George Soros Funds Big Green Protests AND Invests in Cos. Protested
You know those sleazebag companies that sell their products to two opposing sides in a war–just to make a buck? Here’s a new twist on it. How about a sleazebag with a lot of money to invest who funds anti-fossil fuel groups (by paying protesters to destabilize our country), and at the same time invests money in the very fossil fuel companies whose projects the protesters are protesting? Such a loathsome creature has a name: George Soros…
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Looks to us like Donald Trump’s faith in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur was well-placed. As we previously noted, Trump has put LaFluer in charge of the agency as Chairman, which caused the existing Chairman of FERC, Norm Bay, to resign in a huff (see 
In December the Bureau of Land Management proceeded with an online auction for BLM-controlled land in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (see 
We caught sight of an interesting new study just published in the journal BMC Microbiology by researchers at the University of Arkansas/Fayetteville. Researchers studied (did in the field studies) of streams both near and far from fracking activities in the Arkansas Fayetteville Shale. No, the research is not directly about the Marcellus/Utica, although our shale plays are mentioned several times in the study. However, the research and its results apply to our region as well as all shale plays. In the study just published titled, “Do biofilm communities respond to the chemical signatures of fracking? A test involving streams in North-central Arkansas” (full copy below), researchers looked to see if the chemistry of streams was altered by nearby fracking activity. They evaluated “benthic biofilm community composition as a proxy for stream chemistry” to see if bacteria and other tiny critters that show up under a microscope display differences between the streams near fracking, and those not near fracking activity. What did they find? No difference. No change. No impacts from fracking on streams and the microbiology of those streams. What they did find is that streams are affected by agriculture and urbanization…
According to rumors floating around the Pennsylvania environmental wacko movement, today is the day the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) will issue the final permits needed by Sunoco Logistic Partners to begin construction of the Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline that will stretch across the entire state. Neither Sunoco nor the DEP would confirm the rumor, but the wackos are agitated and saying their “inside sources” (of which they appear to have many) are telling them it’s today. And what if it happens? According to Maya van Rossum (THE Delaware Riverkeeper), the antis will employ their two favorite tactics: Sue in court, and whip up the more radical folks in the movement into a frenzy so they “rise up in protest.” You know, like the “protesters” (i.e. criminals) did in North Dakota–the ones who fired shots at police officers, burned tires, and engaged in illegal actions to stop work on the Dakota Access Pipeline (see 
EQT, one of the biggest and best drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, issued their fourth quarter and full year 2016 update yesterday. The bad news is that EQT lost $453 million last year ($192 loss in 4Q16). But the bad financial news was offset by a lot of good news. EQT’s full-year production volumes hit a new high of 759 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), up 26% from 2015. The company drilled 135 gross wells, including 117 Marcellus wells, with an average length of 7,300 feet. EQT predicts production of 190-195 Bcfe in 1Q17. In 2017, EQT plans to use 6-8 rigs to drill a total of 119 wells in the Marcellus, 81 wells in the Upper Devonian, and 7 wells in the Utica. In a separate announcement also issued yesterday, EQT reports year-end 2016 proved reserves of 13.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe), up 35% from 2015. Below are the two updates from yesterday, along with the latest company PowerPoint presentation, loaded with great slides…
A few weeks ago MDN highlighted a developing issue in Ohio that potentially impacts Utica/Marcellus shale in the region (see 
Two of the most unfit Senators in the U.S. Senate are Ed Markey and the faux American Indian, Elizabeth Warren. Both radical extremists–both kind of loopy. So it is no surprise that they are calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reverse the decision FERC made just last week to authorize Spectra Energy’s Atlantic Bridge project (see 
For whatever insane reason, some in New England, including the two U.S. Senators from Massachusetts (see today’s companion story) irrationally hate natural gas because it is a “fossil fuel.” These demented folks believe that by burning natural gas, more carbon dioxide (CO2) is pumped into the atmosphere and that increasing amounts of CO2 are causing the earth to warm up, catastrophically. At least that’s what they say they believe. The problem with their theory (libs always have problems because their theories never work out in reality), is that CO2 levels have decreased across the U.S.–because of the increased use of natural gas. Except for New England. Because New England is not using as much natural gas as other regions, making them rely on oil-fired electric plants, New England’s CO2 levels went UP in 2015! They not only pay more for electricity and energy than any other region of the United States, they’re using dirtier energy–all while claiming they love the environment and don’t want “dirty” natural gas. What idiots…