent of Darth Vader, BlackRock, with some $9 trillion of investments under management, announced that it is pulling out of the investment banking equivalent of NZBA, something called the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative. Translation: It’s OK to invest in fossil energy once again. At least here in the good old US of A. Read More “World’s Largest Investment Firm, BlackRock, Dumps Net-Zero Club”

Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 10, 2025

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Consol Energy and Arch Resources shareholders approve $5 billion merger; Natural gas and agriculture working in tandem for PA; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: How will natural gas factor in to Maine’s cleaner energy future?; NATIONAL: American energy powers AI; US producers look toward more spending, less carbon, and a new administration; Lee sticks with Burgum, Wright hearings despite Dem outcry; INTERNATIONAL: Gas more expensive than oil sets stage for Asian fuel switching. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 10, 2025”