Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research | Statewide NY
Grid Operator Warns Climate Policies Pushing NY Toward Blackouts
The grid operator overseeing New York State is warning that the Democrats’ green energy agenda is pushing the grid toward blackouts. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees and manages the state’s power grid, published its 2024 Power Trends report last week, assessing the outlook for energy supply and demand in the region over the next several years. The report warns that the electrification agenda pursued by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and her fellow Democrats is pushing the state’s grid toward conditions for blackouts as soon as this summer.
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Yesterday, MDN told you that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has decided not to produce its monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), a report that delves into the latest numbers for each of the seven major shale plays in the U.S. (see 
It is the sad end of an era brought about by the Bidenistas at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). For years, since the very first Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) issued by the EIA, MDN has brought you the monthly DPR, a report that delves into the latest numbers for each of the seven major shale plays in the U.S. The monthly DPR reported estimates of production for each play each month, along with DUC (drilled but uncompleted well) counts and other vital statistics. But, no more. We checked the 
Since April, mainstream media has been abuzz with the ironic conundrum that there are huge quantities of lithium in shale brine/wastewater (see 
A once-respected oil and gas consultancy has become a petty partisan purveyor of pap. We’re referring to Wood Mackenzie, the “global insight business for renewables, energy and natural resources.” In a recently released report, WoodMac analysts make this partisan statement: “A Republican victory in 2024 could roll back decarbonisation policies and usher in a delayed energy transition for the US.” The not-so-subtle implication is that if you care about the planet and the mythical “energy transition” that must take place (or else)…you’ll vote Democrat in November. What a huge, stinking pile of B.S. WoodMac has become as corrupted and unreliable as the International Energy Agency (IEA) with its pronouncements of doom and gloom to the planet if we don’t ban fossil energy now. Shame on WoodMac for becoming partisan hacks.
Well, the bottom dropped out of the rig count last week once again. The national combined oil and gas rig count dropped by six to 594, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica did not go unscathed either, losing two rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now operates 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. However, West Virginia lost another rig and now only has five active rigs. One year ago this week, WV operated 13 active rigs. Yuck.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the first quarter 2024 yesterday. Oil production, led by Encino Energy wells, is the headline news. Oil production from Encino represented 51.3% of all Ohio Utica oil production in 1Q. Ascent Resources was the next closest oil producer, with 21.8% of Utica oil produced. As for natural gas, Ascent Resources dominated with 42.8% of all Ohio Utica natgas production. In the number two slot was Gulfport Energy with 17.6% of natgas production, followed closely by Encino with 16.0% of natgas production. Below, we have lists of the top 25 gas and oil wells by production in 1Q24, along with charts showing gas and oil production by both drillers and by county. You’ll only find this news (and this level of detail) here on MDN.
Two weeks ago, the bottom pretty much fell out of the U.S. rig count, both nationally and for the Marcellus/Utica region. We hit new lows for both counts (see 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that the natural gas consumed for electricity generation this summer in the United States will reach near (or match) the record high set last year. In the agency’s May 2024 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts natural gas consumed to generate electricity will average 44.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in the U.S. during the peak summer months of June through August, matching the record high set in the summer of 2023. Over the past few years, the balance of sources of electricity generation in the United States — especially in the summer — has shifted to more renewables and natural gas and less coal.
In 2020, Congress mandated a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to assess the U.S. Coast Guard’s ability, methods, and role in conducting the certificate of compliance (COC) program for the foreign-flag tanker ships known as liquefied gas carriers (LGCs) and to consider the need for statutory reforms. The National Academies released its report yesterday with recommendations for how the Coast Guard can and should update its LNG carrier certification program.
Yeah, the bottom pretty much fell out of the rig count last week, both nationally and for the Marcellus/Utica region. We’re hitting new lows with both counts. For the M-U, Pennsylvania stayed the same with 21 active rigs, but Ohio lost one rig, and West Virginia lost two rigs last week, for a net loss of three — 37 active rigs across the region, the lowest in more than a year. The national rig count hit 600 last week, the lowest it has reached since January 2022. Ugh.
The left constantly spins false media narratives as a form of psychological operation (psyops) to discourage those of us who support the fossil fuel industry. Our good friend Tom Shepstone, who writes the 
We’ve had more than a few MDN readers pass along links from recent mainstream media stories about the treasure trove of lithium available “beneath Pennsylvania” in the state’s brine (shale wastewater) production. Which makes us a little bit crazy and amuses us at the same time because we’ve been reporting on this story since 2019! In October 2019, Eureka Resources, which operates three frack wastewater treatment facilities in the Marcellus Shale (and is building a fourth facility in Dimock, PA), began extracting lithium from Marcellus wastewater at one of its plants in Bradford County, PA (see