Kinder Morgan Begins Work on 3rd/Last East 300 Pipe Compressor
Quarterly earnings season is upon us once again. Seems like we just went through it three months ago! (That’s a joke, folks.) One of the first major oil and gas companies to announce quarterly earnings for the first quarter of 2023 is pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI). Given that KMI has multiple assets and new projects spread across the country, we’re not going to summarize the quarterly update. Instead, we are interested in and will focus on one particular project–the East 300 Upgrade Project, an upgrade of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) to deliver 115 MMcf/d of capacity to Consolidated Edison and its customers in New York City and surrounding suburbs.
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One of the world’s largest chemical companies, the Chemours Company (which you used to know as DuPont), along with TC Energy (which you used to know as TransCanada), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the potential development of two electrolysis-based hydrogen production facilities at or near Chemours’ Washington Works and Belle manufacturing sites in West Virginia. Both companies are part of the effort to attract a hydrogen hub to West Virginia called Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). The financial terms of the Chemours/TC Energy deal were not disclosed.
According to data recently compiled and shared by the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA), during 2021 (the most recent year available), the oil and gas industry in Ohio paid a cumulative $57.6 million in ad valorem property taxes to the state. That is separate from a severance tax also paid by drillers in the Buckeye State. The O&G industry not only provides millions in tax revenue, but it also employs “more than 200,000” people in Ohio, and of course, all of those workers pay state income tax too. The economic impact of oil and gas (largely shale) in Ohio is enormous.
Lately, we keep reading predictions that the price of natural gas, while in the basement right now (low $2 range), will soon begin to go higher. And the price will stay higher. So say some experts (see our recent stories, 
Apart from the obvious benefits rural landowners (farmers) receive when leasing their land for shale gas drilling, did you know that modern agriculture, those same farmers, could not exist without natural gas? U.S. agriculture is a MAJOR part of the U.S. economy, creating 17.2 million jobs (5 million direct jobs) and contributing a mind-blowing $1.75 trillion to our country’s GDP (gross domestic product). The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 15% of U.S. commercial and industrial natural gas demand. Key feedstocks like ammonia, which is used to make nitrogenous fertilizer, are produced from natural gas. America’s farms and ranches have been key beneficiaries of the growth in U.S. natural gas production.
Some 23 extremist so-called environmental groups from Pennsylvania (and beyond) sent a letter to federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan asking him to rachet up federal regulations to be so extreme it forces the remaining electric power plants in PA that use coal and natural gas to close down. The extremist groups include PennFuture (headed by former PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary Pat McDonnell), the so-called Clean Air Council (funded by the Haas and Heinz families), and the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association.
How many times have we said words along these lines: Even if you have a magic wand and could remove 100% of carbon dioxide emissions and 100% of methane emissions from the production and use of natural gas, the irrational nutters of the environmental movement would STILL hate natural gas and demand the end of its use. We have said those words and expressed those sentiments dozens of times–at least. The follow-on question we always ask is this: Why do we even try to placate the left with “responsible gas” certifications when they will never be happy? We have incontrovertible proof of our claims.
Yesterday MDN brought you the fantastic news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in liberal California, had overturned a ban on hooking up new homes and businesses to natural gas in Berkeley, CA (see 
Those who believe the world can force a transition to so-called renewable energy in the next 20-30 years and force the world to stop using fossil energy are delusional. Among them are the “leaders” of the G7 nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The so-called forced energy transition is, says energy expert David Blackmon, “one of the biggest policy gambles in world history.” The G7 are all betting the farm on the proposition that they can force fossil fuels out of business and replace them with “rent-seeking” solar, wind, EVs, and hydrogen.
We spotted a post by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that, at first glance, we thought, “Yeah, we know that, and we’ve talked about it.” But on second glance, and after searching our own archives, we came to the conclusion that perhaps we haven’t talked about it. At least not plainly. The “it” we’re talking about is this: In 2022, Pennsylvania’s annual natural gas production *decreased* for the first time since the shale revolution began. Which is notable.
A rare victory for the forces of good. Berkeley, California, a bastion for liberal nuts (there’s a reason the city’s nickname is Berserkely), thought it was all cutesy when, in 2019, it passed the “first-in-the-nation” municipal ban blocking new construction (homes and businesses) from hooking up to natural gas pipelines. Berkeley said it wants to do its part to combat global warming. A few months later, the California Restaurant Association (CRA) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s ability to pass a law banning new natural gas hookups. After a lower court ruled in favor of the city, the CRA appealed it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Yesterday the judges of the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of the CRA, telling the city it’s trying to regulate gas stoves by denying pipeline hookups–something that only the federal government can do.
New York State’s chickens are finally coming home to roost. The extreme leftist politicians who run the state have assaulted the fossil energy industry for half a dozen years, maybe longer. The assault on fossil energy began under Andrew Cuomo and has continued under his successor, Kathy Hochul. Their actions are leading to electricity blackouts in New York City. Last Friday, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) released its quarterly assessment of the reliability of the bulk electric system. While the state as a whole is not (yet) in trouble, NYISO says beginning in 2025, NYC “could become deficient” in electric power. Translation: The Big (Rotten) Apple is heading for blackouts.