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12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 2-8
Last week Pennsylvania issued 11 new shale well permits, down from 16 the week before. For the second week in a row, EQT led the way, issuing five permits. Ohio got skunked–issuing no new permits for Utica drilling. West Virginia issued just one new permit–to Antero Resources. Overall a pretty paltry showing for new permits in the M-U.
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National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the only fully integrated energy company operating in the Marcellus/Utica, by which we mean NFG is a driller (Seneca Resources), a midstream/pipeline company (Empire Pipeline), and a downstream end-user via its local distribution company (LDC), otherwise known as the local gas utility company (National Fuel). Little known fact: NFG’s Seneca Resources subsidiary owns an oil drilling operation in California. But not for much longer…
As we told you last week, Energy Transfer, during its first quarter update, spoke about the now-completed Mariner East pipeline system that flows NGLs, including ethane, propane, and butane, from eastern Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania all the way to southeastern PA and the Marcus Hook terminal (see 
In March the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB), a sub-agency of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), approved a final version of onerous new regulations that supposedly will capture every last molecule of stray methane that leaks from shale and conventional drilling operations (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has, for years, claimed that under a centuries-old law the state of PA “owns” the property under “navigable” waterways–including rivers and streams (see 
Energy Transfer, one of the biggest pipeline and midstream companies in the U.S., issued its quarterly update yesterday. Of particular interest to us was the honorable mention the Mariner Easter (ME) project received. Construction of the final phase of the Mariner East project was completed in 1Q22, bringing Energy Transfer’s total NGL capacity on the Mariner East pipeline system to more than 365,000 barrels per day, including ethane. NGLs, including those flowing through the ME system, along with LNG, were the two dominant themes running through yesterday’s update.
Pennsylvania State Sen. Gene Yaw has been a champion in the fight to defeat Gov. Tom Wolf’s hideous carbon tax, otherwise known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Wolf is trying to force PA to join over the objections of a majority of state legislators. In his latest missive about RGGI, Yaw connects some dots that need to be connected–between Russian money funding Big Green groups, and the groups using that money to lobby, influence, and litigate in an effort to force PA to join RGGI. It’s an effort to force PA to use less fossil energy. Clearly, RGGI is anti-fossil fuel. We would argue, as does Yaw in this excellent editorial below, that RGGI is also anti-American.
MAX Environmental has operated the Bulger hazardous waste landfill in Smith Township (Washington County), PA since 1958. MAX has operated a second site, the Yukon hazardous waste landfill in South Huntingdon Township (Westmoreland County), PA since 1964. One of the primary customers for both landfills over the past 15 years has been the Marcellus industry–dumping drill cuttings (leftover dirt and rock from drilling). In 2019 MAX filed a request with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to “delist” both sites as hazardous landfills, given what they accept is not hazardous. Some of the neighbors along with various Big Green groups object to the change in classification.
Last week Philadelphia released a so-called “Greenhouse Gas Inventory” report (full copy below) comparing emissions from 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic data, to a baseline in 2006. The report shows citywide emissions have dropped 20% since 2006. In reporting done by the lefties at PBS about this news, you have to read down to the fifth paragraph before you locate the reason for the 20% drop in Philly’s emissions: using Marcellus Shale gas to generate electricity.
Three cheers for Big Coal! We’re not all that thrilled with using coal in power plants given there is a much more environmentally-friendly option–natural gas. But we’re certainly not against coal energy and we’re all for free enterprise and competition among fuel sources. The coal industry in Pennsylvania has our respect and admiration for standing up for itself and suing the state to block the insane Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax. PA Gov. Tom Wolf is forcing his state to join RGGI, which will assess huge new taxes on both coal and gas-fired power plants, threatening to drive both out of business.
