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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”

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CNX Issuing New Notes for $200M to Help Fund Purchase of Apex

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 CNX Resources Buys Apex Energy for $505M, Adds Pa. M-U Assets). Apex owns wells, acreage, and pipelines in Westmoreland County, PA. Its assets are close to (in some cases adjacent to) CNX’s considerable regional holdings. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. However, CNX needs more money to help fund it. Read More “CNX Issuing New Notes for $200M to Help Fund Purchase of Apex”

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Gov. Ned Lamont Fiddles While Connecticut’s Electric Rates Burn

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. Read More “Gov. Ned Lamont Fiddles While Connecticut’s Electric Rates Burn”

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NYMEX Gas Price Slips Due to Lower Feedgas to Freeport LNG

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. Read More “NYMEX Gas Price Slips Due to Lower Feedgas to Freeport LNG”

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Gas-Fired Power Back in Style, Driven by AI & Data Centers

If you’ve read MDN for any time, you’ve come across at least a few articles about gas-fired power. Nationwide, natural gas produces 43.1% of all electricity, the number one source of electric generation (see this EIA page). Nuclear is number two, producing 18.6% of all electricity. Coal is number three, producing 16.2%. Wind produces 10.2% and solar 3.9%, pointing out the futility of claims that “renewables” are about to dislodge fossil energy in electric generation any year now. With the rise of data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) that uses enormous amounts of electricity, building new gas-fired power plants and buying existing gas-fired plants is suddenly all the rage. Read More “Gas-Fired Power Back in Style, Driven by AI & Data Centers”

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U.S. LNG Industry, Pipelines Prepare for Boom Years Under Trump

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. Read More “U.S. LNG Industry, Pipelines Prepare for Boom Years Under Trump”

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Unashamed Venture Global LNG Plans Huge $2.3 Billion IPO

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. Read More “Unashamed Venture Global LNG Plans Huge $2.3 Billion IPO”