Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA
Penn State Study: No Link Between Fracking & Groundwater Pollution
Anti-fossil fuelers at Penn State are trying their hardest to spin the results of a recent study by university researchers to say it shows a link between “elevated levels of chloride in groundwater” and fracking in Pennsylvania. As we read a summary of the study appearing on Penn State News, it was obvious the study proves just the opposite–that THERE IS NO LINK between the two!
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A major psychological milestone was hit this month for the first time. Natural gas production in the Lower 48 States passed 100 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). According to RBN Energy, Lower 48 dry gas production hit a record 100.1 Bcf/d on September 6. The experts at RBN delve into why this is such a remarkable event, and what it means. The short version is that demand for natural gas *here at home* (in the U.S.) is at record highs and shows no signs of diminishing.
According to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. natural gas producers are operating more drilling rigs now than they did when the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Before the pandemic, the number of rigs operating in the United States had generally been declining. In Jan. 2020, the gas-focused rig count stood at 112. That number took a nose dive and hit a low of 68 rigs on July 24, 2020 (the lowest since 1987). But as of Sept. 9 of this year, Baker Hughes reports that 166 natural gas-focused rigs were operating in the U.S.
You’ve heard mainstream media and the Democrat Party’s attempt to brainwash you by renaming the millions of illegal, invading aliens crossing our southern border as “undocumented immigrants” or other laughable labels. The name change seems to have worked so well, it’s now being used by the government’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) with oil and gas wells. Ever hear of an “undocumented” oil/gas well? For most of us, they’re known as orphaned or abandoned wells. NETL is calling them undocumented because, well, there’s no official documentation that shows where they are located. NETL is hitting the road–to western New York State–to “find and characterize undocumented orphaned oil and gas wells.”
What if we gave the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) a $2.5 million grant to study a link between peanut butter and childhood cancer? Researchers could only use the money to study any potential link between peanut butter and kids getting rare cancers. Sounds absurd, right? What if there is NO link between peanut butter and cancer in kids? What if there IS a link to some other environmental factor like, say, an old uranium dumpsite nearby? But the remit is to ONLY research peanut butter. Sound silly? Sound stupid? Substitute “shale drilling” for “peanut butter,” and you can see how absurd it is for Pitt to study a single potential cause for rare childhood cancers in southwestern PA. Yet they are. Pitt is studying a link solely between fracking and cancer in kids. They are now trying to recruit local families to participate in this sham they call science.
This one is a “learn from your enemies” lesson. It has long been known that heating shale rock can free up oil and gas–something called in situ upgrading (ISU). But such a practice has not been economic, at least that was the thinking. A new study published by researchers from (get this) Northeast Petroleum University in China (no way an American university would ever name itself after fossil energy!) looked at the different techniques that can be used to heat shale rock–the most economical ways–and published their findings in a paper for the world to read. It is just Chinese Communist propaganda? We don’t think so. The Chicoms know the West is so thoroughly brainwashed against using fossil energy that our own scientists and citizens won’t even pay attention to this important new study that discusses how to get more mileage from existing shale deposits.
The Enverus rig count, as of Wednesday, stood at 871, up by three from the week before. We are now 33 rigs ABOVE the pre-pandemic high of 838 rigs. Finally! Last week the Marcellus operated 46 rigs (up by one), and the Utica operated 11 rigs (also up by one), for a total of 57 active rigs in the M-U. Rigs chasing oil declined by four leaving 662, while natural gas-prone rigs gained seven for a total 209. The Haynesville, which is the chief competitor to the Marcellus/Utica, had 75 active rigs operating last week. The Haynesville continues to beat the pants off the M-U with respect to rigs and drilling new wells.
Once a month, the analysts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) grab the official Henry Hub pricing dart board and play a quick game to determine what price they will predict for the average Henry Hub spot price for natural gas for the rest of this year, and an average price for all of next year. Last month the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) prediction for Henry Hub natural gas in 2H22 was $7.54 per MMBtu, and for all of next year $5.10, due to an increase in production (see 
In a new report published this week by the Manhattan Institute, “The “Energy Transition” Delusion: A Reality Reset” (full copy below), Mark Mills takes on the dangerous delusion of a global energy transition that eliminates the use of fossil fuels. Looking at energy markets and public policy around the world, Mills asks readers of the report to “consider that years of hypertrophied rhetoric and trillions of dollars of spending and subsidies on a transition have not significantly changed the energy landscape.” Here are the facts: The world still depends on hydrocarbons (fossil fuels) for 84% of all energy, just two percentage points lower than 20 years ago. Solar and wind technologies today supply barely 5% of global energy. Indeed it is a dangerous self-delusion to say we can dump fossil energy anytime soon–within the next 50-100 years. At least, not without a mass extinction (execution) of the human race.
We spotted a Reuters story with the headline, “U.S. oil & gas rig count falls for first time in 25 months – Baker Hughes.” We thought, “Oh oh, has the recovery in drilling finally peaked?” So we dug out the numbers for ourselves. We wanted to know how rig counts in the M-U (in PA, OH, and WV) are doing, as well as the total U.S. rig count. What we found is that the Reuters story is not accurate–one of the very few times we’ve observed Reuters being wrong about something.
Will oil and gas companies put their extra cash to good use on more fossil energy exploration and production? Or will they blow it on the myth of green energy? Powerhouse consulting and accounting firm Deloitte seems to think O&G will begin to invest more in “green” capital expenditures, raising it from the current 5% average to perhaps 30%. We think that’s a waste. Deloitte has just published a new report, “Striking the Balance: How and Where Will O&G Producers Deploy their Cash?” (full copy below), which examines how O&G companies can “play a key role over the next decade in creating synergy between energy security and energy transition, while helping commercialize essential low-carbon technologies.” Energy “transition” is a misnomer. Read today’s article/interview with Enterprise Products Partners.
Revenue, free cash flow, and even profitability for Marcellus/Utica drillers (in fact, pretty much all oil and gas drillers) were through the roof in the second quarter of 2022. Rising oil prices and surging natural gas realizations drove per-unit revenues to a 15-year high. Almost all of the extra money coming in went to the bottom line. What about the third quarter that we’re now in? RBN Energy reports “clouds are emerging on the horizon for U.S. E&Ps in the third quarter.” What clouds?
Along with Harvard, Yale University used to be one of the top two higher ed schools in the country. Wow, how the mighty have fallen! Yale is a husk, a shell of what it once was. Yale now puts political ideology above science and generates garbage, calling it “research.” Yale is experiencing some major cognitive dissonance. At various points over the past decade, Yale researchers have claimed fracking does NOT contaminate water aquifers (see