Dominion Tests Hydrogen in Appliances in Ohio Mini-Village
Behind the Dominion Energy building in Hudson, Ohio, sits what’s being dubbed Hydrogen Heights. It’s a mini-village. The sign at the entrance says, “Welcome to Hydrogen Heights.” Dominion is testing the blending of hydrogen and methane on gas appliances there. We have nothing against using hydrogen as an energy source, other than it will never be able to power your home (see Why 100% Hydrogen Will Never Power Your Home; Why Antis Hate H2). But that’s not stopping utility companies like Dominion from experimenting to see how much of a blend they can get away with using in existing pipelines and appliances.
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There were 23 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 8-14, versus 18 permits issued for the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 2 new permits. West Virginia issued 8 new permits — for the second week in a row. EQT scored the top slot for new permits, receiving 7 permits to drill in Lycoming and Greene counties in PA.
The American Energy Alliance and the Committee to Unleash Prosperity recently sponsored a survey of 1,600 likely voters equally divided among eight “battleground” states (Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio) conducted by MWR Strategies in December 2023. The total sample margin of error is 2.45%. The survey results confirm that there has been little change in sentiment and attitudes on energy and climate change. Many of the responses in the survey are either consistent with or more emphatic than what they found in previous surveys.
The Baker Hughes rig count lost ground again last week, as it has in four of the last five weeks. The count went from 621 active rigs two weeks ago to 619 last week. The Marcellus/Utica count was steady at 40 active rigs; however, the mix changed. Pennsylvania kept 19 active rigs as in previous weeks, but Ohio picked up one rig for 13 active rigs, while West Virginia lost one rig for 8 active rigs.
If you’re a high school senior in Ohio looking for help paying for advanced education or training — whether it’s college, university, technical or trade school — listen up! The Ohio Natural Energy Institute (formerly called the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, or OOGEEP) is now accepting 
The Energy Workforce & Technology Council, located in Houston, TX, is a national trade association for the global energy technology and services sector, representing more than 650,000 U.S. jobs in the technology-driven energy value chain. The Energy Workforce Council works to advance member policy priorities and empower the energy workforce of the future. The Council closely tracks job numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Yesterday, the Council issued an update on O&G job numbers for December and for all of 2023. Interesting factoid: In December, the M-U industry employed 44,192 people.
Diversified Energy Company, with major assets in the Appalachian region (including the Marcellus/Utica), announced yesterday the company had sold a majority stake in an unspecified number of Appalachian conventional oil and gas wells to an investment company called DP Lion Equity Holdco, for $200 million. 
U.S. oil production increased by 21% over the past five years. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2023, U.S. oil producers set a new annual all-time high production record. The increase in U.S. oil production is driven by a surge of production in a handful of states. We have a list of the Top 11 oil-producing states over the past year. One of the states on the list is a Marcellus/Utica state. Can you guess which one? Hint: It’s NOT Pennsylvania…
The left in Ohio is up in arms again. It’s always up in arms. Everything is a crisis. Everything is a climate tragedy. Everything is a conspiracy — so says the environmental left. Last Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill (HB) 201 into law. A provision was tacked onto HB 201 late in the legislative process, several weeks before it was passed, that allows natural gas utility companies to charge customers a piddly $1.50 per month ($18 per year) to help fund new pipelines that will get built in rural areas to industrial sites — areas without existing natgas pipes. The aim is to attract new businesses to locate in the Buckeye State. Many companies won’t consider a potential site without cheap, easy access to natural gas already installed. HB 201 helps make it much more likely a business will consider a site in Ohio, given access to cheap Utica Shale gas. Cue the enviro left’s shrill response.
Columbia Gas of Ohio will start work this spring to replace a 4.3-mile section of a 20-inch natural gas pipeline from Clintonville to North Linden (Columbus), a key piece of infrastructure that brings gas to thousands of homes throughout central Ohio. Columbia Gas purchased and will demolish several buildings along the pipeline’s route as part of the project. The work is scheduled to begin in April and finish by the end of the year. Columbia’s president and chief operating officer, Vince Parisi, says the pipeline is “our backbone of Columbus” and is “pretty critical” to natural gas distribution throughout the region.