Antis Attack Ohio State Senator with Ethics Complaint
Ohio Senator Brian Chavez faces a sham ethics complaint that alleges he failed to disclose ownership in five natural gas LLCs while leading the Senate Energy Committee. Reports from Signal Ohio (a leftist Democrat publication) and the Athens County Independent (ditto) purport to detail how Chavez’s company won state contracts for “orphan” well capping as he advanced legislation that supposedly benefited his business interests. A coalition of environmental groups alleges these supposedly undisclosed ties create conflicts of interest that undermine public trust and environmental safety. A GOP spokesperson dismissed the allegations as a “baseless” political attack. State ethics officials are currently reviewing the complaint. Read More “Antis Attack Ohio State Senator with Ethics Complaint”
Last Thursday, the Trump administration announced it is restructuring or terminating approximately $84 billion in clean energy projects (boondoggles) initiated during the Biden era, reflecting a sharp pivot toward “energy dominance” through fossil fuels and nuclear power. Rebranded as the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), the agency has canceled $30 billion in “green” loans, including major wind and solar transmission projects, while revising another $53 billion in loans. Under Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the office—which holds $290 billion in lending power—will prioritize coal, oil, and gas over renewables, marking a significant reversal of previous climate-focused infrastructure investments. 
Enverus
Last Friday, MDN reported that the rumor mill was in overdrive with chatter that Devon Energy and Coterra Energy are exploring a potential merger “that would be among the biggest oil and gas deals in years” (see 
As we predicted may happen in a post yesterday, the NYMEX “front month” natural gas futures price closed above $5 yesterday (see 
There’s just no other way to say this: Pennsylvania is on the cusp of flushing $92 billion down the toilet because resistance is preventing new data centers from being built. We’ve been warning about this danger for months (see 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
For the second day in a row, the “front month” NYMEX natural gas futures contract was firmly attached to a rocketship. Yesterday, the NYMEX contract for February delivery gained 96.80 cents per million British thermal units (MMBtus), or 24.78%, to close at $4.8750. That’s up $1.772 (or 57%) over the last two trading sessions. It is the largest two-day dollar gain since Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 (four years!). Early trading this morning was hovering between $5.35 and $5.50. It’s all to do with the current Arctic freeze in the eastern half of the country and a massive snowstorm due this weekend. But, bear this in mind: What goes up must come down. 
Gulf South Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipelines, announced the launch of an open season for new natural gas storage capacity at its flagship Petal Gas Storage complex in Mississippi. In addition to the Petal open season, Boardwalk also highlighted significant expansion potential across two cornerstone assets: Choctaw Storage in Louisiana and the Midland Storage Complex in Kentucky. All three storage facilities are used to store Marcellus/Utica molecules. 
Last Friday, the Trump administration officials joined several governors from the 13 states that are part of the PJM Interconnect grid to outline a broad plan they say will ensure customers of the grid will not face skyrocketing electric prices due to new AI data centers getting built in the region (see 
There are two universal, unavoidable truths of life: (1) death, and (2) Democrats love to tax anything and everything. Pennsylvania Democrats are urging state lawmakers to tax data centers to shield residents from rising energy bills. During a hearing held by PA House Democrats on January 20, so-called experts argued that data centers must “pay their own way” for grid upgrades necessitated by their high demand, rather than passing those costs to households. With grid operator PJM Interconnection warning that surging demand could cause blackouts, Democrats proposed legislation to protect ratepayers from price spikes. Although some officials value the industry’s job creation, tax proponents insist that ordinary consumers should not subsidize the infrastructure needed to support the state’s expanding and energy-intensive digital industry. 
As data center operators have sought rapidly deployable power sources for their facilities, some have turned to companies that modify jet engines for commercial power generation. Data center facilities in Texas have recently deployed modified jet engines as generators, each with 48 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. There’s a whole “graveyard” of retired military aircraft at the U.S. Air Force’s facility on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, called the Boneyard. Could the old/retired jets at the Boneyard be repurposed to power data centers? Quite possibly! 
Old Man Winter has proven once again that he is the one in charge of natural gas prices. A cold blast now entering the Midwest and Northeast, which is moving in until early February (at least), is the reason for a dramatic jump in the NYMEX front-month futures contract price, rising 80.4 cents per MMBtu (26%) in one day, yesterday, to a closing price of $3.9070 MMBtu. It is the largest one-day percentage gain in four years, since January 2022. The price continued climbing this morning (Wednesday) and looks like it might flirt with $5.00! 
On Friday, the White House joined with the 13 governors whose states in whole or in part are served by the PJM Interconnection electric grid, the largest grid in the country, to propose a solution that “protects consumers” from soaring electric rates due to the addition of new AI data centers (see 
As MDN reported, on Friday, the Trump administration officials joined several governors from states that are part of the PJM Interconnect grid to outline a broad plan they say will ensure customers of the grid (the country’s largest grid), will not face skyrocketing electric prices due to new AI data centers getting built in the region (see