Darth Vader (BlackRock) Buying New England Pipeline for $1.14B
The 295-mile Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) spans New England from the Canadian border to pipeline connections in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. The system began operations in 1999 and is located between three major pipeline networks originating in Canada and the Southern U.S. TC Energy owns 61.7% of PNGTS. The remaining 38.3 percent is owned by Northern New England Investment Company. The system includes 107 miles of facilities jointly owned by PNGTS and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. PNGTS owns 32% of those facilities. TC Energy announced today it is selling PMGTS to the evil BlackRock (run by CEO Larry Fink, a known anti-fossil fueler) for US$1.14 billion.
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In January, MDN brought you the good news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see 
Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told Bloomberg reporters the Biden administration’s recent pause in LNG export licenses should be “limited in time.” Shapiro stopped short of outright criticizing Biden’s pause, something that could undermine job creation in a state that’s relying on energy to drive growth. Shapiro couldn’t even stand up Joementia, what a wimp! What Shapiro said amounts to a tiny love tap. It’s completely meaningless. Shapiro is standing by while Biden DESTROYS Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State.
Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count gained three rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 626 active rigs two weeks ago to 629 last week. It is the highest total rig count in the U.S. since September 22, 2023! The national count had consistently stayed between 620 and 625 (or one or two above or below that range) since last October, but now appears to be breaking out of that pattern and moving higher. The Marcellus/Utica regained the one rig it had lost two weeks ago. Pennsylvania remained at 24 rigs (the most since last June). Ohio stayed at 12 rigs. West Virginia regained a rig it had lost in the prior week and now operates 8 rigs. The M-U combined is running 44 rigs.
Never jump to conclusions. It can come back to bite you. Even MDN is sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) guilty of violating that truism. Last week, we told you that drilling mud left in the ground from Energy Transfer’s Mariner East Pipeline project work near Marsh Creek State Park (Chester County, PA) had, more than three years after the work was completed, begun to leak out of the ground once again (see 
The radicalized environmental left does itself no favors with its antics and histrionics aimed at bullying public officials. Case in point: On Wednesday, Feb. 21, a small group of activists (six or seven) with Third Act Virginia were removed from Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office in Richmond after staging a sit-in. The wackos were there to deliver a petition to the AG demanding that he shut down work on the final 1% of Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The AG and his staff refused to meet with the wackos, so they pitched a fit like two-year-olds and had to be removed.
The Bidenistas at the EPA announced last night the agency will delay, until AFTER the November election, implementing harsh new regulations aimed at closing down gas-fired power plants across the country. The unstated purpose is to remove this highly unpopular edict as a campaign issue so the bag of bones known as Joementia can try to get himself reelected. We suppose this is good news, as it means these regs will likely never get implemented for existing power plants — they will certainly be dropped in a DJT administration. Still, the threat looms over the industry, and nobody will build a new plant under these harsh regulations, which WILL apply to any new gas-fired power plant project effective immediately. So all work on new plants will stop forthwith. That’s the downside to the announcement.
Yesterday, the Biden White House announced it is nominating three new members to join the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). There are supposed to be five commissioners, although the commission can still function with as few as three. Currently, there are three (two Democrats, one Republican), with one of the Dems, radical Allison Clements, leaving at the end of her term in June. Two active commissioners are not enough for a quorum to vote on important matters. So finally, after months and months of stalling, Joementia got around to nominating some new blood — two Dems and one Republican.
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
The U.S. benchmark Henry Hub daily natural gas price averaged $1.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on February 20, 2024, the lowest price in inflation-adjusted dollars since “at least” 1997. In fact, when you look at the ten lowest daily Henry Hub natgas spot prices since Jan. 1, 1997, six of the ten lowest prices were in February 2024. The other four were in 2020, as the pandemic was taking hold. Amid this depressing news, there is a silver lining…
Earlier this month, MDN told you about Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senators, John Fetterman and Bob Casey, and their wishy-washy, mild criticism of Joe Biden’s decision to “pause” any new LNG export permits (see 
A coalition of major oil companies is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a key aspect of numerous ongoing nationwide lawsuits filed by cities, counties, and states. The lawsuits by multiple “blue” states and cities accuse Big Oil companies of deceiving the public about their role in causing mythical manmade global warming. The companies being targeted are the biggest of the big, with deep pockets. It’s nothing more than elaborate shakedown. Sunoco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and others have asked the Supremes to intervene in a climate case filed against them by the City and County of Honolulu. The case serves as an important precedent for a number of other cases.
Charlie Angus, an MP (Member of Parliament) in Canada, belongs to the country’s radical left NDP, or New Democratic Party. He represents the Timmins—James Bay area in Ontario. Angus recently introduced a bill, C-372, also known as the Fossil Fuel Advertising Act. The bill is as anti-free speech as anything you’ll find in Communist Russia or North Korea. C-372 says if you, as an individual, speak well of the oil industry, doing so would carry a summary conviction and a fine of up to $500,000. If you work for an oil company and stick up for your industry, the punishment could be as strict as two years in jail or a fine of $1,000,000. It’s pure insanity.
West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore has sent notices to six additional financial institutions warning them of potential inclusion on the state’s Restricted Financial Institution List (can’t do business with the state) after his office made an initial determination that the institutions appear to be engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies as defined under state law. This is not the first time Moore has put Big Banks on the blacklist (see