Olympus Energy’s 4th Upper Burrell Well Pad Wins Unanimous Approval
Upper Burrell (Westmoreland County, PA) town supervisors held a hearing last Wednesday, and following that hearing, voted unanimously to approve a new well pad proposed by Olympus Energy. This is the fourth such well pad approved by the town. Unlike previous meetings, no one (of the 20 or so residents attending) objected to the project. The well pad is 630 feet or more from about 20 homes–which is farther than the state-required setback of 500 feet.
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A group of so-called environmental organizations that are IRS tax-exempt is really nothing more than a political front for the Democrat Party. We’re talking about PennEnvironment, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, and the odious National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), three groups that have collectively poured nearly $5 million into advertisements this election cycle supporting the anti-drilling, anti-fracking, anti-Marcellus Josh Shapiro. Why these organizations are still tax-exempt is a mystery to us, as they are completely partisan (Democrat), a violation of the federal tax code.
We continue to be impressed with CNX Resources and its CEO Nick DeIuliis. CNX and the CNX Foundation are having a huge impact on the southwestern Pennsylvania (and tri-state) region where the company operates. In the past, we’ve told you about CNX and the work it is doing supporting underserved communities and populations in the tri-state region with $30 million in donations (see 
Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1059 is legislation to provide $142 million annually in state tax credits for several purposes, including clean hydrogen hubs, use of natural gas, semiconductor manufacturing, and milk processors. HB 1059 was approved by both the state Senate and House last week and sent along to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature (see 
In June, seemingly out of nowhere, a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia made big headlines in Philly (see 
Something of an improvement from last week’s new permits report when there were only 11 new permits. For the week of October 24-30, there were 28 new permits. But not because of the return of new permits in Pennsylvania. Instead, Ohio was the shining light. PA reported 11 new permits, all of them in Lycoming County, with seven going to Repsol and four going to Inflection Energy. Ohio issued 16 new permits, with Encino Energy grabbing six, Southwestern Energy getting five, and Ascent Energy receiving four. Finally, WV had a single new permit, for Tug Hill Operating (soon to be EQT), in Wetzel County.
In June, MDN told you about this year’s distribution of last year’s (2021) Pennsylvania impact fee revenue (PA’s version of a severance tax) to local municipalities and to the black hole of Harrisburg politicians (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has, for a second time, served a notice of violation (NOV) of the PA Clean Streams Law to Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) for causing sediment pollution in the Loyalsock Creek north of Montoursville (Lycoming County). PGE is constructing a natural gas pipeline, a freshwater pipeline, and it withdraws fresh water for Marcellus Shale-related activities at the site.
Two days ago, we told you that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans from the state legislature are reportedly working hard on a “massive development package” of tax credits that would, among other things, encourage MORE natural gas development in the Keystone State (see 
Two days ago, Range Resources issued its third quarter 2022 update, and yesterday the company held a conference call for upper management to brief analysts. By all accounts, Range had a great 3Q. Range produced an average of 2.13 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d), with approximately 70% of it as natural gas and the rest in NGLs. Range only spent $138 million to drill, but cash flow from operations was a staggering $550 million–the highest in company history. The company drilled 7 wells and completed 22 wells during 3Q. Range brought 12 wells online to sales in the southwestern part of PA, and it brought 6 wells online to sales in northeastern PA.
A court case decided in late April in Pennsylvania Superior Court appears (to us) to have significant ramifications for landowners and drillers with respect to deducting post-production expenses. The case is Dressler Family, LP v. PennEnergy Resources, LLC (copy of the decision below), and it addresses “market enhancement” royalty clauses found in many PA leases. Market enhancement clauses typically prohibit the deduction of post-production costs that are incurred when transforming gas into a marketable form. Some drillers ignore such clauses and deduct all “post-production costs” from the landowner’s royalty based on the drillers’ incorrect assumption that gas is “marketable” at the wellhead. This case and decision helped clear up definitions of what is and is not marketable gas.