Antis Launch Satellite to Detect CO2 & Methane Emissions
On Friday, the Tanager-1 methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) sniffing satellite launched from California. Tanager-1 can detect major emitters of CO2 and methane. It was created by a coalition involving Carbon Mapper, Planet Labs, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with funding from groups such as Mike Bloomberg and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. Yeah, your contributions to the Children’s Fund literally went up in smoke to help pay for a satellite (instead of for worthy causes like kids fighting cancer in hospitals). But here’s the thing: If it’s operated honestly, this satellite is going to find the biggest emitters of CO2 and methane are not oil and gas operations but landfills. Read More “Antis Launch Satellite to Detect CO2 & Methane Emissions”
Add Virginia to the list of states refusing to invest in companies and investment funds that push so-called ESG investing. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an official Attorney General’s Opinion on the permissibility of basing Virginia Retirement System (VRS) investment decisions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The Opinion confirms that the VRS Board of Trustees must prioritize financial returns and the best interests of beneficiaries above ESG policies when making investment decisions. Virginia joins a growing list of states, including West Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee that eschews investing in funds and companies that advocate anti-fossil fuel positions.
Over the past seven-plus years, BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu (96% owned by Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company), has become one of the top 20 gas-weighted natural gas producers in the U.S. BKV originally entered the American shale sector by investing $500 million in 2016-2017 to buy existing Marcellus wells and acreage in northeast Pennsylvania. Then the company went wandering into other shale plays, including the Barnett (see 
Yesterday, Range Resources, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus shale well back in 2004, released its 2023-2024 Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR). Some companies call these CSR or sustainability reports, while others still use the now hugely unpopular ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) label. We’re glad to see Marcellus/Utica drillers moving away from using the ESG label. In this latest report, Range says it has made “significant strides” in meeting its emissions targets, including progress towards its goal of net-zero scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2025.
Yesterday, Ascent Resources, LLC, Ohio’s largest shale driller, released its 2023 Sustainability Report (formerly called its Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG, report). The new report chronicles the company’s environmental, health and safety, social, and governance efforts and accomplishments in 2023. We’ve recently highlighted some other ESG reports, namely EQT and CNX. So why bring you Ascent’s ESG report? It’s not for the reason you might think…
A little over a year ago, MDN told you that (at that time) that two Marcellus/Utica drillers — Seneca Resources and Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) — had joined CG Hub, the world’s first commodities trading platform focused exclusively on certified natural gas and certified natural gas certificates (see 
BKV Corporation (BKV), a driller in both the Pennsylvania Marcellus and Texas Barnett shale plays (majority-owned by Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal company), announced yesterday that it has signed a contract for the sale and purchase of Carbon Sequestered Gas (CSG) with Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering companies. According to the press release, CSG is “a revolutionary, innovative, natural gas product that is Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon-neutral, effectively mitigating the environmental impact of natural gas consumption.” Most, if not all, of the gas being labeled and sold by BKV as CSG comes from the company’s Barnett operation. However, BKV’s story has implications for all drillers, including drillers in the Marcellus/Utica.
Last August, MDN told you about a new Cambridge University study published in the journal Science exposing the sale of carbon credits as a scam (see 
Last November, CNX Resources CEO Nick Deiuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see 
On Monday, the socialists of the European Union (EU) adopted into law a new regulation aimed at tracking and reducing methane emissions within the energy sector. The onerous new reg introduces new requirements for measuring, reporting, and verifying methane emissions. The reg mandates operators to measure emissions at the source and submit monitoring reports verified by independent bodies. What does this have to do with the Marcellus/Utica? If drillers want to export LNG to any country that’s part of the EU (many M-U drillers do export LNG to Europe), they will have to comply with these new regs. According to MiQ, an independent methane emissions measurement and certification authority, its certification is the only one that satisfies the EU’s new regulation.
One year ago, MDN told you about Zefiro Methane Corp., a private “methane offsets originator” headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, acquiring a majority ownership stake in Plants & Goodwin (P&G), an OFS and oil well-plugging company located in Bradford (McKean County), Pennsylvania, for an undisclosed sum (see 
PennEnergy Resources, LLC, the 11th largest shale driller in Pennsylvania, has introduced the use of liquid nitrogen systems (via a partnership with Kathairos Solutions) into its portfolio of emission reduction strategies, allowing for the rapid conversion of traditional pneumatic devices to zero-emission sources. The technology has been “a game-changer” for remote legacy facilities with limited access to infrastructure.
Diversified Energy (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil), with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (with assets in other regions, too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with 67,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. Diversified set a goal of reducing methane emissions by 50% over levels from 2020 and to do it by 2030. At the recent Hart Energy DUG GAS+ Conference and Expo, Diversified senior VP of EHS&R, Paul Espenan, said the company is pleased to announce it has already met that goal! And the company is well on its way to zero methane emissions by 2040. How is Diversified doing it?
We’ve written plenty about “responsibly sourced gas” (RSG) and the certification authorities that put their stamp of approval on natural gas drillers and pipeline companies. In 2021, we brought you a 
So often, we bring you news of Big Banks (and investment firms like the odious BlackRock) screwing fossil fuel companies either by refusing to lend to them or by pressuring other companies to “reduce” emissions (i.e., stop using fossil fuels). Last month, the State of Texas pulled $8.5 billion out of BlackRock over that company’s use of ESG (environment, social, governance) litmus tests for the companies it invests in and controls (see