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M-U April NatGas Production Falls 400 MMcf/d in Ohio, SW Pa.
S&P Global Commodity Insights reports that natural gas production in the Marcellus/Utica has fallen this month, in April, by some 400 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) from the average production seen during the first quarter. The most notable declines are in eastern Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania. Why is production down? Falling demand (from mild weather) and high rates of storage (extra supply) are crashing the spot price for natural gas traded at the region’s defacto benchmark trading hub–Eastern Gas South.
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According to data recently compiled and shared by the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA), during 2021 (the most recent year available), the oil and gas industry in Ohio paid a cumulative $57.6 million in ad valorem property taxes to the state. That is separate from a severance tax also paid by drillers in the Buckeye State. The O&G industry not only provides millions in tax revenue, but it also employs “more than 200,000” people in Ohio, and of course, all of those workers pay state income tax too. The economic impact of oil and gas (largely shale) in Ohio is enormous.
New research released by The Buckeye Institute models the impact that a new Clean Power Plan–which the Biden Administration is attempting to revive through the regulatory process–would have on jobs, the economy, and customers. In “The Economic Impact of a Potential New Clean Power Plan on Ohio and California” (full copy below), researchers with Buckeye’s Economic Research Center (ERC), using power usage data from government agencies in Ohio and California, found that customers in Ohio would see an increase of $810 on their electric bills per year and that customers in California would see an increase of $665 annually.
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
Leave it to liberal Democrats to hype an issue that isn’t even an issue to try and scare folks for political gain. LibDems have introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would prohibit fracking for oil and gas underneath Lake Erie. The leftists of Lake Erie Waterkeeper appear to be behind the measure. When was the last time you heard about any drillers salivating over drilling and fracking under Lake Erie? That’s right. NEVER. And yet the left wants to plant the seed that drillers now have their sights set on fracking Lake Erie.
The Ohio Natural Energy Institute (ONEI), formerly the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP), recently issued a press release to point out that between 2010 and 2021, Ohio’s oil and gas sector has paid a cumulative $755 million in taxes which supports local schools, municipalities, counties and other services in Ohio. Hey, how much in tax revenue have anti-fossil energy groups (like the Sierra Club) paid during that time to support the Buckeye State? That’s right: $0. Instead, anti groups have destroyed jobs and companies, resulting in less taxes paid.
The Democrats who control and write for the Cleveland Plain Dealer are, once again, attacking a new law that allows for shale drilling under (but not on top of) Ohio state-owned land. The new measure was passed and signed into law late last year (see 
While we don’t track rig counts each week, given the volatile up-and-down nature of rig counts, the count from last week warrants comment. Oil rigs fell by one last week to 589, while gas rigs rose by nine to 162. Total rig count is up 13.7% over the same time last year–a good indicator that more drilling is happening. In our region, the Marcellus play gained five rigs from the previous week, while the Utica lost four rigs from the previous week.
Once again, the Biden administration is attacking the fossil fuel industry. This time it is via one of its favorite blunt force instruments: the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Yesterday the EPA released what it calls its final “Good Neighbor Plan” that forces gas- (and coal-) fired power plants to further reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. It’s either reduce NOx by installing really expensive new equipment, shut the plant down, or option #3…pay an indulgence (tax) to keep sinning (polluting) by purchasing an “offset.” Liberals are so predictable.
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issues an update on Utica (and Marcellus) oil and natural gas production each quarter. ODNR no longer issues a press release to summarize the results as they once did, which means the quarterly updates fell off our radar. Now and again something jogs our memory to revisit and share with you the production reports from the ODNR, to bring you the top 25 wells by production for both natural gas and oil production. Today we look back at all of 2022. ODNR publishes a detailed spreadsheet of all active wells showing oil and gas production by well. We make a copy of that spreadsheet, enhance it to make it more usable, and link to it. Below are the results.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP), which has long been a defender and educator working to get the truth out about oil and gas in the Buckeye State, is dropping oil and gas from its name. OOGEEP is rebranding itself as the Ohio Natural Energy Institute. We have to wonder, why are they dropping oil and gas from the name? What does natural energy actually mean?
Here’s the sad end of a sad chapter in Ohio’s history–a conclusion (of sorts) to the largest bribery scandal in the state’s history. We’re referring to Ohio House Bill (HB) 6, a law granting billions (plural) of dollars to FirstEnergy to prop up the company’s economically failing nuclear power plants. FirstEnergy bribed state legislators to pass, and keep passed, HB 6 by paying out $61 million to a small group of insiders, including former Speaker of the House, Larry Householder (see 
Last week MDN told you about a presentation by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) to the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management (OGLM) Commission, a commission established years ago to lease state-owned land for shale drilling (see 
In 2020, EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), sold *all* of its Marcellus assets, which were located in Bradford County, PA, to Tilden Resources for $130 million (see