Desperate Antis Ask Va. Regulators to Block Work on 99% Done MVP
Last Thursday, 29 far-left nutball groups wrote Mike Rolband, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), demanding that he issue a stop work order for the 99% completed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) due to “repeated and widespread violations and damage to waterbodies and private property.” This isn’t the first time these groups have demanded regulators intervene to block MVP based on flimsy grounds. The 29 radical groups include Wild Virginia, The Wilderness Society, Virginia League of Conservation Voters, West Virginia Rivers Association, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and others (most of them obscure, one-person “groups” pretending to be bigger than they are).
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In early December, MDN updated you on the very real possibility that Everett LNG import terminal (Boston area), which accepts and regasifies foreign-sourced natural gas, may shut down this May following the closure of New England’s biggest natural gas-fired power plant, the Mystic Generating Station in Everett, MA (see 
Hyperion Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy, is seeking a special exception to a Penn Township (Westmoreland County) zoning ordinance to build a six-generator compressor station along Wilderness Road over the next four years. In early January, Hyperion representatives and witnesses testified at a township zoning hearing in favor of the plan (see 
U.S. natural gas production in the Lower 48 states is once again very close to all-time high levels, contrary to the blatherings of groups like the International Energy Association (IEA), which continues its meme that both oil and natgas either already have or will soon peak in demand. That’s just not happening here at home. Natural gas production is up to nearly 104.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) over the last week, not far off from the all-time highs of nearly 105.7 Bcf/d recorded in December, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count added four rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 619 active rigs two weeks ago to 623 last week. We continue to see the national count stay roughly around 620-630 active rigs. The Marcellus/Utica gained two active rigs and now sits at 44 — the most active rigs we’ve had since last August! Two rigs were added to Pennsylvania, while Ohio and West Virginia each maintained the same count as the previous week.
The NYMEX Henry Hub futures price closed lower once again yesterday, at $1.92 (down a nickel from the previous day). These are prices we haven’t seen in three years. The current crash in price is prompting analysts to speculate (with good reason) that it will result in less new gas well drilling in gas-focused plays, including the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville. However, gas volumes won’t necessarily decrease, corresponding to less gas drilling. Why? Because oil is all the rage right now. With more oil drilling comes more associated natural gas production.
Tenaska, one of the largest privately operated companies in the U.S., announced it has purchased six 21-megawatt (MW) natural gas power plants in Northeast Pennsylvania from IMG Energy Solutions. Tenaska currently operates approximately 22,000 MW of natural gas-fueled and renewables electric generation. We don’t know where the time has gone, but the last time we wrote about IMG was nearly seven years ago! MDN first told you about IMG (then called IMG Midstream) in August 2014 (see 
A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out legally at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see 
Anti-fossil fuel zealots (climate catastrophists) have set their sights on blocking drilling and fracking under (not on top of) Ohio’s state-owned land, including several state parks. Their favorite tactic is to lie and smear the companies that seek to do such drilling. One tiny problem (for the zealots): they don’t know which companies are bidding to do the drilling. And that drives them even more crazy. So the zealots, with the help of mainstream media, are trying to paint the process as “secretive” — like there’s something nefarious that the fracking industry wants to hide. In reality, the identity of the winning bid is kept “secret” until the deal is officially announced because IT’S STATE LAW.
There is no doubt that recently issued regulations by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) aimed at reducing methane emissions are having a deleterious effect on the Marcellus industry in the Keystone State. The Bidenistas are proposing a huge tax on oil and gas drillers that will drive some companies out of business (see 
Dozens of conservative organizations have banded together to provide Trump a road map — known as Project 2025 — if he prevails in November. It outlines a series of steps that the former president could take to (among other things) reverse the climate actions taken by the Biden administration. The Washington-based Heritage Foundation (fantastic organization!) worked with conservative organizations to produce Project 2025, which offers 920 pages of policy prescriptions to ensure the chaos of Trump’s first term is not repeated if he gets a second term (full copy of Project 2025 is embedded below). Among the 920 pages are sections addressing policy prescriptions for the Dept. of Energy, EPA, Interior, and other agencies that touch on energy issues, including oil and gas.
Although oil and natural gas output is still increasing ever-so-slightly, according to experts like Rystad Energy, the rate of production growth has slowed. And because production is slowing, “investments in the shale patch are not expected to grow in 2024, keeping activity and output relatively flat” this year. How does slowing activity in 2024 affect employment in O&G in 2024? Rigzone asked a couple of experts. One comment in particular caught our attention because it has implications not only in the Texas oil patch, but also in the M-U gas patch.
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security held a hearing on Tuesday to challenge Joe Biden’s so-called pause on new LNG permits to non-free-trade partners as it “studies the impacts,” including on climate change, of LNG use. Republicans blasted the Bidenistas for the havoc they have created with the announcement. Democrats on the subcommittee defended Biden’s pause (go figure), arguing now is the time to reevaluate new LNG exports. The Dems are oblivious to the tangible harm this pause is causing (see