Anti-Fracking CROWD Pressures Health Dept. to Deny “Leto” Air Permit
Olympus Energy (now owned by EQT) drills in the Greater Pittsburgh region, in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. In 2021, Olympus applied to build a new well pad in a rural part of Allegheny County, in West Deer Township. So-called Concerned Residents of West Deer (CROWD) got amped up to oppose the project. They succeeded when town supervisors rejected the Dionysus well pad (see West Deer Township Denies Olympus Permit to Build Shale Pad). CROWD then attempted to block a second well pad, the Leto pad, proposed by Olympus in another West Deer location (see West Deer Antis Try to Block 2nd Olympus Shale Well Pad). However, West Deer supervisors approved the Leto pad in June 2023, which set off the antis who threatened to sue (see West Deer Approves Olympus “Leto” Well Pad, Antis Pledge to Sue). They followed through with a lawsuit (see Anti-Fracking CROWD Lawsuit Against West Deer Gets Day in Court). The CROWD antis aren’t waiting for the results of that lawsuit. They’re also pressuring the Allegheny County Health Department to deny an air permit for the installation of a tri-ethylene glycol dehydrator at the site. Read More “Anti-Fracking CROWD Pressures Health Dept. to Deny “Leto” Air Permit”
The Trump administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget would establish four Centers of Excellence at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), focusing on oil and natural gas, coal, critical minerals, and geothermal energy. Pittsburgh’s South Park facility will house the oil and gas center, while Morgantown, West Virginia, will host the coal center. NETL’s infrastructure funding will rise 2% to $58 million, but research operations will face an 8% cut to $80 million. Programs supporting coal-impacted communities and clean hydrogen hubs would be eliminated. Industry groups, including the Marcellus Shale Coalition and Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, praised the administration’s energy-focused direction. 
Southwestern Pennsylvania voters chose poorly when they elected a Communist radical as their representative to the U.S. Congress: Democrat Summer Lee. She and two other far far far far far left radicals, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (Democrat from Michigan), and Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (Democrat from Arizona), together just launched what they euphemistically call the People’s Environmental Justice Caucus in Congress. A better name is the “oil and gas is racist” caucus, an attempt to smear the oil and gas industry with the label of racism, claiming that O&G projects only get built in communities of color or where the residents are poor—people who (says Lee & co.) can’t fight back against the industry. 
Just coming to light now, more than a month after it happened, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investigating whether there is any connection between a low-level earthquake (“seismic event”) near Murrysville in Westmoreland County, PA, and the Penneco Environmental Solutions LLC Sedat 3A injection well in Plum Borough in Allegheny County. Operators of injection wells in PA are (usually) required to maintain on-site seismometers. On Feb. 7, the seismometer at the Penneco Sedat 3A site registered a “seismic event” about six miles away near Murrysville. 
Olympus Energy (now owned by EQT) drills in the Greater Pittsburgh region, in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. In 2021, Olympus applied to build a new well pad in a rural part of Allegheny County, in West Deer Township. So-called “concerned citizens” got amped up to oppose the project. They succeeded when town supervisors rejected the Dionysus well pad (see 
Marking the tenth anniversary of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, European Union (EU) and American officials convened in Pittsburgh on Friday for an all-day conference, “EU-U.S. LNG Cooperation 2.0,” which was held at the Heinz History Center. The purpose of the meeting was to reinforce a critical strategic energy partnership. Since the first shipment in 2016, and accelerated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. LNG has transformed European energy security by enabling a dramatic shift away from dependence on Russian gas. As Europe seeks to eliminate Russian gas entirely, the U.S. has become the world’s leading exporter. 
Volatility is the watchword for new permits in the Marcellus/Utica. Three weeks ago, the combined count between Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia was a measly 8 new permits (see 
For the week of October 13 – 19, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased significantly from the previous week. There were 37 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up dramatically from the 7 issued two weeks ago. We can’t remember the last time we saw 37 (or more) permits issued. It’s been a looong time (months, at least). Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits. Ohio issued 13 permits. And West Virginia, which had been skunked with no new permits for three consecutive weeks, finally woke up last week (it’s woke!), issuing 5 new permits. 
We chalk this story up to the category, “We’re winning, and here’s more proof.” When, in your wildest dreams, would you ever think the lefty libs at the University of Pittsburgh (who HATE shale energy and fossil fuels) would launch a degree program for undergraduates that combines natural gas, oil, and unreliable renewables? We thought, NEVER! But that’s just what has happened. The school is launching an “all of the above” engineering degree, allowing students to “move seamlessly between industries.” Get them trained in both fossil fuels and so-called green energy for when the day arrives that fossil fuels are finally dead and green energy rules the land. (Which is when hell freezes over.) 
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
In May of 2024, CNX Resources Corp., KeyState Energy, and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) announced they were working together on a $1.5 billion project that, if completed, would make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at PIT from coalbed methane gas (see 
In April, MDN told you that EQT Corporation, the second-largest natural gas producer in the country (and the largest producer in the Marcellus/Utica) was buying out and merging in Olympus Energy for $1.8 billion (see