Freeport LNG Asks for Third Time Extension to Build Train 4
Freeport LNG, located near Galveston, Texas, currently exports roughly 15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from three trains—when it’s actually up and running. The Freeport facility has been plagued with outages, the most spectacular of which happened in June 2022, taking the facility offline for 10 months (see Freeport LNG Plant Back to Full Capacity Using 2.1 Bcf/d of NatGas). Freeport has (for years) planned to add a fourth train that would bump up the output to 20 MTPA. In October 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Freeport an extra two years to build its fourth liquefaction train, until August 1, 2028. Freeport is now asking FERC for yet another time extension (the third extension)—an extra 40 months. Read More “Freeport LNG Asks for Third Time Extension to Build Train 4”
Environment-related permitting in Pennsylvania, overseen by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six months for approval, instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. According to a DEP press release from last November, the problem was fixed (see 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced the distribution of $164,592,500 in natural gas impact fees collected from producers for the 2024 reporting year. The bad news is that the impact fee raised $15 million less than it did in 2023, the prior year. The good news is that the state Independent Fiscal Office predicts the impact fee for 2025 will soar by $70 million to roughly $235 million (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development. 
Recent actions taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) appear to be quite significant, yet it has not received any media attention. On June 18, FERC took several actions to remove regulatory obstacles and therefore speed up the construction of needed natural gas infrastructure projects in the United States. FERC issued a blanket waiver (valid for the next two years) of its Order No. 871, which has allowed Big Green to block the construction of pipeline projects while rehearing requests are being handled. The result has been to delay projects by years while Big Green ties up such projects with endless appeals. Waiving Order No. 871 frees up FERC personnel to go ahead and issue orders to allow projects to begin construction. 
Commonwealth LNG received major news this week from two different government agencies. The first bit of news was a final authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to proceed with building the $11 billion project in Cameron, Louisiana. The second bit of news was a final authorization to export to countries without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, granted by the Department of Energy (DOE). Commonwealth still plans to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project in the third quarter of this year. 
We previously reported that following some intense conversations between President Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, she caved and according to the White House agreed to allow two long-stalled pipeline projects—the Constitution and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE)—to get built in NY in return for Trump allowing her to continue to sink $5 billion into an offshore wind project (see 
It’s not a good look for New York State that not long after Governor Kathy Hochul made a deal with President Trump to allow two natural gas pipelines to get built in return for allowing an offshore wind farm, the state legislature passed a bill that essentially spits in the face of the natural gas industry in the state. The Assembly passed A8888, already approved by the Senate as S8417, which forces new homes and businesses that want to connect to the natural gas line that runs down their street to pay the full cost of connecting—$10,000 or more. Meaning if Gov. Hochul signs it, no new natural gas customers will be added anywhere in the state. It is a de facto ban on connecting new customers to use natural gas in the so-called Empire State. 
Permitting reform—shortening the amount of time and eliminating some of the onerous regulations that stand in the way of permitting new energy projects—has been a hot topic for at least the last three years, if not longer. Before leaving the Senate last year, West Virginia’s then-Senator, Joe Manchin, tried to get a bill passed to address permitting reform (see 
A month ago, NRG Energy announced a deal to acquire LS Power’s portfolio of natural-gas power plants in a deal valued at roughly $12 billion, including debt, that will expand NRG’s footprint in Texas and along the East Coast (see 
Olympus Energy wants to drill six wells on a single pad in rural Elizabeth Township, a borough in Allegheny County, on the east bank of the Monongahela River. The pad would sit about 2,400 feet (nearly half a mile) away from Elizabeth Forward High School. Some parents of students and members of the administration pushed back against Olympus’ drilling plan, using the children as an excuse (see 
We’ve reported, with some excitement, the recent news about a host of new AI data centers coming to the Keystone State (Pennsylvania), including several large projects in southwestern PA and Amazon’s big announcement last week about spending $20 billion on at least three data centers in the eastern part of the state (see 
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators, Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, and John Fetterman, D-Braddock, have introduced Senate Bill 2044, which would move the federal Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) to Pittsburgh. It’s not an insignificant move. The DOE FECM employs approximately 750 federal employees, including scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff. The federal government already employs around 20,000 people in the Pittsburgh region. This would add to that number.