Questerre Still Hopeful Quebec Politicians Will Allow Utica Drilling
Hope springs eternal at Questerre Energy, a Canadian driller that owns more than 1 million acres of leases and an estimated 6 Tcf of Utica Shale reserves in the province of Québec, Canada. What’s that? You didn’t realize the Utica Shale stretches that far north? It does! However, Québec, with a huge supply of Utica Shale gas sitting beneath it, passed a new law in 2022 outlawing all oil and natural gas production throughout the province, called Bill 21 (see Quebec Pulls Trigger & Commits Energy Suicide – Bans All O&G Prod.). It was a breathtaking grab of totalitarian power. Questerre has tried both carrot (encouraging the province to rethink its ban) and stick (suing Québec). So far, neither has worked. However, Québec recently issued its Integrated Energy Resource Management Plan (PGIRE) that says nice things (sort of) about natural gas. Read More “Questerre Still Hopeful Quebec Politicians Will Allow Utica Drilling”
Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul had the ignominious distinction of signing an Executive Order establishing the nation’s first statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, temporarily pausing state environmental permit issuance for up to 1 year (see 
Thanks to the work of David Hess at the PA Environment Digest Blog, which tracks Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) notices published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, we know of two water pipeline projects (for EQT and Expand Energy) approved by the DEP related to drilling new shale wells in two different northeastern PA counties: Lycoming and Bradford. Water is used for fracking. New water pipelines mean new fracking is on the way in those locations. 
Despite claims by anti-fossil-fuelers that the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in southwestern PA would spread disease and death if it were built, it’s been up and running since 2018, producing power and generating revenue for both its builders and the community. Oh, and everyone is in good health. However, the plant has been operating under a state permit since it opened. It needs a federal Title V permit for long-term operation. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issues such a permit. Good news! The DEP recently issued the Title V permit for this power plant. 
In May, Dominion Energy announced plans to construct a multibillion-dollar, 3-gigwatt (GW) combined-cycle natural gas power plant in Cumberland County to address the state’s rapidly increasing electricity demand, particularly from data centers (see 
Poor lefty U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat from Rhode Island). He’s in a bind. Sen. Whitehouse sits on the committee currently negotiating how to loosen up on permitting rules for all sorts of projects, including natural gas pipelines. Whitehouse has traditionally been opposed to natgas pipelines getting built to furnish New England with more gas, but the governor of his own state, along with Dem governors from other New England states, want those pipes (for fear of being tossed out of office if they don’t bring down the price of gas and electricity). But on Whitehouse’s wacko left sit Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren and Ed “wacky” Markey, who are 100% opposed to changing the rules for pipelines. Also opposing a change are foreign-backed environmental groups (big contributors to Whitehouse). What’s poor Sheldon going to do? 
In June, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill (SB) 219 into law. The new law, the first significant update to Ohio’s oil and gas laws since the Kasich administration more than a decade ago, reforms Ohio’s orphaned oil and gas well program and other elements of Ohio’s O&G laws. One aspect of the new law establishes an expedited drilling and plugging permit process. The law prevents the state from rejecting expedited permit requests (capped at 10 per owner annually), shortens timelines for leasing and drilling on public lands—including 30-day permit approvals—and limits landowners’ ability to challenge expired lease renewals. Anti-fossil fuelers are fuming. What’s new? 
After months of deliberation, Steubenville (Jefferson County), Ohio, City Council voted to accept a bid and proceed with leasing the city’s mineral rights to the oil and gas industry, including areas near residential neighborhoods and Beatty Park. Some residents voiced strong opposition, citing threats to the park’s ecosystem, health concerns, and insufficient public involvement, urging the council to reject bids or form a resident-inclusive committee. Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo voted against it, questioning fracking’s health effects. First Ward Councilman David Albaugh supported it, noting that surrounding areas are already fracked and that no well pad would be built in Steubenville. The money (over $1 million!) is expected within 90 days. 
What a disappointment. We don’t know why, but at yesterday’s U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure meeting on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), an amendment to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) authority to ban fracking was NOT introduced. The WRDA passed and now goes to the House for a vote — without the amendment that would have overturned the DRBC frack ban, which illegally strips landowners’ property rights in Wayne and Pike counties (in Pennsylvania). The only conclusion we can draw is that the Republican leadership, for whatever reason, didn’t want it attached to the bill. Meaning they caved. Again, what a disappointment. 
Last year, we reported on a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued in the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Game Commission v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust (see 
The far-left activists who occupy and control the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) are shocked and dismayed that their iron grip on power is slipping away. As we reported yesterday, Congress is close to adopting an amendment to the federal Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that would block the DRBC and its sister organization, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), from banning hydraulic fracturing (and shale drilling) within their respective jurisdictions (see 
Four Washington County, Ohio, Class II injection wells voluntarily stopped operating July 1-2 after state regulators from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said they may be affecting nearby oil and gas production wells. The wells are Redbird Nos. 4 and 5, American Growers No. 1, and Nichols No. 1-A, although the Nichols owner disputed that operations had ceased at that well. ODNR and operators will develop corrective plans, while a third-party consultant examines nearby private water wells. Activists want broader, long-term groundwater testing, noting that Redbird No. 4 waste has previously migrated more than 5 miles underground. It’s important to note that the alleged migration of fluids affected other (conventional) oil and gas wells, NOT water wells.