We are currently mired in some of the lowest prices for natural gas in the last 27 years (see Henry Hub Spot Price Hit Lowest “Real” Level in 27 Yrs in February). But take heart. It won’t last! According to an energy writer publishing on OilPrice.com, the gas glut (oversupply) we are experiencing right now, which is leading to low prices, won’t last “for long.” Her lips to God’s ears, right?
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Depending on who you talk to, hydrogen energy will either save the world or isn’t a big deal at all. When hydrogen burns, it’s completely “clean” — meaning it doesn’t emit any carbon dioxide. Hydrogen, when burned, creates water. What could be more clean and pure and holy than hydrogen energy? Yet the 800-pound gorilla in the room is that there isn’t a market for all of the new hydrogen scheduled to come online if the so-called regional hydrogen hubs being funded by Joementia actually take off. If you produce it (more hydrogen), they will come (and buy it)? That’s what Joe and the climate hucksters are saying. Here’s a better idea: Let’s look at who uses hydrogen the most now and why. And would they use more hydrogen if it was available at a reasonable cost?
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This is precisely what companies going through a merger DON’T want to happen. Last Thursday, both Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, which previously announced a deal to combine back in January (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger), received the dreaded “Second Request” for information from regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Dept. of Justice (DOJ), meaning the merger is now delayed from the first half of this year to the second half (i.e., by Dec. 31, 2024). It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not a good thing, either.
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Martins Ferry (OH) Mayor John Davies continues to make noise about the currently shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) frack waste processing facility in his city. Two weeks ago, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action seeking to force AMS to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (see Ohio AG Sues Austin Master Services for Unsafe Storage of Wastewater). Media accounts report that AMS has stored at least 10,000 tons of fracking waste (drill cuttings) at the Martins Ferry facility. It’s rated to hold 600 tons.
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This year’s presidential election may well turn on the results in the “swing state” of Pennsylvania. The Wall Street Journal has an intriguing story that looks at PA voters, who they support for president, and why. In the article ‘Now They’re Voting Red’: A Pennsylvania Fracking Boom Weighs on Biden’s Re-Election Chances, the WSJ says a slim majority of voters give Donald Trump a 3-point lead over Joementia if the election were held today. (How ANYONE could vote for Biden is a complete mystery to us.) “Economic churn” and Biden’s actions like his infamous LNG pause are pushing voters toward Trump in the Pittsburgh area, potentially overwhelming the Democrats’ base of college-educated workers. Could it be that pro-frackers in PA will hand the White House back to DJT?
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A few weeks ago, we reported that two Democrats and one anti-drilling RINO who run Bucks County government (a Philadelphia suburb) fell for the bait by Big Green and filed a lawsuit against Big Oil companies for supposedly, knowingly, causing the Earth to toast to a cinder (see Bucks County, PA, Sues Big Oil for Causing “Climate Change”). The lawsuit seemingly came out of nowhere. It was hatched secretly by green groups, including the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) – a Rockefeller-funded D.C. activist group. There were no public meetings. No public input. No public announcements. It was completely hush-hush, with a total media blackout until the lawsuit was filed. Here we are two weeks later, and the RINO, Gene DiGirolamo, has gotten cold feet and says he no longer supports the lawsuit. Now that the horse has left the barn…
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Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count dropped another rig. The count went from 621 active rigs two weeks ago down to 620 last week. This is the third week in a row the national count has lost rigs. Since last October, the national count has gone as low as 616 and as high as 629. And that’s it. No higher and no lower. The Marcellus/Utica remained the same last week at 42 active rigs. However, there were some musical chairs. Pennsylvania gained one rig and now operates 22 rigs. West Virginia lost a rig and now operates 8 rigs. Ohio remained steady with 12 active rigs.
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Last week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action seeking to force Austin Master Services (AMS) in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (see Ohio AG Sues Austin Master Services for Unsafe Storage of Wastewater). As the story began to unfold, we learned that AMS had stored at least 10,000 tons of fracking waste beyond its rating at the facility. Last weekend, the Ohio River, which is located 500 feet from the facility, reached flood stage and approached (but didn’t reach) the AMS facility.
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Last week, MDN reported on new (to us) information shared at a Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing that the state’s program to plug orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells is, quite frankly, a hot mess (see Plugging PA’s Abandoned & Orphaned Wells is a Hot Mess). The Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) recordkeeping of old wells is rife with errors. And the price to plug orphaned wells has ballooned from $17,500 per well in most cases to now over $110,000! An editorial appearing in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette takes the federal and state governments to task for spending big money on a problem they can’t even accurately describe or outline.
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Last week, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a new draft plan to allow shale drilling to finally begin on land in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (see BLM Floats Draft Assessment for Drilling in OH’s Wayne Nat’l Forest). Even though a majority of the land and mineral rights in WNF are privately owned, the BLM and various lawsuits from foreign-backed Big Green groups have blocked drilling in WNF for the past 15+ years. It’s a TRAGEDY and horrific injustice against private landowners. With the BLM’s new plan, the usual radicalized groups are back to announce they are watching and plan to sue once again.
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In September 2022, MDN told you about a relatively modest-sized gas-fired power plant planned for Superior, Wisconsin, called the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (see Midwest Elec Grid Roasted for Supporting New Gas-Fired Power Plant). Last December, the Douglas County (WI) Board approved the sale of about 45 acres of land along the Nemadji River to RendField Land Company Inc. to allow a transmission line to be built to the plant (see County Approves Land Sale to Wisconsin Gas-Fired Power Plant). However, antis have been able to persuade (bully) the Superior City Council to vote against issuing permits for the plant.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), corrupted by the Bidenistas, voted 3-2 (three Democrats vs. two Republicans) in March to issue a final regulation that will force all publicly traded companies to disclose their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the imaginary climate risks their businesses face (see Woke SEC Adopts Modified Version of Climate Disclosure Reg). The end result of the Biden SEC’s new regulations will be to “kneecap” oil and gas companies (see SEC Reg Requiring Disclosure of Climate Change Risk “Kneecaps” O&G). And that’s the purpose. A number of lawsuits have been filed against the new reg, including a lawsuit by 25 state Attorneys General (see The Many Lawsuits Challenging Woke SEC’s Climate Disclosure Reg).
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Ahead of the Easter weekend, multiple media outlets reported that chocolate prices were soaring, and according to the coverage, the main culprit driving the inflating costs is so-called climate change. Across multiple platforms, the reports followed a similar message, using similar language to describe the problem and its causes — and the reports all came out the same week. The media reports can be traced back to a single source, an organization called Covering Climate Now. This is a story of how entire populations are being brainwashed with false narratives about the climate.
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Leasing activity is picking up once again in the northern part of the Ohio Utica shale play. Greg Carver, a trustee with Knox Township in Columbiana County, says he was recently contacted about leasing 15 acres he owns for new oil drilling. In late February, a consortium paid $1.6 million for mineral rights for 345 acres in Knox Township. Holy smokes! That’s $4,637 per acre! It sure sounds like Utica leasing is “back” — just not where you might think it would be.
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We have a second big news story coming out of Columbiana County, OH, today. Pipeline giant Williams confirmed it plans to build a compressor station in Hanover Township (Columbiana County) to help push more natural gas in the northern part of the Utica play. “But wait, that’s an oil area, right?” Very good, young Padawan. It is an oily part of the play. However, when a well is drilled for oil, natural gas always comes out of the ground along with it. It used to be that drillers could just burn the “excess” methane, but not now with far stricter environmental regulations.
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While you wouldn’t know it from looking at the NYMEX Henry Hub futures price, the cuts in production from Marcellus/Utica producers, including Chesapeake Energy, ETQ, Antero Resources, Coterra Energy, CNX Resources, and others, IS having an effect on prices — on the spot prices of physically-traded natural gas in the M-U region. Over the past eight weeks, gas production from the Marcellus and Utica shale has fallen sharply.
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