There are plenty of jobs in the shale industry in northeastern Pennsylvania–IF you have certain skills. What kind of skills? The kind that are taught at programs like at the Lackawanna College School of Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) in their two-year program. Or skills you can pick up at the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center.
Read More “Lots of Marcellus Jobs in Northeast PA – More Workers Needed”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally got his wish last year by forcing the operator of the Indian Point Energy Center (nuclear power plant) located near New York City to agree to partially close down next year, and fully close down in 2021. We recently got a small preview of what will happen when Indian Point goes offline. In March Indian Point went completely offline for two weeks–scheduled outage for one reactor, and a malfunction in the other. Guess which form of energy took up the slack? It wasn’t solar. It wasn’t wind. It wasn’t hydro. It wasn’t magic fairy dust. It was natural gas that rode in to save the day.
Read More “NY’s Indian Point Nuke Plant Down for 2 Weeks – NatGas Saved the Day”
This is nuts! This is insane! Because of overproduction, lack of pipelines, and an existing pipeline down for maintenance, natural gas sellers at the Waha natural gas trading hub (in West Texas) are actually paying buyers to take the gas off their hands–up to an amazing $5 per thousand cubic feet!!!!
Read More “NatGas Sellers at Waha Hub *Pay* Buyers up to $5/Mcf to Take Gas!”
Although it’s still talk, the talk is now white hot and all indications are that President Trump will soon issue an Executive Order (EO) that declares important pipeline projects–like Williams’ Constitution and Northeast Supply Enhancement projects–are critical for national security, and that states like New York trying to block those projects just because they’re fossil fuel projects will not stand.
IMPORTANT UPDATE 4/4/19: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow has confirmed a Trump EO is about to be issued on pipelines. See article below.
Read More “Trump Exec Order Coming to Overrule NY on Blocked Pipelines”
Energy Transfer issued an exciting announcement yesterday to say they are expanding their presence in China “to meet growing demand for ethane and liquid natural gas products” by opening an ET office in Beijing. It will be ET’s first non-U.S. office–can you believe that?! Although ET doesn’t mention the Marcellus/Utica in the announcement, we think there’s a connection.
Read More “Energy Transfer Opens Office in China to Push LNG, Ethane”
Pennsylvania towns that pass sketchy local ordinances that skirt state laws are on notice: It’s going to cost you. Big. For the past several years we’ve reported on the case of Grant Township, PA that passed an ordinance cooked up by the radical Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) to try and block a state-approved injection well. The ordinance was tossed by a judge, and now the town will have to pay $102,000 in legal fees incurred by the operator.
Read More “Judge Orders Grant Twp to Pay PGE $102K in Legal Fees”
Here’s one we consider a conundrum. In Jan. 2018 MDN told you that the Borough of Jessup (Lackawanna County), PA was supposed to rule, quickly, on a request by Invenergy to allow a new power plant it was building at the time to, when fully built and operating, discharge up to 56,600 gallons of “wastewater” (heated water) per day in the borough’s sewage system (see New Town Board Tries to Stop Nearly-Done Gas-Fired Plant in Jessup). The plant has been operating since early this year, but the borough just voted to approve the sewage wasterwater plan…yesterday.
Read More “Jessup Votes to Allow Power Plant Water in Local Sewage System”
What will Jeff Tittel of the odious New Jersey Sierra Club say now? Tittel and his ilk have for years litigated to block a natural gas pipeline that would flow Marcellus gas from PA into New Jersey, a pipeline that would cross through 10 miles of scrub pines colloquially known as the Pinelands–a “protected” area in NJ. Tittel objected to cutting down a few hundred scrub pine trees to make way for the pipeline. And just like that, Mother Nature came along last weekend and torched 10,000 acres of those same scrub pines via a forest fire. Maybe Mom Nature is clearing the trees for the pipeline?!
Read More “Mom Nature Torches 10K Ac. of NJ Scrub Pines, Makes Way for Pipe?”
The Federal EPA has just launched the “New Owner Clean Air Act Audit Program” which allows drillers who purchased wells and drilling operations from other drillers to perform a self-audit of their new purchases for violations of the Clean Air Act–looking for fugitive methane and VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
Read More “EPA Now Allows E&Ps to Self-Report Clean Air Act Violations”
In December, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) released a draft of onerous new regulations that focus on reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and so-called fugitive methane (see Pa. DEP Jumps the Gun with Proposed New Emissions Regs). The new regs will force drillers and pipeline companies to spend big bucks to produce a teeny tiny improvement in emissions. The DEP is back with yet another revision of their onerous new regs, hoping this time they can ram them through and make them law.
Read More “PA DEP Releases Onerous New Air Regulations, Again”
On Friday, Arrow Material Services (based in Sewickley, PA) filed a lawsuit against Superior Silica Sands, also known as Emerge Energy Services (based in Fort Worth, TX) in Allegheny County Court for $24.9 million alleging breach of contract in providing frac sand.
Read More “Frac Sand Flap – Pittsburgh Logistics Co. Sues Texas Sand Co.”
What happened? Just a few weeks ago MDN told you that the West Virginia legislature had passed a bill with bipartisan support (and support from both the drilling industry and surface owners) that would redirect monies from low-producing oil and gas wells to fund a program to plug old abandoned wells (see WV Legislative Session Closes w/Several Pro-Drilling Bills Passed). WV Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the bill last week.
Read More “WV Governor Inexplicably Vetoes Bill to Plug Abandoned Wells”
The radical group Citizens for a Healthy Jessup is floating a plan to try and prevent any new Marcellus gas-fired electric plants from getting built in the Keystone State. Aided and abetted by a corrupt local newspaper, the group tries to pass itself off as a collection of local concerned citizens. It’s nothing of the sort.
Read More “PA Anti Group Seeks to Block New NatGas Elec Plants with New Law”
Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson is “urging patience” with PTT Global Chemical and their long-overdue final investment decision (FID) to move forwarding with building what is now being called a $7-$10 billion ethane cracker complex in Dilles Bottom (Belmont County), OH.
Read More “Ohio Congressman Johnson Says PTT Cracker Still On Track”
There’s no polite way to say this: The people of Bristol, Vermont are STUPID. The Bristol Selectboard, citing a pending lawsuit by rabid anti-fossil fuel nuts, recently voted to end a license agreement with Vermont Gas granting the utility permission to build distribution pipelines along town roads. Now the town is doomed.
Read More “Insanity Wins in Bristol, VT – Town Cancels Local NatGas Pipe”
There must be something in the water in New England. Today we told you about mass insanity in Bristol, Vermont, and now a story about a small community in nearby Massachusetts that wants to block 2.1 miles of new looping pipeline (buried next to an existing pipeline) in Longmeadow, Mass. All because local fruit loops want to ban new “fossil fuel” infrastructure. Lunacy is breaking out everywhere in New England!
Read More “Massachusetts Still Trying to Block 2.1 Miles of Local Gas Pipe”