Partial List of Hydrogen Hubs Making First Cut for DOE Funding
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 given region. The money for the hub projects was allocated as part of the so-called Infrastructure bill, passed in November 2021 (see Biden So-Called $1.2T Infrastructure Bill Passes Thanks to RINOs). Some 79 “concept papers,” which is a pre-application, were received by the Dept. of Energy. Of the 79, only 33 were given “encouragement” by the DOE to advance to the next stage of the Hunger Games (see 33 of 79 Hydrogen Hub Teams Encouraged to Submit Full Applications). The DOE isn’t disclosing which of the lucky 33 made it, nor the list of the other 44 told to go pound sand. However, we have a list of 18 (of the 33) approved to advance to the next round and submit a full application.
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Joe Manchin, the rather pathetic, has-been U.S. Senator from West Virginia, is sitting his bum in Davos, Switzerland, wining and dining and hobnobbing with leftist elites from around the world at the World Economic Forum. Manchin, you might recall, sold out the United States by voting for the Green New Deal, renamed to Build Back Better, and further renamed to the Inflation Reduction Act (see 
Yesterday Chesapeake Energy announced it has cut a deal to sell the majority of its Eagle Ford oil assets to WildFire Energy I LLC for $1.425 billion. The sale includes approximately 377,000 net acres and approximately 1,350 wells in the Brazos Valley region of its Eagle Ford asset, along with related property, plant, and equipment. In 2018 Chesapeake, under the direction of then-CEO Doug Lawler, purchased 420,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford shale and Austin Chalk formations in Texas from WildHorse Resource Development Corp for $4 billion (see 
We have two related lawsuits to report on involving landowners in Susquehanna County, PA, and Callon Petroleum. As most lawsuits are, these two are complicated. But, at a very high level, the concept is simple. The landowners allege that Callon Marcellus (formerly Carrizo Marcellus) shorted them on royalty payments. The landowners sued, but Callon sold its assets in northeastern PA (to BKV) and engaged in a shell game to move the proceeds of that sale ($74 million) directly to the mothership, Callon Petroleum, as a way of avoiding liability to pay, just in case they lose the royalty lawsuit.
Kinder Morgan issued its fourth quarter 2022 update yesterday. Among the news updates, we learned that work on two of three compressor station projects along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (near New York City) is now underway. There was also some big news about top management shuffles. CEO Steve Kean is retiring, setting off a game of musical chairs (or musical ladders) with existing employees moving up the ladder at the company.
Earlier this month, radical Bidenistas at the EPA announced they have rewritten a rule aimed at regulating all waters in the U.S., putting power over just about everything (including oil and gas drilling) into the federal government’s hands via WOTUS, or Waters of the United States (see 
Yesterday the NYMEX Henry Hub price for natural gas dropped 27.5 cents from the previous day to close at $3.31/MMBtu. It is the lowest settlement price in 19 months, since June 22, 2021. The reason for the crash in price is low demand. Digging further, there is low demand because (1) the weather is warm this winter (so far, anyway), and (2) some 2 Bcf/d of demand is still gone because the Freeport LNG export facility remains offline. The question is, when will demand, and the price, go higher again? And how much higher will it go this year and next? The U.S. Energy Information Administration weighs in on those questions.
Alan Armstrong, the CEO of pipeline giant Williams (which has MAJOR pipeline assets in the Marcellus/Utica), delivered a talk yesterday in the company’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a group at the University of Tulsa. Summarizing his talk, Armstrong said we can have lower emissions right now. The way to do it is with natural gas. The problem is, of course, nobody can get a new pipeline for natural gas permitted anymore. The government, and lawsuits, are blocking new pipeline projects. The system of permitting needs to get “straightened out” according to Armstrong. Put another way, the system is BROKEN.
Newly enthroned Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, has done a good job of crafting his image as that of a moderate. At least on the issue of energy. He supposedly has voiced support for natural gas production and an “all-of-the-above” energy policy. Members of the natural gas industry in the state are mouthing their own platitudes of willingness to “work with the new governor” on energy issues–to find “common ground.” But right now, just a day after he took office, everyone is waiting and watching to see what he actually does. Will Shapiro tackle important issues like permitting delays and regulatory roadblocks? Or will he revert to his Attorney General days of attacking the industry? We know which one we think he’ll do.
Chip manufacturing giant Intel has committed to building two semiconductor factories in New Albany, Ohio, making a huge investment of over $20 billion. It is the largest economic development project in Ohio’s history. Amazing! The two plants will need natural gas, lots of it. So local utility company Columbia Gas of Ohio has proposed building a new 4.2-mile, 12-inch pipeline to the facility. The pipeline will be constructed within public road rights-of-way within Delaware County, Licking County, and Franklin County, as well as in the City of New Albany. Columbia is requesting expedited state approval (and is likely to get it).
The policies of politicians like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have real-world consequences. Even if those policies never actually get implemented. Last week, the intellectually-challenged Hochul proposed banning the sale of all new natural gas appliances across the state, and indeed ban hooking up new homes and businesses to gas, by 2030 (see 
Listen up, high school seniors (and their parents). Paying for college is a challenge–this you will learn soon enough. As your guidance counselor has no doubt told you, there are scholarships to be had. Every $500 or $1,000 you can shave off your college bill helps! String enough such scholarships together, and you can make a real dent in the cost of college. We have a scholarship opportunity for those who plan to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry living in Ohio. The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) is accepting applications for its 
PJM is the largest electric grid operator in the U.S. It serves 65 million people in 13 states plus the District of Columbia (including PA, OH, and WV). PJM is coming under criticism for an almost-blackout during the recent Christmas cold snap. If not for certain gas-fired peaker plants, like that in the Little Town of Bethlehem, the lights would have gone out during a brutal cold snap (see