Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia
MVP Restoration Work in Jefferson National Forest Begins
A major effort by the radical left to block the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from crossing a piddly 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest (JNF) failed. But not for lack of trying. Big Green paid protesters to sit in trees, chain themselves to cars, and all manner of illegal tactics to try and slow or stop progress on building the pipeline through JNF (see our MVP in JNJ stories here). The pipeline itself is now completed, and restoration work is underway in some locations like JNF. In the case of JNF, MVP is removing construction debris and replanting native vegetation.
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The price of natural gas traded at the Henry Hub (HH) in Southern Louisiana is THE benchmark price used for the entire industry in the U.S. All other prices are compared to the HH. The HH serves as the official delivery location for futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The hub is owned by Sabine Pipe Line LLC and has access to many of the major gas markets in the United States, hence its use as the benchmark. A major trading hub in the Marcellus/Utica, Columbia Gas, tended to follow the HH, rising when HH went up and falling when HH lost value. It’s never a one-to-one correlation, but it’s close. That is, until the past year, when, according to analysts with Argus Media, the Columbia Gas trading hub became “untethered” from the HH.
Last Thursday, MDN brought you the news that U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (from West Virginia) and Congressman Troy Balderson (from Ohio) introduced a resolution to block the EPA’s latest attack against the natural gas industry (see 
Well, the bottom dropped out of the rig count last week once again. The national combined oil and gas rig count dropped by six to 594, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica did not go unscathed either, losing two rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now operates 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. However, West Virginia lost another rig and now only has five active rigs. One year ago this week, WV operated 13 active rigs. Yuck.
We’ve been tracking the up down up down up down situation at Freeport LNG since it came online in 2019. Freeport was mostly offline this year following an episode of cold temps in January (see 
We have been tracking and reporting on the drama surrounding Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, located close to the Ohio River, since the Ohio Attorney General lodged charges against the company back in March (
Cecil Township in Washington County, PA, has seen a fair bit of Marcellus shale drilling over the years. The Board of Supervisors adopted a shale drilling ordinance back in 2011. They are considering an update. Unfortunately, the update they are considering is akin to jumping off a cliff. The town follows state guidelines that new shale wells must be drilled at least 500 feet from homes and 2,500 feet from schools and hospitals. The supervisors are seriously considering an amendment to raise the setback to 2,500 feet (half a mile!) from all structures. In other words, it would ban new drilling in 99% of the town.
The merger of EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream into a single company took one giant leap forward in May when the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Act waiting period expired and the federal government (by not objecting) blessed the re-union (see 
Patience is a rare commodity these days. We live in a day and age of instant gratification. Our food is made and delivered in minutes. The latest gizmo we want can be on our doorstep the next day (or, in some cases, the same day) from Amazon and any number of other retailers. Entertainment and distractions are everywhere! Just lift your eyes from your own phone and observe everyone else around you staring at their phones. So perhaps it is no surprise that some people feel lied to because the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, hasn’t instantly delivered the promised thousands of extra jobs and dozens of relocated companies.
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 
We have been tracking and reporting on the drama surrounding Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, located close to the Ohio River (
Every now and again, the liberal Democrat editors of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publish an unsigned editorial (from the editors) that surprises us. Yesterday was another such instance when Post-Gazette editors said Pennsylvania should leverage frack wastewater to extract lithium, which can be used to make electric vehicle batteries for Joementia’s EV fantasies. The editors cited a study recently published (in April) by the National Energy Technology Laboratory that says Marcellus wastewater in Pennsylvania alone has enough lithium to provide 40% of the country’s needs (see 
In 2021, as he was running for Governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin pledged that if he won, he would remove the state from the onerous carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Youngkin kept his promise, although it took longer than he had hoped (and is still being challenged in court). In addition to not paying as much for electricity post-RGGI, ratepayers just got another gift: Dominion Energy, the primary utility company servicing Virginia, is dropping an average fee of $4.50 per month from the utility bills of Virginia residents.
The Bidenistas at the EPA attacked coal and gas-fired power plants in April, threatening to destabilize the existing electric power grid with new regulations (see 
Liberals are so funny to watch. Their own words condemn them. For example, the far-left-leaning POLITICO “news” organization held an Energy Summit yesterday. It was a virtual event, as far as we can tell. One of the big discussion topics was Biden’s “signature” climate law, the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), made possible by a single vote from Joe Manchin. The IRA is better named the Green New Deal. It’s an abysmal law that targets fossil fuel energy for extinction. Judging from the comments made at the Summit, the libs are clearly worried that if Donald Trump wins, he will take an ax to the IRA (as he should).