PA PUC Votes to Redefine Landlords with Gas as Pipeline Operators
We have news about a disturbing ruling from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued last Wednesday. By a vote of 3-2 along party lines (Democrats in the majority), the PUC commissioners labeled landlords as “pipeline operators” if they have behind-the-meter gas distribution systems on their properties. The move will require, with limited exceptions, landlords throughout the commonwealth — regardless of size — to comply with federal gas pipeline safety laws, including the regulations of the federal Pipeline Safety and Hazardous Materials Administration (PSHMA), in the same manner as natural gas distribution companies and gas pipeline operators. It’s completely bonkers. Read More “PA PUC Votes to Redefine Landlords with Gas as Pipeline Operators”
CNX Resources announced in December that it had struck a deal to buy the assets of Apex Energy II, LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, for $505 million (see 
Faced with the possibility of blackouts, Connecticut’s Democrat Governor, Ned Lamont, wants to keep his nuclear and gas-fired power plants. But Lamont isn’t interested in building more pipelines or new gas-fired plants. That’s a bridge too far for Lamont. He’s happy to allow the residents of Connecticut to continue paying some of (perhaps THE) highest electric rates in the country because, you know, global warming. Connecticut is heading over the renewables cliff into economic oblivion. Paying sky-high prices is A.O.K. for Lamont, but blackouts are not. Hence, his statements in last week’s State of the State speech were about keeping the nukes and gas the state already operates. 
Based on comments in two different Reuters articles published yesterday, the Freeport LNG export facility is again experiencing an outage. It appears to be a partial outage. Freeport, in typical tight-lipped fashion, refuses to say anything. According to Reuters, flows to the 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) Freeport facility were on track to drop to 1.4 Bcf/d yesterday, down from 1.6 Bcf/d on Sunday and an average of 2.1 Bcf/d over the prior seven days. Here we go again. 
The U.S. LNG industry and natural gas pipeline operators expect the incoming Trump Administration to launch a new wave of capacity expansions that would cement America’s position as the world’s largest LNG exporter. President-elect Donald Trump is preparing an energy package to expand domestic oil and gas drilling on federal lands and offshore lease sales, in addition to expediting LNG export permits. You can expect Trump to unpause Biden’s pause on new LNG export approvals, likely on his first day in office. 
Venture Global, which uses loopholes and excuses to avoid selling LNG cargoes to the companies that signed contracts to buy those cargoes, is about to launch an initial public offering (IPO). According to Reuters, Venture Global will pitch investors in its IPO this week. The company hopes to raise $2.3 billion, which values the company at $110 billion. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Democrats join Republicans in excitement to bring energy to Pennsylvania; New federal clean energy rebates are in limbo for residents of Pa.; NATIONAL: WTI hits 5-month high on supply risks; INTERNATIONAL: Europe threatens to trigger a global scramble for natural gas.