What Biden’s First Two Days on the Job Mean for the O&G Industry
President Joe Biden is already a complete disaster for the oil and gas industry. His first two days in office (day and a half, actually) can only be described as a full-on attack against our industry. That’s according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). We received a rundown of the damage Biden has already caused. Here’s just one example (out a list of 100+): Biden has put a freeze (pun intended) on the Dept. of Transportation’s rule that allows LNG to be shipped by rail. The rule is being “reviewed” with an eye to reversing it.
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Last week MDN told you the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) had given final approval to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to install pipeline through 3.5 miles of woodlands, and under the Appalachian Trail, in the Jefferson National Forest in Monroe County in West Virginia, in and Giles and Montgomery counties in Virginia (see 
Et tu, Brute? Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, a Republican who used to work for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is showing his true swamp-dwelling colors. On Tuesday Chatterjee voted against several critical natural gas projects (ones he voted in favor of previously), including a vote against allowing the Weymouth, MA compressor station, fully built, tested and ready to start, to begin operations.
You can’t say we didn’t warn you about new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Allison Clements, a radical leftist (see 
The Trump administration worked for four long, hard years against the radicalism of leftist Democrats to overturn what was called Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” (CPP)–an odious and misnamed plan that assassinates coal and mortally wounds natural gas power generating plants (see 
Like 99% of Hail Mary passes, the effort by environmental radicals in southwestern PA to block a forthcoming shale wastewater injection well has failed. As we told you last week, a group of antis, in a desperate final attempt to block an injection well in Plum (Allegheny County), PA, threw a Hail Mary pass by asking Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to assume dictatorial powers and block the project (see 
Last week the Trump Dept. of Energy (DOE) released a new report titled “Economic and National Security Impacts under a Hydraulic Fracturing Ban” (full copy below). The report shows that a ban on hydraulic fracturing would spike greenhouse gas emissions, boost coal generation, and reverse America’s energy exporter status. A full-on fracking ban would result in 7.7 million jobs lost across the country and the overall U.S. economy would take a significant hit just as the pandemic recovery is underway. Devastating.
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) held a virtual hearing to accept public comment on the topic of issuing water crossing and sediment/erosion permits for the PennEast Pipeline project. The hearing lasted over three hours with some 70+ people speaking (for up to 3 minutes each). Much to the consternation of anti-fossil fuelers, there was a strong showing of support for the project.
Not a day that goes by without a story in Big Media announcing another municipality has passed (or is considering passing) a law/regulation prohibiting new homes and businesses from using natural gas for heating, cooking, etc. The proffered solution by these foolish dunderheads is that new structures must use electric for heat. Eventually (like here in New York by 2050), not only new structures but existing homes and businesses will have to convert to all-electric too (see 
In our book, methane (CH4) is methane and needs no justification to be drilled for and widely used. But for those who drill for it, or flow it through pipelines, methane now has to be perceived as “green” or risk going the way of the dodo bird. This is how the game is played. Various organizations have sprung up in an effort to prove drillers (and others) are harvesting and moving methane in an environmentally safe manner. One of those systems for certifying the greenness of gas is the Responsible Gas program by Independent Energy Standards Corp. (see 
Because of constant court challenges, the Trump administration just completed a redo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12), a general permit used in constructing pipelines. Antis believe the redo will make it easier for the incoming Biden administration to simply delete oil and gas pipelines from the permit. The cancel culture strikes again.
Well, the apocalypse has happened. We now have single party (Democrat) rule in Washington, D.C., and that spells trouble ahead for shale energy–for both oil AND gas. We’ll keep our opinions to ourselves on the politics. What’s done is done. Instead, we’ll let the analysts from S&P tell you what you can expect with new appointments at key federal agencies, and how energy policy under the Biden administration, with a big assist from a Democrat-controlled Senate, will likely play out in the coming years.