Regulation

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

President Biden Signs Deal with China to Shut Down Fossil Fuels
November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

Stupified and dumbfounded. Those are the words that come to mind when reading of a so-called climate pact agreed to by Joe Biden with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping in California last week. And then we got really, really angry. Biden is consciously (or perhaps unconsciously?) choosing to sentence our country to energy dependence on our #1 enemy in the world by forcing our country away from using fossil energy in favor of unreliable, so-called renewable energy. China is also pledging to scale down fossil energy. Of course, China is lying. We have proof.
Read More “President Biden Signs Deal with China to Shut Down Fossil Fuels”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | TC Energy/TransCanada | Transco | Virginia | Williams

Columbia, Williams SE Va. Pipe Projects Get FERC Approval to Build
November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

In August 2022, Columbia Gas Transmission (a subsidiary of TC Energy) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the Virginia Reliability Project (VRP), which includes two new compressor units and the replacement of existing pipeline (see Columbia Files w/FERC to Replace 48 Miles of Pipe in Southeast Va.). VRP will add 100 MMcf/d of incremental capacity on Columbia’s system to service delivery points in southeast Virginia, namely for Virginia Natural Gas. The Columbia project works hand-in-glove with another project by a different company. Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) asked FERC if it could add new pipeline in an existing right-of-way and one new compressor station (see Transco Pipe Seeks to Build New Compressor Boosting Flows in Va.). The Commonwealth Energy Connector Project, as it is called, will build six miles of new pipeline within Transco’s existing right-of-way in Virginia, expand a meter station, and build a 30,500 hp electric motor-drive compressor. Both projects (considered together by FERC) were approved by FERC’s commissioners in an order issued last Thursday.
Read More “Columbia, Williams SE Va. Pipe Projects Get FERC Approval to Build”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Lucas County | Ohio | Regulation

Ohio Extends Time to Build 2nd Utica-Fired Elec Plant Near Toledo
November 17, 2023November 17, 2023

In December 2017, MDN told you about a second proposed natural gas-fired power plant planned by CME Energy for Oregon (Lucas County), Ohio (see Ohio Approves 2nd Oregon Utica-Fired Elec Plant (Near Toledo)). The first plant was called the Oregon Clean Energy Center. The second plant project was named Clean Energy Future – Oregon. The second plant is bigger than the first, targeted to generate 955 megawatts of power. At that time (in 2017), CME was in the permitting process for the second plant, with plans to have it built and online in 2020. Fast forward to today. The plant was never built but is still being planned.
Read More “Ohio Extends Time to Build 2nd Utica-Fired Elec Plant Near Toledo”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

What Happened to $42 Million in Fines Paid by Mariner East Pipe?
November 17, 2023November 17, 2023

In July, MDN compared the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection to an organized crime mob with its ongoing shakedowns in assessing “fines” on the Mariner East pipeline project (see PA DEP Squeezes Another $660,000 from ME2 Pipe for “Violations”). At that time, we were aware that over $30 million had been extorted (er, a, extracted) from Mariner East in so-called fines. We were grossly wrong. The actual number is over $42 million! The enviro-left was giddy with the fines but is now asking the question, where did all that money go? Because it sure didn’t go into their pockets (as promised)…
Read More “What Happened to $42 Million in Fines Paid by Mariner East Pipe?”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OGLMC Votes to Allow Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park
November 16, 2023November 16, 2023

Yesterday, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under (not on top of) three different state-owned tracts of land: all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and 66 acres of the Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County. In addition, commissioners voted against shale drilling under Wolf Run State Park. Approximately 100 anti-fossil fuel zealots were on hand at the meeting and nearly made the votes impossible with their prancing, chanting, and singing. They made horses rear ends of themselves by making the meeting miserable for everyone else.
Read More “OGLMC Votes to Allow Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Shapiro’s DEP Money-Back Guarantee for Permit Delays is Bogus
November 15, 2023November 15, 2023

Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (liberal Democrat) launched, with much fanfare, PAyback.pa.gov, a new online money-back guarantee system that allows residents, businesses, charities, and schools to check their eligibility for a refund of their permit, license, or certification application fee and request a refund if they believe they are eligible. Shapiro promised individuals and businesses a money-back guarantee if the permits they applied for were not issued within the statutory time limits they were supposed to meet. We were hopeful that shale drillers would now have recourse to nudge the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) into doing its job on time. Except it’s all a sham. It’s bogus.
Read More “Shapiro’s DEP Money-Back Guarantee for Permit Delays is Bogus”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

OneNexus Announces New “Insurance” Policy for Plugging O&G Wells
November 15, 2023November 15, 2023

An innovative financial solutions company based in Houston, TX, called OneNexus, just announced a new “insurance” plan for drillers called WellSecure that will pay out money to plug an old oil or gas well when it hits end-of-life. WellSecure is the only insured financial contract that provides long-term financial security for the purpose of funding oil and gas decommissioning liabilities. No more worrying about whether a company will have enough money to plug old wells. With WellSecure, the money is (literally) in the bank!
Read More “OneNexus Announces New “Insurance” Policy for Plugging O&G Wells”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Ohio OGLMC Decides This Weds Who Gets to Drill Under State Parks
November 14, 2023November 14, 2023

In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see OH Gov. Signs Bill Expanding Drilling in State Parks, NatGas “Green”). The new law allows shale drilling under (but not on top of) Ohio state-owned land, including state parks. HB 507 encourages (pushes for) more drilling under state-owned land. The special commission created to award contracts — called the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) — met in September to consider 12+ “nominations” (requests to drill) received so far (see Ohio Comm. Says 12.5% Royalties for State Land Drilling Too Cheap). The meeting was beset with silly anti-fossil fuelers (most of them old hippies) behaving like the silly horse’s rear-ends they are, dressing up and parading around like five-year-olds. Embarrassing. Tomorrow, the OGLMC will announce the winners for at least some (perhaps all) of the requests to lease.
Read More “Ohio OGLMC Decides This Weds Who Gets to Drill Under State Parks”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Signs that EPA is Backing Off So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 Regs
November 14, 2023November 14, 2023

In May, the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations called the Clean Power Plan 2.0, aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The nation’s electric grid is at stake. The EPA is forcing this new regulatory plan through. The outcome is predictable: widespread blackouts regularly (see EPA’s So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 is a Preventable Catastrophe). It is a preventable catastrophe, but only if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or Congress acts to stop it. It seems that the recalcitrant leftists infesting EPA are finally getting the message from FERC, NERC, and Congress.
Read More “Signs that EPA is Backing Off So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 Regs”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Research

NERC: Half of U.S. Faces Elec Blackouts This Winter – Lack of NatGas
November 14, 2023November 14, 2023

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) is sounding the alarm that more than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter. Why? If you read certain leftwing publications, they will say we’re heading for blackouts due to an overreliance on natural gas. According to NERC and its just-released 2023–2024 Winter Reliability Assessment, the coming outages are because we don’t rely ENOUGH on natural gas! That’s right. NERC (and FERC) say we need more pipelines and natural gas to shore up a lack of supplies during the worst cold snaps. The lack of natural gas leads to a lack of fuel for electric power plants (and for people who use it to heat their homes). Both agencies, but NERC in particular, say we need more pipelines, and we need them NOW.
Read More “NERC: Half of U.S. Faces Elec Blackouts This Winter – Lack of NatGas”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Civil War Erupts in PA Enviro Movement re Gov. Shapiro Deal with CNX
November 9, 2023November 9, 2023

Last Friday, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis had signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). Shapiro’s office front-loaded the news with comments of support from several Democrat-led environmental organizations, including the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), PennEnvironment, the Philly-based Clean Air Council, the PA Chapter of the Sierra Club, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). However, since last week, a number of the more radicalized “environmental” groups have made their views known that they don’t like the deal. A civil war among PA’s environmental left has erupted.
Read More “Civil War Erupts in PA Enviro Movement re Gov. Shapiro Deal with CNX”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA’s So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 is a Preventable Catastrophe
November 9, 2023November 9, 2023

In May, the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations called the Clean Power Plan 2.0, aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The nation’s electric grid is at stake. The EPA is forcing this new regulatory plan through. The outcome is predictable: widespread blackouts on a regular basis. It is a preventable catastrophe, but only if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or Congress acts to stop it.
Read More “EPA’s So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 is a Preventable Catastrophe”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky | Regulation

Kentucky PSC Votes to Retire 2 Coal Plants, Replace w/Gas-Fired
November 8, 2023November 8, 2023

Last December, PPL Corporation subsidiaries Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) announced a plan to replace 1,500 megawatts of aging coal-fired generation (nearly one-third of Kentucky’s coal fleet!) with two 621-megawatt (MW) natural gas combined-cycle units along with several unreliable, intermittent solar projects (see PPL Replacing Coal-Fired Power Plants with NatGas in Louisville, KY). The state Public Service Commission (PSC) issued its decision on the request Monday. LG&E/KU got some, but nowhere near all of what they requested.
Read More “Kentucky PSC Votes to Retire 2 Coal Plants, Replace w/Gas-Fired”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FERC, NERC Warn of Dire Consequences if Boston LNG Terminal Closes
November 7, 2023November 7, 2023

This past May, MDN told you about a coming real-life nightmare that the Everett LNG import terminal, which accepts and regasifies foreign-sourced natural gas, may shut down following the closure of New England’s biggest natural gas-fired power plant, the Mystic Generating Station in Everett, MA (see Nightmare in Boston – Everett LNG Import Terminal May Close 2024). The potential shuttering of the Everett LNG plant was the main topic of discussion a month later (in June) at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s second New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum last week in Portland, Maine (see Potential Shutdown of Boston LNG Terminal Discussed at FERC Forum). Yesterday, both FERC and NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) issued a joint statement about Everett LNG shutting down, warning of dire consequences for New England’s energy reliability and affordability if a shutdown happens.
Read More “FERC, NERC Warn of Dire Consequences if Boston LNG Terminal Closes”
CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Washington County

CNX’s DeIuliis Explains Why He Did a Deal with the Devil (Shapiro)
November 6, 2023November 6, 2023

On Friday, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis had signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). DeIuliis spoke to the Pittsburgh Business Times on Friday (a day after signing the deal) to explain his thinking and why he signed the agreement.
Read More “CNX’s DeIuliis Explains Why He Did a Deal with the Devil (Shapiro)”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Maryland Co. Innovative Solution Monitors Orphaned Wells 24/7
November 6, 2023November 6, 2023

A Maryland company called Machfu has developed “a powerful, yet affordable continuous methane monitoring system” for orphaned oil and gas wells. According to the CEO of Machfu, his company’s solution is simple and reliable and provides 24/7 monitoring. The alternative is to use drones or airplanes, which are far more expensive and don’t work 24/7 but for a limited (brief) period of time.
Read More “Maryland Co. Innovative Solution Monitors Orphaned Wells 24/7”