Equitrans Considers Appealing 4th Circus Ruling that Blocks MVP
All eyes were on Equitrans Midstream as the company released its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 update yesterday. The reason all eyes were on Equitrans is MVP–the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. MVP simply can’t move beyond the leftist Democrat judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Every time Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club (funded in part with foreign money) challenges permits for MVP, the Democrat judges of the 4th Circuit go along and overturn the permits (see 4th Circuit Throws Out Plan for Safer MVP Drilling re Candy Darter). Something has to happen. Equitrans CEO Tom Karam hinted that his company may appeal the 4th Circuit’s wildly wrong decisions. That was the big news for us coming from yesterday’s update.
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Despite all of Europe’s arrogant talk about rejecting America’s “fracked gas” as too dirty, the Old World imported more gas from the U.S. than from any other country on planet earth in 2021, thanks to Donald Trump’s efforts to export “molecules of freedom” to other countries around the planet. Hey Democrat media, who’s laughing now about those “molecules of freedom” with Vladimir Putin breathing down Europe’s neck?
Shell, which recently dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving The Netherlands due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, in the world. The company has just released its sixth annual LNG Outlook 2022 (full copy below) which highlights key trends in 2021 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 20 years. Shell says global demand for LNG is expected to nearly double (up 90%) to 700 million tonnes by 2040. Why? Because natgas emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than other alternatives.
Here’s an interesting twist. Baker Hughes (BH), one of the biggest oilfield services companies on the planet, is investing in a company that designs and builds natural gas-fired electric power plants. But not just any gas-fired power plants. These plants use new technology so that when the natural gas is burned (to produce heat to spin a turbine), there is no, as in zero, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Technology to lower or eliminate CO2 emissions has been available for sometime, but typically has been too expensive. This new tech BH is backing promises to be much lower cost.
In the “with friends like these” department…One of the main partners with Equitrans Midstream in the project to build the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project is NextEra Energy (31% ownership). MVP took it on the chin three weeks ago when the Democrat judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a key permit and a key FERC decision to allow MVP to finish up. The pipeline is 94% complete and in the ground. Yet now, because of those court rulings, NextEra Energy says the pipeline has a “very low probability” of completion.
Olympus Energy (formerly Huntley & Huntley), which drills in southwestern Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, has just entered into a contract with U.S. Well Services (USWS) to provide the company with electric fracking. The deal calls for USWS to provide electric fracking to Olympus for 2022 with a potential contract extension until 2024. What is electric fracking?
One of the great things about the oil and gas industry is that it never stops innovating. O&G companies are always tinkering, trying new things. That includes both new technology and new techniques. Such innovation was on full display at the recent Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference (HFTC), held in The Woodlands, Texas, on February 1-3. Ian Palmer, author of “The Shale Controversy” and a Forbes website contributor, attended the event and provides an update on new innovations in low-tech, high-tech, and climate-tech.
The Bidenistas fight dirty. Last week MDN told you about a federal court ruling against Biden’s plan to use the so-called global “social cost of carbon dioxide” emissions as a new filter for all sorts of government agencies when considering whether or not to approve projects and activities, like drilling for oil and gas on federally-owned land (see 
A former wind lobbyist and friend of Chuck Schumer, Richard “Dick” Glick, took over as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under Joe “Dementia” Biden. Glick is a radical leftist, a swamp-dwelling D.C. Democrat. Under his oversight, the five-member FERC board (three Democrats, two Republicans) voted 3-2 last week to begin using global warming factors when reviewing new natural gas pipeline projects (see 
So far two states (that we are aware of) are either threatening, or already are, removing state investments from any funds managed by BlackRock Inc. Other states are considering it. We told you about West Virginia removing its investments with BlackRock back in January (see 
Antero Resources, one of the biggest Marcellus/Utica drillers with 3.2 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) of production, issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 update yesterday. The company earned $901 million in 4Q21, up from $70 million in 4Q20, but still lost $187 million for the full year due to hedges gone bad. Antero generated $237 million and $849 million of Free Cash Flow during the fourth quarter and full year of 2021, respectively. The company placed 10 Marcellus wells and four Utica wells online to sales during 4Q. Antero plans to drill 60-65 new wells in 2022.
The West Virginia Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee had two bills on its agenda for consideration this past Tuesday related to funding the state’s “cash-strapped” oil and gas well inspection unit. One of the bills, Senate Bill (SB) 480 was signed off without discussion and moved along to its next stop before a vote, which is the Senate Finance Committee. The other bill, SB 613, was held over for a future meeting. It got the cold shoulder.