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How Biden’s Drilling Ban on Federal Lands Affects the M-U
On Joe Biden’s first day in occupying the White House, he signed an Executive Order (EO) suspending new oil and gas leasing while the Interior Department reviews existing leases and permitting practices for 60 days. The aim is to make the federal lease ban permanent. However, some permits on existing leases will continue to be issued during the 60-day review period. You may think Biden’s federal lease ban does not affect the Marcellus/Utica region. You would be wrong.
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Over the past week, the Enverus U.S. rig count jumped up by another 14 active rigs, making the new count 456. That’s the highest the rig count has been since April 2020 when the count began to drop like a rock as the coronavirus pandemic began to bite deeply. While the dry gas Marcellus lost one rig, the wet gas Marcellus gained one rig and the Ohio Utica also gained one rig, for a net +1 gain to 43 active rigs in the M-U combined region.
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., a company that invests in non-operated oil and gas assets (they let others do the drilling), announced yesterday it has purchased 64,000 net acres producing ~120 MMcfe/d (million cubic feet equivalent per day) in the Marcellus/Utica from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The cash purchase price is $250 million.
Doug Lawler, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, has swung his ax once again and is firing (i.e. laying off) another 220 employees–just as the company exits from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Most of the layoffs are happening in Chessy’s headquarters located in Oklahoma City.
Mansfield Energy Corp, with products and services that span fuels, natural gas, diesel exhaust fluid, data management, and price risk management tools, announced it is buying out and merging in eServices Energy Management, a natural gas marketing, logistics, and trading organization headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia with a presence in Pittsburgh, PA and Houston, Texas. According to Mansfield, the deal expands the company’s reach to Marcellus and Utica shale producers.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is openly admitting that his cockamamie plan to force PA to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)–a carbon tax scheme that will cost PA residents $2.36 billion over ten years–will in fact cause the closure of coal and gas-fired power plants throughout his state. Wolf’s brilliant plan to overcome the big negatives of power plant closings? A new government program, funded by taxpayers.
Last week MDN told you about a spike in natural gas and electric rates in New York City and New England, thanks to the cold snap and lack of natural gas pipelines into the region (see 
Yesterday our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2021.” One of the main themes of this year’s AEO is the profound impact COVID-19 has had and will continue to have on energy usage worldwide. EIA says it will likely take a decade or more for energy usage to return to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
HUGE news! This morning the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the PennEast Pipeline case. The case appeals a lower court ruling that disallows PennEast from using eminent domain to build across land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey. The court’s acceptance of the case is an excellent sign PennEast will win the case–which is important not only for PennEast but all future pipeline projects in “blue” states.
Zenith Energy, based in Houston, TX and Metuchen, NJ, announced yesterday it has purchased the bulk terminal storage operations of Guttman Energy in three locations: Aurora, Ohio, Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, and Star City, West Virginia. Zenith says the reason for buying the terminals is to support customers in the Marcellus/Utica. What, exactly, is Zenith selling to M-U customers?
Virtual pipeline company Xpress Natural Gas (XNG), which operates a major compression station/trucking facility not far from MDN headquarters, has agreed to sell itself to Basalt Infrastructure Partners, an investment firm located in London and New York City. The sale price was not disclosed.
Vermont Gas is probably sorry it ever decided to build a tiny 41-mile pipeline between Chittenden and Addison counties to deliver clean-burning natural gas to Vermonters. Not only was the project hounded by anti-fossil fuel nutjobs, since going online in 2017 the project has been hounded by the State of Vermont itself! After a multi-year investigation, the state is accusing the project of multiple violations during construction and about to levy a hefty fine.
After Joe Biden signed an Executive Order in his first few days on the job killing the Keystone XL pipeline project (instantly throwing 11,000 union members of out high-paying jobs), anti-fossil fuel nuts have been salivating (drooling, actually) in anticipation of what else old dementia Joe will do next to kill off other pipeline projects, including Equitrans’ Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). One of Big Green’s trusty mouthpieces at the AP has penned a wishlist for which projects may get the ax next, and how it will happen.