MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Sep 4, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: So…what’s happening with your electricity bill?; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: California geothermal lease sales net $117/acre; New York’s green energy fantasy continues; NATIONAL: US DOE earmarks $35 million to support emerging energy tech; Mitsubishi to double gas turbine production in response to data center demand; U.S. E&Ps tilt cash allocation to maintain solid balance sheets; ConocoPhillips is latest U.S. oil producer to announce major layoffs; INTERNATIONAL: Oil slides on OPEC+ output speculation; Russia’s natgas & coal exports decreasing, shifting toward Asia; Norway says pump it up on oil and gas for now.

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION

So…what’s happening with your electricity bill?
Marcellus Shale Coalition
The Marcellus Shale Coalition’s article “So…What’s Happening with Your Electricity Bill?” explains that electricity bills encompass various charges, including generation, transmission, distribution, taxes, and fees. While natural gas prices have risen moderately, Pennsylvania’s rates remain among the lowest nationally. The cost of generating electricity has been stable, thanks in part to increased natural gas use. However, renewable energy mandates have significantly increased costs, rising over 600% since 2018. Consumers can mitigate expenses by shopping for competitive electricity and natural gas suppliers or applying for assistance programs like LIHEAP. [MDN: In other words, wind and solar energy are causing the rates to go up. That’s what’s happening with your rising electric bill.]

OTHER U.S. REGIONS

California geothermal lease sales net $117/acre
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that recent geothermal lease sales in California generated over $2.7 million from winning bids on 13 parcels covering 22,685 acres in Imperial, Lassen, and Modoc counties, averaging $117 per acre. Revenues will be split among California (50%), counties (25%), and the U.S. Treasury (25%). BLM emphasized geothermal’s role in supporting domestic energy independence, economic security, and compliance with environmental laws. The agency manages leasing on 245 million acres of public land, with 51 operating plants producing 2.6 gigawatts. Nationwide, geothermal contributes about 0.4% of U.S. electricity, concentrated in western states. [MDN: We thought this was interesting for a number of reasons. Geothermal, as you know, uses the same identical method of fracking used for drilling shale wells. Yet the Big Green left gives it a pass and doesn’t oppose it. Even though this was government-owned land leased for geothermal, we found the lease amount of $117/acre on average interesting. It gives our landowners in the northeast a baseline metric if landmen come calling with leases for geothermal drilling.]

New York’s green energy fantasy continues
New York (NY) City Journal/Jonathan A. Lesser
New York’s draft 2025 Energy Plan, championing electrification and net-zero emissions, promises lower energy costs, climate benefits, and 60,000 new jobs by 2035—but the article calls it fanciful and financially ruinous. It will burden consumers with soaring utility bills, owing to closures of fossil-fuel plants and costly new infrastructure. The plan hinges on unrealistic technologies—retrofitting gas plants to burn hydrogen, building massive offshore wind farms, and manufacturing green hydrogen—and quietly imposes a projected $270 billion extra cost by 2040. Despite these investments, emissions reduction is minimal—equating to just over two weeks of global emissions—making the plan economically reckless fantasy. [MDN: Kathy Hochul and the Democrats running Albany have had a crack with reality. They are living in loo-loo land, and we who live in the “Empire” State are suffering because of it. It’s been obvious for years, but NY is gone. Upstate votes Republican most of the time, but NYC is a millstone around our necks. It’s time to exit this dead state. We’re working on our exit plan.]

NATIONAL

US DOE earmarks $35 million to support emerging energy tech
Rigzone/Paul Anderson
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest over $35 million in 42 projects across 19 national labs, plants, and sites to advance energy technologies, with $21 million in cost-share funding bringing the total to $57.5 million. Supported through the Technology Commercialization Fund, the projects target grid security, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing, strengthening U.S. innovation and competitiveness. Highlights include Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s AC2C program to accelerate lab-to-market startups, Pacific Northwest Lab’s VIPS 2.0 intellectual property tool, and Argonne Lab’s commercialization of OpenMC for nuclear safety, all aimed at bolstering America’s economic and energy security. [MDN: Yes, even a waste of taxpayer money goes on in the Trump administration. At least it’s not being blown on unreliable renewables, and at least it’s in the low millions and not high billions, as it was under the grifting Biden (and Obama) administrations.]

Mitsubishi to double gas turbine production in response to data center demand
Data Center Dynamics/Zachary Skidmore
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) plans to double its gas turbine production capacity over the next two years, up from an earlier target of a 30% increase, in response to rapidly growing demand—especially from data centers—as aging turbines require replacement and utilities seek dispatchable power. CEO Eisaku Ito emphasized that fulfilling orders is the top priority, and the expansion will hinge on improving production-chain efficiency despite manufacturing costs nearly doubling. MHI aims to execute the growth cautiously—“as lean as possible”—to avoid overcommitment if demand softens. [MDN: MHI is one of the three largest manufacturers of natural gas turbines. Alongside GE Vernova and Siemens, it produces the majority of the world’s gas turbines globally.]

U.S. E&Ps tilt cash allocation to maintain solid balance sheets
RBN Energy/Nick Cacchione
U.S. oil and gas producers have shifted from growth-heavy reinvestment to a “dollars in equals dollars out” model—cutting capital spend, prioritizing balance sheet health, and rewarding shareholders via dividends and buybacks—a strategy that restored investor confidence in the post-pandemic boom. But as commodity prices declined in Q2 2025, operating cash flow dropped 12% to $25.5 billion, pushing free cash flow down to $7.7 billion from $12.9 billion. In response, acquisition spending fell by nearly $2.5 billion, buybacks dipped by about $1 billion, dividends held at $3.5 billion, and debt repayments surged—helping lower the industry’s debt-to-capital ratio to a five-year low of 24.5%. [MDN: The economy for O&G ebbs and flows. Hang in. Things will change again.]

ConocoPhillips is latest U.S. oil producer to announce major layoffs
Wall Street Journal/Benoît Morenne, Connor Hart
President Trump’s push for “energy dominance” contrasts with widespread layoffs in the U.S. oil industry, as companies like ConocoPhillips and Chevron cut thousands of jobs amid weak oil prices and global oversupply. ConocoPhillips announced it will lay off up to 25% of its workforce, while Chevron is reducing staff by 20% and shifting white-collar jobs overseas. U.S. crude prices, pressured by OPEC output, tariffs, and trade uncertainty, have fallen below many producers’ break-even levels, prompting rig reductions in the Permian Basin. The Energy Information Administration projects declining U.S. production, even as executives maintain optimism about long-term global demand growth. [MDN: Oil prices are certainly lower now than under Joementia, so, we suppose that helps explain some of this. Still, we don’t understand the big layoffs. It’s this kind of behavior that drives young people to work in other industries. At the first sign of an economic downturn our companies treat employees like widgets that can be tossed instead of people with families. We don’t like it.]

INTERNATIONAL

Oil slides on OPEC+ output speculation
Bloomberg/A. Longley, G. Smith, M. Gindis
Oil prices fell after reports that OPEC+ may consider another production increase at its upcoming meeting, with West Texas Intermediate dropping 2.5% to $63.97 and Brent sliding 2.2% to $67.60. The decline was compounded by weaker U.S. economic data, dampening demand expectations. While OPEC+ has already added 2.5 million barrels per day this year, further hikes risk worsening a projected supply glut in late 2025. Geopolitical tensions, including U.S. pressure on India over Russian oil purchases and heightened conflict in Ukraine, also influenced markets. Analysts caution that boosting supply now could backfire amid seasonally weaker demand. [MDN: We feel like Johnny One-Note. Oil remains in the $60s, in a pretty narrow band. It moves up a bit, then down a bit, then back up. And so it goes.]

Russia’s natgas & coal exports decreasing, shifting toward Asia
U.S. Energy Information Administration – Today in Energy
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its natural gas and coal exports have fallen compared with 2021, primarily due to Europe reducing reliance on Russian energy through sanctions and other policies. While Russia has redirected crude oil to Asia relatively easily, natural gas and coal exports face infrastructure limits. EU natural gas imports from Russia dropped by more than two-thirds from 2020 to 2024, with China now receiving most eastbound gas via the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline. Coal exports to Europe halved by 2024, with Asia—especially China and India—absorbing more, though limited rail capacity has constrained flows. [MDN: Trump needs to keep maximum pressure on India to refuse Russian imports of natural gas and coal. India is supposedly a democracy. China is a murdering thug dictatorship, same as Russia.]

Norway says pump it up on oil and gas for now
Financial Times/Richard Milne
Norway’s 2025 election highlights a tension between green ambitions and its oil legacy. While fictional portrayals imagine a halt in fossil fuels triggering crises, right-wing Progress party leader Sylvi Listhaug advocates pumping oil for another century. Norway has shifted from promoting itself as a low-emission oil producer to emphasizing its role as a reliable democratic supplier to Europe, especially amid Russian gas disruptions. Companies like Equinor, Aker BP, and Shell continue heavy investment, but EU officials signal limits on long-term drilling. Greens seek exploration limits, while oil industry advances technology and record investments aim to sustain production despite eventual declines. [MDN: Some people in Norway can still think rationally. Not all that long ago the country’s state-owned oil company, Statoil, changed its name to Equinor (what a stupid name!), in an attempt to distance itself from “oil.” Now the tide has changed and Norway, at least those with a brain, are advocating for more oil drilling, not less.]