EIA DPR: M-U on Track to Beat All-Time Production Record in March
In a pattern we’ve observed for months, once again six of the seven largest shale plays in the U.S. will see an increase in natural gas production in March according to the latest monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) issued yesterday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The Marcellus/Utica, collectively lumped together as “Appalachia” in the report, will see an increase of 114 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) in production next month. The M-U’s chief rival, the Haynesville, continues to see explosive growth, with an increase of 174 MMcf/d next month. The oil-based Permian will see a big increase in natgas production of 124 MMcf/d due to associated gas coming out of the ground along with oil. The Permian’s oil production is set to hit a new all-time high in March, forecasted to hit an average of 5.2 million barrels of oil per day.
Read More “EIA DPR: M-U on Track to Beat All-Time Production Record in March”
All eyes are on Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project that is, once again, on pause due to the leftist judges who sit on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. In a pair of decisions a week apart, the clown judges overturned a permit and a plan to change drilling methods so the 94% completed MVP can finish (see 
In December 2020, Dan Rice IV, former CEO of Rice Energy and a member of the EQT board of directors, launched a “blank check” acquisition firm, called Rice Acquisition Corp., to invest in various energy ventures. Dan found that something-to-invest-in just a few months later in the form of acquiring and merging together Archaea Energy and Aria Energy into a single company focused on providing renewable natural gas (RNG) and “green” hydrogen (see 
In direct contravention to the advice, pressure, and bullying of Joe Biden’s “Special Presidential Envoy for Climate” John Kerry, who insists that banks and investors refuse to fund oil and gas companies, big banks around the world (and here in the U.S.) are disregarding Kerry’s hot air and, with $100/barrel oil almost here, opening up the door to the bank vault and showering oil and gas with money once again. Hey John, money talks and (you know what) walks…
Olympus Energy (formerly Huntley & Huntley) drills in the Greater Pittsburgh region, in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The company plans to drill a series of new wells (and a well pad) in Washington Township in Westmoreland County. In January we told you about a snag with plans to build the well pad and drill the wells (see 
Dominion Energy is divesting itself from a natural gas utility company it owns in West Virginia–Hope Gas, Inc. Dominion is selling Hope to investment firm Ullico Inc. for $690 million. Ullico plans to combine Hope Gas with another company it owns, Hearthstone Utilities, Inc. The reason this deal caught our attention is that Hope Gas owns and operates “2,000 miles of gathering pipelines” in the Mountain State.
The list is, unfortunately, long and getting longer. Atlantic Coast Pipeline. PennEast Pipeline. Constitution Pipeline. And others. Yes, each one of those massive projects that got canceled means a loss of revenue for the companies involved, and a loss of takeaway capacity for drillers in the Marcellus/Utica region. However, perhaps the biggest loss is the jobs those projects would have provided for union workers. The cancellation of each of those projects resulted in the loss of revenue and income for union workers–direct harm to families. Have you thought about those costs?
In his first two days in office, Joe Biden declared war on the oil and gas industry. One of the first things he did was to revive an interagency working group on the “social cost” of greenhouse gas emissions and directed the issuance of an “interim” cost (see 
The ace reporters at Reuters have sussed out another inside exclusive: Williams, the pipeline giant, has hired “two veteran executives” to help the company set up an LNG marketing operation. The operation will put Williams into direct competition with other big LNG marketers including Cheniere Energy, Shell, and QatarEnergy. The big question is this: How successful will this effort be if Williams doesn’t actually own an LNG export terminal of its own?
Over the years MDN has brought you updated reports from energy law firm giant Haynes and Boone and their quarterly oil and gas bankruptcy filings reports. We are delighted to tell you that due to the decreasing number of bankruptcies in our industry, Haynes and Boone has just issued its final set of reports for 2021 bankruptcies: one report for upstream/drilling, one report for oilfield services, and one report for midstream/pipelines. All of the reports are embedded below. Yes, there are a few M-U companies listed in these final reports.
One of our favorite Forbes website contributors, David Blackmon, has penned another fabulous column. This one looks at the chatter and debate surrounding “the energy transition”–as if it’s a foregone conclusion that we must dump the use of all fossil fuels within the next few years and transition to so-called renewables, or the planet is toast. Blackmon tackles one aspect of this debate that is seldom discussed: the cost of transitioning away from fossil fuels to 100% renewables. The cost is so big, it’s incomprehensible.