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Exporters Say China is Now Gun-Shy About Buying U.S. Ethane
The two U.S. companies that export ethane, Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners, are both saying that the Trump administration’s temporary block on shipping ethane to China in June gave our export industry a black eye, and China is much less likely to contract for more of our ethane shipments. (Cue the violins.) However, when you consider that China buys half (50%) of our ethane exports, and that ethane exports represent a good chunk of revenue for both companies (both with operations in the Marcellus/Utica), it’s not nothing. Read More “Exporters Say China is Now Gun-Shy About Buying U.S. Ethane”
Well, isn’t this interesting! Just yesterday we told you that Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has plugged a little over 300 old orphaned (no current owner) wells over the past three years, but that Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) had plugged over 700 in the same period (see 
In January 2024, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships in Mercer County, PA (see 
The parents of four children under the age of 18 (from three families) filed a lawsuit on their kids’ behalf against EQT subsidiaries EQT Production Company and EQT XL Midstream Operating, claiming that emissions from a nearby compressor station and nearby shale wells operated by EQT have led to severe health-related problems for the kids. The families used to live in the rural hamlet of Knob Fork in Wetzel County, WV. They all have since moved. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and money for ongoing monitoring of the kids’ health. 
Three members of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Arvind Venkat (Democrat from Allegheny County), Elizabeth Fiedler (Democrat from Philadelphia), and Craig Williams (Republican from Delaware/Chester counties, Philly suburbs) are planning to introduce legislation to “establish regulatory clarity” to encourage the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems in Pennsylvania. There’s a lot to unpack in that opening statement. First, this is a bipartisan effort. Second, they want to encourage more geothermal energy development in the state. When you understand that Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) uses the same method of fracking used for natural gas and oil well drilling, it makes this bipartisan effort a real eye-opener. 
What is it about progress and expanding the use of energy for that progress that “progressive” Democrats, like those at the FracTracker Alliance, hate so much? The same group of Dem radicals who have sought to block shale energy in the Keystone State (and beyond) for years has turned its sights on opposing new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Pennsylvania and beyond by launching an online mapping tool that shows where planned facilities will be located. Not only will data centers (and the gas-fired power plants that run them) pollute the atmosphere to be unbreathable (say the nutters), AI data centers are racist. Who knew? 
PJM Interconnection is the electrical grid operator covering Pennsylvania, along with all or parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia. For months, the Democrat governors of PJM states have been hammering PJM, blaming PJM for higher electricity prices, even though it is their own policies that are driving electricity prices higher (see 
Pipeline giant Williams issued its second quarter 2025 update yesterday. Williams is a huge company with many fingers in many pies. Of greatest concern to us are those projects that will flow Marcellus/Utica molecules. The big news of the day was that Williams has officially signed up customers for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, which triggers a series of next actions. Primarily, the company expects a reissued certificate for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). CEO Chad Zamarin answered a question about timing and stated that he expects a water permit from New York State to be issued “in the next few months.” That’s sure to spark protest from antis! Also of note: the Transco pipeline hit a new all-time flow rate on July 29 of 16.1 Bcf/d. 
As we mentioned in two different posts today (about the 2Q updates from Coterra and Williams), the Constitution Pipeline project is currently not a top priority for Williams. In fact, Williams’ management didn’t even mention the project during their update. Coterra management did mention it as one of the “top-of-mind” projects for them, but acknowledged that another project, the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project, is currently the focus for Williams. Coterra and Williams *might* want to talk to President Trump, because the Constitution project is a big, fat priority for him. Yesterday, Trump’s EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, published a major “we need the Constitution Pipeline and we need it now” op-ed in the Boston Globe. 
Two days ago, MDN brought you the news confirming that Shell is looking to sell all or part of its Beaver County, PA, ethane cracker plant operation (see 
Leatherstocking Gas Company, a subsidiary of Corning Energy Corporation, runs gas mains to residents and businesses in small, mainly rural communities in northeastern Pennsylvania (see 
Yesterday, the “front month” contract (for September) for the NYMEX futures natural gas price crashed down 15.1 cents to close at $2.932/MMBtu. Bummer. The $3 level is an important psychological barrier, and we just violated it. The questions, as always, are (1) why did the price go lower (what’s rattling around inside the heads of traders); and (2) where is the price likely to go next? We aim to try to answer those questions in this post. 
Last November, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking in the town via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see 
In December 2022, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), both subsidiaries of PPL Corporation, announced a plan to replace 1,500 megawatts of aging coal-fired generation (nearly one-third of Kentucky’s coal fleet) with two 645-MW natural gas combined-cycle units along with several unreliable, intermittent solar projects (see