M-U Shut-ins Help Keep Regional Gas Prices Stable…for Now
With EQT shutting in one-third of its production, Cabot shutting in some of its production, and today’s news that CNX has shut in production (see CNX Update: Shut-in 375 MMcf/d, Central PA Utica the Future), the cumulative effect of those three (plus other M-U drillers) is that our region now produces at least 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) less of natgas than it did just a few months ago. That decrease is helping to “balance” gas flows and help prices to not drop further than they already have.
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The U.S. onshore rig count continues to collapse, hitting a historic new low of 299. Over the past week, another 12 rigs disappeared from the count, mainly located in oil plays (like the Permian). Since the beginning of March, the Marcellus had (as of last week) lost 11 rigs in total. The Marcellus gained back one of those rigs. Since the beginning of March the Utica has stayed consistent with 10-11 rigs operating. Last week the Utica lost two rigs, now down to 9 rigs operating.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report Wednesday titled, “Gas 2020: Analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global natural gas markets.” IEA says the global gas market will experience its “largest demand shock on record” in 2020, with demand for natural gas worldwide decreasing by 4% this year. That’s a bit better than IEA’s previous estimate of a 5% decrease in 2020.
Enverus (formerly known as Drillinginfo) recently released its latest FundamentalEdge report that explores the ongoing supply response to demand destruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the report, Enverus estimates how much dry gas production each major shale play produced, month by month, from January through May of this year. The numbers show that production from the Marcellus/Utica, which produces the most natural gas of any play, decreased the most of any play–by some 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) from January to May.
Tri-Point, LLC is an oilfield services company (OFS) specializing in products and services for drillers and pipeline companies. Tri-Point is headquartered in Houston, Texas but has a number of field offices, including an office in Towanda (Bradford County), PA that services the Marcellus industry. Sadly the company is in bankruptcy. We spotted an announcement about a virtual auction later this month to sell off/liquidate all of the company’s assets.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just released a new “instant final rule” that, from what we can tell, pretty much does away with a concept called tolling orders when approving new pipeline projects. A tolling order has been an important tool for FERC in combating frivolous lawsuits filed against every single new pipeline project. A tolling order allows FERC to delay deciding on what is called a rehearing request. Antis can’t trot off to find their favorite Obama judge until FERC either performs a rehearing or rejects a rehearing request. Tolling orders delay that process, allowing pipeline projects to actually get built.
Going back a year (beginning June 2019) MDN has brought you news about Edge Gathering Virtual Pipelines 2 LLC (EDGE), a company that deploys special LNG units to remote Marcellus wells in PA, converting gas from the well into LNG and selling that gas (
Amid all of the frivolous lawsuits and regulatory actions brought by Big Green, aimed at blocking progress on important projects like the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) that runs from West Virginia to southern Virginia (90% complete), progress is still happening for new pipeline projects. One of those new projects is MVP Southgate, a 75-mile extension of MVP that will run from southern Virginia into North Carolina.
The Pennsylvania legislature has taken the next step in overturning a naked power-grab by Gov. Tom Wolf in his bid to force the state to join a carbon tax scheme called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Yesterday the PA House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee approved House Bill (HB) 2025 aimed at blocking RGGI without a proper vote by the legislature first. HB 2025 now goes to the full House for a vote.
Two weeks ago MDN told you that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which had been hired to liquidate the assets of Australian company LNG Limited (LNGL), had found a second buyer for the Magnolia LNG export project for $2 million (see 
The world of LNG is sometimes a strange world for us. NGI (Natural Gas Intelligence) is reporting an LNG cargo ship loaded with LNG from Nigeria is steaming toward North America. LNG cargoes are notorious for changing routes at the last minute, given the wheeling and dealing that takes place between buyers and sellers. However, the latest intel has the Nigerian LNG cargo heading for…Elba Island, Georgia? That’s right. An imported load of LNG coming to an LNG export facility. Why?
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), the quasi-governmental agency tasked with overseeing water usage within the Susquehanna River Basin, has been a huge success with respect to partnering with the Marcellus Shale drilling industry. The SRBC recently updated a report (summary below) reviewing shale water usage drawn from the basin from 2008 to 2018. The report finds shale water usage has risen to become the #3 source of water used in the river basin–although shale usage of basin water is still a small fraction of that by larger users, including municipalities and electric power generation.
Last Thursday President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled, “Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities.” The EO taps the President’s emergency powers to address and mitigate the economic and employment crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, by invoking emergency permitting procedures for infrastructure projects, including pipelines, that are otherwise delayed by regulatory roadblocks. This includes projects subject to Clean Water Act water quality permits, the Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide 12 (NP12) permit program, and the Endangered Species Act. This EO potentially has big implications for finishing up both the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) projects.
In what is a hollow victory for anti-fossil fuel zealots, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied hearing an appeal for a case from Sunoco Logistics Partners about a permit for a pump station in Lebanon County, PA. The Supremes’ rejection means a lower court ruling stands that overturns the permit. Thing is, that pump station was built years ago and has been functioning ever since. There’s no way that pump station is going away. So why did the antis blow all that money in litigation over the years?