PA Senate Passes Resolution to Block State Joining RGGI Carbon Tax
Last week the Pennsylvania Senate passed a concurrent resolution that would block the state from joining the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced “Reggie”), a carbon tax that aims to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the state. PA will join RGGI next year if the Republican-controlled legislature can’t derail it. Unfortunately, the bipartisan Senate vote (with several Democrats joining Republicans) was 32-18, one vote short of a two-thirds majority needed to override the inevitable veto from leftist Gov. Tom Wolf.
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The federal Environmental Protection Agency, the left’s favorite tool to undermine the U.S. Constitution, is attempting to do just that–undermine the Constitution. Today the EPA is floating a massive new regulation that seizes control of oil and gas drilling (and pipelines) away from the individual states, as provided for under the Constitution, and centralizes control in Washington, D.C. under the EPA. How? By forcing a one-size-fits-all regulation on so-called fugitive methane emissions that all states must comply with.
Seems like everybody is getting “responsible” all of a sudden. Over the past year, we went from nobody hearing of “responsibly sourced gas” (RSG) to now almost everyone clamoring to hop onto the RSG bandwagon. At least that seems to be the case here in the Marcellus/Utica. The nascent RSG movement is rapidly developing. By our count, there are four independent organizations/programs that certify parts of the natural gas industry and provide a certification that gas is responsibly produced and/or sourced. So far there have been at least seven (maybe more) major M-U drillers and several M-U pipeline companies to sign on for RSG certification. We try to make sense of the RSG landscape below…
Last week six U.S. Senators (five of whom from major energy-producing states) introduced a series of three bipartisan bills aimed at encouraging the development of hydrogen energy infrastructure. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, was one of the sponsors and promoters. So too was Chris Coons, far-left Democrat from Delaware. That shows the range of support for efforts to help goose hydrogen use in this country.
Last week MDN told you the news that EQT Corporation has sold part of its reserve capacity along the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to “an undisclosed investment-grade entity for six years” (see 
In a normal world where freedom rings throughout the land and free enterprise and capitalism rule, if the price of a commodity like natural gas soars, new drilling would happen and new pipelines (midstream infrastructure) would get built. In a warped world where wokey leftists demand divestment from “fossil fuels” those things don’t happen. Right now we desperately need more pipelines and more drilling. Neither is happening. RBN Energy explains how lack of new pipeline capacity is holding back new drilling–and why it’s happening, particularly in the Marcellus/Utica…
Although three major Marcellus/Utica drillers provided third quarter updates yesterday, we only cover EQT’s update in today’s lineup of stories. Come back Monday for details from both Antero Resources and CNX Resources. S&P Global Platts reviewed all three updates from yesterday and noticed a difference in how each of the three companies is approaching hedging, or preselling production for a specific price up to a year or more in advance. According to S&P, regaining investment-grade ratings for company stock was a stated goal by executives at all three companies during their 3Q earnings calls. They all aim to maximize free cash flows and paying down debt. Hedging programs were touted as the pathway to accomplish these balance-sheet goals.
Once again the virulent anti-fossil fuel nuts that compose the federal Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) are targeting the shale industry. Earlier this year the lefties that run the DRBC voted to permanently ban fracking (and therefore all oil and gas drilling) anywhere in the DRBC’s jurisdiction (see 
Earlier this month MDN exclusively broke the news that earlier this year (slipping under the radar) the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) issued permits to Powhatan Salt Company/Mountaineer NGL Storage for three planned solution mining wells in Monroe County (see 
MDN friend, someone we highly respect, is Tom Shepstone, author and compiler over at the 
It’s splitsville for EQT and Equitrans Midstream, the midstream company that was once part of EQT. In releasing details about third quarter performance, EQT announced yesterday it has sold nearly half of its contracted capacity with Equitrans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). MVP, when it goes online next year, will ship gas south. It seems EQT is looking West. In the same announcement yesterday, EQT said it has signed a new contract with the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline to ship even more of its gas to markets in the Midwest.
A few weeks ago MDN tackled the question of why natural gas producers, in general, are not drilling more given the high price of natural gas right now (see