Understanding “Primacy” Issue for Class VI (CO2) Injection Wells
With the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region, a key issue has arisen. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. Who regulates Class VI wells is a current flashpoint of controversy. Right now, the EPA is the primary regulator (has “primacy”) in regulating Class VI wells in all but two states (neither of which is a Marcellus/Utica state).
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Diversified Energy (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil), with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (and other regions too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. One of the new ways Diversified is looking to make money with old wells is by mining cryptocurrency at wells in remote locations not hooked to a pipeline network. Diversified wants to try it with a well in northwestern Pennsylvania. Unsurprisingly, it’s generating some controversy…
Once again, the NYMEX futures price, based on the physical Henry Hub price for natural gas, appears to be in a freefall. Yesterday, the NYMEX’s front month contract price (for April) lost 18 cents per million British thermal units (MMBtu), or 8%, dropping to $2.17/MMBtu. It sure feels like the bad old days when we couldn’t keep the price above $3/MMBtu. This is the second-lowest price this year so far. Yesterday’s price was 77% lower than the 52-week high of $9.68 hit Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. Why so low? Warm weather and high production.
For more than a year, we have covered the topic of the Bidenistas’ Hunger Games contest to award $7 billion to some 6-10 “hydrogen hubs” across the country. Each winning hub will receive $500 million to $1 billion of government largesse to help build a hub in a particular region. The money for the hub projects was allocated as part of the so-called Infrastructure bill, passed in November 2021. Some 79 “concept papers,” which is a pre-application, were received by the Dept. of Energy. Of the 79, only 33 were given “encouragement” (i.e. permission) by the DOE to advance to the next stage of the Hydrogen Hunger Games (see 
Newly-elected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro nominated Rich Negrin, a former top official (and Deputy Mayor) of Philadelphia, to become the next Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (see 
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) averaged 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2022, increasing by 9% (0.8 Bcf/d) compared with 2021. The increase in U.S. LNG exports was driven by strong LNG demand in Europe, high international natural gas prices, and expanded U.S. liquefaction capacity. U.S. LNG exports to Europe increased 141%, or 4.0 Bcf/d, compared with 2021.
If you work for an oil & gas company (driller or pipeline company), you might think the skills you would need are along the lines of handling heavy equipment or using a shovel, chainsaw, and other hand tools. But many O&G workers sit in offices. What kind of “soft” (non-industry specific) skills do they need? According to Hazeltine Executive Search Partners, O&G workers need three primary soft skills: effective communication, problem-solving, and adaptability. Let us explain…
A Boston-based fossil fuel hating group called HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team) paid big money for a “research report” written by a card-carrying “research activist” targeting Philadelphia Gas Works’ (PGW) plan to upgrade its aging and (in some cases) failing 6,000 miles of natural gas pipelines that make life possible in the City of Brotherly Love. The HEET-funded “study” says PGW should slap a 10-year Band-Aid on leaky pipes because, you know, renewables will take over the world after that. What a load…
Energy in Depth (EID) is publishing a series that exposes the activist group Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) and its extensive actions behind the scenes in New Jersey municipalities to recruit, support, and initiate climate litigation. CCI has tried, according to emails obtained by EID, to remain hidden in the background. EID is turning a bright spotlight on their unethical (and borderline illegal) activities in manipulating New Jersey officials, encouraging (goading) them to sue oil and gas companies using public funds.
The nightmare we can’t wake up from, called New York State, keeps getting darker and worse. In January, Hochul proposed banning the sale of all new natural gas appliances across the state, along with an outright ban on hooking up new homes and businesses to gas, by 2030 (see 
Is Kamala Harris the dumbest Vice President of the United States…ever? No. We think that dubious distinction goes to her boss, Joe Biden, when he was VP under Lord Obama. But she ranks right up there near Biden as the dumbest. Do you ever listen to any of her talks? Or her cackling laugh? Talk about nails on a chalkboard! One of cackling Kamala’s latest pronouncements is that there is a “mental health crisis” because of the climate. This time we tend to agree with her. There IS a mental health crisis–abject fear and panic–because of people like Harris screaming lies that the planet is about to end unless we dump fossil energy.
Back in January, three Marcellus/Utica companies–Chesapeake Energy, EQT, and Equitrans Midstream–launched what the three call the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI), a coalition committed to further enhancing methane monitoring throughout the Appalachia Basin, with an aim to reduce methane emissions throughout the region (see 
MiQ, a certification authority that monitors for methane (and other) emissions and issues responsible gas certifications, announced today it has launched the world’s first certification to cover all GHGs (greenhouse gases) from the LNG supply chain. LNG buyers are now able to compare exporters and choose lower emissions cargoes for the first time–ever. MiQ’s new framework tracks 100% of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions from every segment of the LNG supply chain–including production, gathering and boosting, processing, pipeline, liquefaction, shipping, and regasification.