Critics Warn Trump’s Ohio Gas Power Plant Project is Too Big
President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt gas power plant in Ohio—funded by Japanese investment, including SoftBank—aims to address soaring energy demands from data centers (see Trump Announces Largest-Ever U.S. Gas-Fired Plant Coming to Ohio). As the largest gas-fired power plant in the U.S., it promises a massive surge in electricity to the PJM grid. However, so-called competitors fear this “muscular industrial policy” will crowd out private capital and imperil smaller projects. Leave it to the left (Bloomberg) to find the dark cloud for every Trump silver lining. If Trump announces a $33 billion investment in Ohio for power generation, it’s bad because it will offend smaller competitors. If Trump announces the sun is shining, it’s bad because we need more rain. If Trump announces a cure for cancer, it will be bad because it will put hospitals and doctors out of business. Such is the twisted view of the left. Read More “Critics Warn Trump’s Ohio Gas Power Plant Project is Too Big”
President Donald Trump unveiled the first projects under a $550 billion trade deal with Japan yesterday, including a $36 billion investment in U.S. energy and minerals. In exchange for a 15% reduction in tariffs on imports, Tokyo will fund initiatives in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia to revitalize the industrial base. The centerpiece is a record-breaking $33 billion natural gas power plant in Piketon (Pike County), Ohio, operated by SoftBank’s SB Energy. This 9.2-gigawatt facility—the largest in U.S. history—is designed to create thousands of jobs and support the surging energy needs of data centers and artificial intelligence applications. It will produce enough electricity to power every single home in Ohio! It’s massive. 
Wow! What a week for rigs last week. On Friday, Baker Hughes reported that the national count remained unchanged at 551 active rigs. However, the Pennsylvania Marcellus picked up another rig and now operates 20 rigs, the most it has operated in well over a year. Both Ohio and West Virginia remained at 13 and 7, respectively. The combined M-U count was 40 rigs last week, the most in well over a year. The M-U’s primary competitor (for attention and money), the Haynesville, added another 2 rigs last week after adding 7 the week before, for a new modern high of 52 rigs (12 more than the M-U, bummer). It’s probably too early to declare a trend, but the upshot is that more gas drilling is underway in the two largest gas plays in the country. That’s a good sign. 
The Marcellus/Utica region received a combined 24 new drilling permits last week, Feb. 2 – 8, up 2 from the permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 10 new permits, Ohio issued 10, and West Virginia issued 4. The drillers receiving new permits last week included: Arsenal Resources, Ascent Resources, Blackhill Energy, EQT, Expand Energy, and Infinity Natural Resources. 
In January, a coalition of so-called environmental groups lodged an ethics complaint against Ohio Senator Brian Chavez, alleging that he failed to disclose ownership in five natural gas LLCs while leading the Senate Energy Committee (see 
In December, MDN reported that pipeline giant Williams, through its new subsidiary, Will-Power, plans to build a third gas-fired power plant to power a Meta (Facebook) data center complex in Bowling Green, OH (see 
We’ve recently begun to highlight flow restrictions along pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. When flows slow or stop (can’t reach other markets), the price typically falls because supply exceeds demand. But sometimes, the opposite happens. If pipelines are restricted due to outages and freeze-offs (as is happening right now with Winter Storm Fern), the supply of natural gas is diminished, leaving insufficient supply to meet increased demand due to the cold weather. When that happens, spot prices for natural gas soar. Wood Mackenzie reported that natural gas freeze-offs across the country reached a single-day high of 17 billion cubic feet (Bcf) on January 25th, approaching the record 18 Bcf set during Winter Storm Uri, as an intense Arctic weather system sweeps across the United States. What about the situation in the M-U? 
The Mahoning Valley is entering a “Utica 2.0” era as advanced drilling technologies revitalize oil production in previously dismissed regions of Ohio. While energy companies once abandoned Mahoning and Trumbull counties, record-breaking yields from new wells in Columbiana and Mahoning counties have triggered a surge in leasing and permits. Improvements in horizontal drilling and fracking fluids now allow operators like EOG Resources and Hilcorp to extract significant oil from formations once considered unprofitable. This industrial renaissance, punctuated by EOG’s $5.6 billion acquisition of Encino Acquisition Partners, signals a transformative phase of exploration poised to expand further north in the Utica. 
We recently became aware of an Ohio Supreme Court decision that affects producers (i.e., drillers) and, by extension, potentially affects royalties for landowners and rights owners. In E. Ohio Gas Co. v. Croce, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has exclusive jurisdiction over claims brought by natural gas producers against Dominion Energy. The producers alleged conversion and unjust enrichment, claiming Dominion sold their excess gas without compensation. The producers tried to litigate the matter in the courts. But the Supreme Court ruled that, in these types of cases, PUCO has primary jurisdiction—not the courts.