Judge Rules Wayne Landowner Lawsuit re DRBC Frack Ban Continues
Yesterday U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani issued a couple of rulings in the Wayne Land and Mineral Group (WLMG) v. Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) lawsuit that should encourage landowners in eastern PA whose property rights have been “taken” by the DRBC. The DRBC has prevented landowners in areas like Wayne and Pike counties from drilling for shale gas under their land for more than a decade.
NOTE: Our good friend Tom Shepstone has written an important post on this development on his Natural Gas Now website: DRBC Lawsuit Finally Going to Trial After Five Years! We encourage you to click and read it.
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Do political, agenda-driven “researchers” never tire of spinning false narratives around fracking? When Michael Bloomberg pays your salary (as he does for researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), apparently not. Back in 2016, Brian Schwartz, a fellow at the Post Carbon Institute (virulent anti-fossil fuel group) was among a group of researchers who published a junk science report claiming fracking in PA gives you headaches (see 
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has finally grown a backbone. Maybe. Back on Nov. 7, the API welcomed, 
Every now and again we hear from MDN readers who mildly (or strongly) disagree with our politics and view of the leftwing Democrat Party and the frail, mentally-challenged Joe Biden (who won’t last two years in office before he’s pushed out for medical and/or mental reasons). They tell us a Biden presidency isn’t the end of oil and gas, and maybe he will even help our industry! (Even though Biden promised to “transition away from oil” in his last debate appearance.) We’re mystified that anyone can hold the view that Biden will be good for O&G, but there are people (in our audience) who do hold that view. The article below does a good job of capturing their viewpoint and thinking about the incoming Biden administration.
Here’s a little known fact: Fracking for natural gas in shale only extracts about 20% of the methane gas that’s trapped in shale rock, meaning (of course) that 80% of the gas gets left behind. Researchers with the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory have made what we consider an astonishing breakthrough discovery: Too much pressure used during fracking actually locks some of the methane away tighter in the shale, instead of loosening it. In a published paper revealing their results (full copy below), researchers recommend a range of pressures to use to optimize (increase) recovery rates for methane in the Marcellus.
There is a reason why President Trump and sleepy/creepy Uncle Joe Biden are visiting Pennsylvania so much. It is one of the “battleground” states, likely THE state, that will determine who wins the presidential race next week. The key issue both candidates talk about is fracking. Joe Biden (says Donald Trump) will take away the right to frack in PA, and along with it thousands of jobs. Biden insists he won’t ban fracking, but in the next breath says he will “transition” the country away from using oil (and gas, all fossil fuels) over the next 15 years. Which is, in essence, a ban on fracking.
Patterson-UTI Energy released its third-quarter 2020 update yesterday. The company operates a number of rigs in the Marcellus/Utica region. According to its website, Patterson has 12 active rigs in the M-U (which is more than one-third of all active M-U rigs). CEO Andy Hendricks said yesterday that fracking activity across a number of shale plays is coming back and will continue to grow in 2021.
Donald Trump is NOT lying about Joe Biden and the words Biden has used about his desire to ban fracking *and* eliminate the use of fossil fuels. We have the video (below) showing clips from various Biden events where he unequivocally states he will ban fracking, and (in time) eliminate the use of all fossil fuels. This is Biden in his own words. So was Biden lying then? Or is he lying now?
The results of a new study conducted by Penn State researchers surprised them. The study looked at who and how much influence happens with state regulations adopted for fracking. The operating assumption, based on an incessantly biased media, is that states are in the dark and beholden to the oil and gas industry. That “frackers” ride roughshod over state regulators. The researchers found that’s simply not the case.
Evolution Well Services, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking–using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel fuel) to power turbines to create electricity that drives fracking pumps. Evolution fracks for at least one Marcellus/Utica E&P (see 
Bad news for leftists Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: A majority of registered voters in their own party support using natural gas as an energy source, according to a new independent, national poll. No wonder both Biden AND Harris are furiously backpedaling (i.e. lying) about their views on fracking. They risk losing PA, OH, and other states where fracking is a big deal.
Most political analysts believe this year’s presidential election may come down to one or two states–namely Pennsylvania and Ohio. If Biden can win in those two states, he stands a good chance of winning the election (an absolute nightmare!). But here’s what you don’t hear from mainstream media: the election may well turn on the issue of shale fracking. Counties in PA and OH, like Washington County in southwestern PA, are likely where the race will be won or lost. It’s not looking good for old ban-fracking Joe.
Although Joe Biden is protesting (the lefty doth protest too much, methinks) that he would not ban “all” fracking if he’s elected president, his own words and the words of his pick for VP (Kamala Harris) say otherwise. Biden has endorsed most of the Green New Deal platform pushed by crazy Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Occasional-Cortex (AOC). So yes, if Biden is elected, fracking is pretty much done. Over. Fini. If fracking is banned, according to the Ohio State Grange it will be a catastrophe for farmers in the Buckeye State. Some farmers (many) will simply go out of business.
Evolution Well Services, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking–using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel fuel) to power turbines to create electricity that drives fracking pumps. Evolution fracks for at least one Marcellus/Utica E&P (see