Pennsylvania

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Antis Lobby PA DCNR to Make EDWIN O&G Well Info Free for All
July 25, 2022July 25, 2022

Anti-fossil fuel activists are agitating in Pennsylvania to get the state Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to drop a $5,000 initial (and subsequent $500 annual) fee to access what is called the Exploration and Development Well Information Network (EDWIN) database. The EDWIN database contains details about oil and gas wells throughout the state, including data on the location, ownership status, construction information, and completion reports. DCNR uses the Dept. of Environmental Protection’s database as a starting point and cleans it up, making it more useful.
Read More “Antis Lobby PA DCNR to Make EDWIN O&G Well Info Free for All”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA IRRC Approves Onerous VOC/Methane Regulation for Shale Ops
July 22, 2022July 22, 2022

Against the wishes of the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, the PA Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) voted 5-0 to approve Part I of the final Environmental Quality Board (EQB) regulation that supposedly will capture every last molecule of stray methane that leaks from shale drilling operations. The onerous new regulation, adding new layers of reporting and new equipment requirements (that won’t change a thing), now goes into effect.
Read More “PA IRRC Approves Onerous VOC/Methane Regulation for Shale Ops”
Apex Energy | Armstrong County | Ascent Resources | Bradford County | Butler County | Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Clarion County | CNX Resources | Columbiana County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | Hilcorp Energy | Inflection Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Laurel Mountain Energy | LOLA Energy | Lycoming County | Ohio | Ohio County | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | PennEnergy Resources | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Southwestern Energy | Susquehanna County | Washington County | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Westmoreland County | Wyoming County (PA)

47 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 11-17
July 22, 2022July 22, 2022

For the week of July 11-17, the three Marcellus/Utica states issued 47 permits to drill new shale wells, up 10 from the prior week. Pennsylvania issued the lion’s share with 35 new permits. CNX grabbed seven of those permits in Washington County, and Olympus Energy received six in Westmoreland County. Ohio issued 11 new permits, with four going to Ascent Resources in Jefferson County, and four to Hilcorp Energy in Columbiana County. West Virginia issued a paltry one new permit, which went to Southwestern Energy in Ohio County.
Read More “47 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 11-17”
Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Bill Denies PA Counties with Frack Ban from Receiving Impact Tax Rev
July 21, 2022July 21, 2022

What’s fair is fair. If a county blocks drilling under county-owned land, as the Allegheny County Council recently did (see Allegheny County Council Overturns Veto/Upholds Frack Ban in Parks), that county has declared it doesn’t support Marcellus Shale drilling. So that county should not be the beneficiary of revenue raised by the impact fee (PA’s equivalent of a severance tax) in other places that do support and allow drilling. That’s just fair. You don’t want drilling? Fine. Then you don’t get to benefit financially from the drilling done in other places. State Sen. Gene Yaw is introducing a new bill in the Pennsylvania legislature that would do just that–deny counties (but not individual municipalities within the county) from receiving Act 13 impact fee revenue–IF that county blocks drilling under county-owned land. Brilliant! And fair.
Read More “Bill Denies PA Counties with Frack Ban from Receiving Impact Tax Rev”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Crime | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Troopers Investigate Theft of Copper from Coterra Well Pad in NEPA
July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the vandalism and theft of copper from a Coterra Energy well pad on Stockholm Road in Rush Township in Susquehanna County, PA, sometime between July 8 and 14. The case appears to be your garden-variety case of lowlifes stealing copper to resell it (a “crime of opportunity”), and not some sort of statement by environmental wackos. But, one never knows with wackos…
Read More “Troopers Investigate Theft of Copper from Coterra Well Pad in NEPA”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Allegheny County Council Overturns Veto/Upholds Frack Ban in Parks
July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

The leftist members of the Allegheny, PA County Council have proven just how leftward they have lurched (and how unhinged they have become). Last night the Council voted to overturn the veto of a ban on drilling for natural gas under (never on top of) county parks. The Council’s action denies taxpayers millions of dollars in revenue to fix and repair and expand county parks. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Democrat himself, vetoed the idiotic ban, but the Democrats of the County Council just couldn’t help themselves. They voted to override Fitzgerald’s veto. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Welcome to the People’s Republic of Allegheny County.
Read More “Allegheny County Council Overturns Veto/Upholds Frack Ban in Parks”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Gov. Wolf Promotes Ban on Using PA NatGas by Private Property Owners
July 19, 2022July 19, 2022

Last week MDN reported that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, in a final act of thumbing his nose at the prolific Marcellus industry in his own state, vetoed a bill, Senate Bill (SB) 275, that would have prohibited municipalities from banning the use of natural gas (see Parting Swipe at Marcellus – Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Blocking Gas Bans). Wolf spun the veto as the protection of towns and their right to self-determination, establishing “local control.” It is, in fact, the opposite. Wolf is promoting the ability of elites and bureaucrats to deny the rights of individual property owners to choose their own forms of energy. Wolf didn’t protect rights, he took them away.
Read More “Gov. Wolf Promotes Ban on Using PA NatGas by Private Property Owners”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Pennsylvania

Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA
July 18, 2022July 18, 2022

click for larger version

A frac-out, or “inadvertent return” happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to–places outside the borehole being drilled. A landowner who lives near a well being drilled and fracked by EQT in Greene County complained her water well was fouled by EQT’s drilling, and that a nearby abandoned well is releasing fluids and natural gas. According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), EQT confirmed some of its fluids are “communicating” with the abandoned well–a frac-out.
Read More “Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA”
Clearfield County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Clearfield County, PA NatGas Bitcoin Miner Pauses Operations
July 18, 2022July 18, 2022

Bitcoin mining is becoming an important customer for Marcellus/Utica natural gas. Gigantic computer server farms run complex mathematical computations and the result of those computations is a blockchain. When a blockchain is formed, the server farm doing the computations gets compensated with bitcoins, a form of digital money. Bitcoin (the generic term is cryptocurrency) mining uses huge amounts of electricity to run all of those computers. That’s where natural gas comes in. Natgas is used to generate the electricity used to power the computers. A bitcoin “miner” in Clearfield County, PA, recently paused operations at the facility. Why?
Read More “Clearfield County, PA NatGas Bitcoin Miner Pauses Operations”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Hit with Elec Power Price Uncertainty as Wolf Appeals RGGI Case
July 18, 2022July 18, 2022

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s foolish plan to force PA’s coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to begin paying an obscenely high tax on carbon dioxide emissions as part of the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) got blocked on July 1 by PA Commonwealth Court (see PA Commonwealth Court Blocks RGGI Carbon Tax Pending Fall Trial). However, Wolf appealed the court decision to the PA Supreme Court. Appealing the case unblocks the new tax and puts it into play again. Power generations are confused as to whether or not they need to include the tax in the costs they pass on to customers (you and me). And what happens if another court reblocks the tax until the full case is heard later this year? Wolf is creating chaos and price uncertainty for electricity in PA.
Read More “PA Hit with Elec Power Price Uncertainty as Wolf Appeals RGGI Case”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

No Cause Yet Determined for TGP Line 1 Explosion in McKean County
July 18, 2022July 18, 2022

A portion of Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) running through Clermont, PA (in McKean County) exploded and caused a fire in a remote part of the town (wooded area) last Tuesday evening (see Tennesse Gas Pipe Explodes in McKean County – 125 MMcf/d Offline). TGP declared a “force majeure” shutting down the pipeline (actually two pipelines) in the area, knocking some 330 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas offline. A day later, TGP posted a new notice to say Line 2 was OK and returning to full service. Roughly 125 MMcf/d would remain offline from Line 1 (the pipeline that exploded) in that area until further notice. We have a small update.
Read More “No Cause Yet Determined for TGP Line 1 Explosion in McKean County”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Allegheny Co. Exec Vetoes Frack Ban Under Parks, Supports Alt Bill
July 15, 2022July 15, 2022

As he promised to do, Allegheny County, PA County Executive Rich Fitzgerald vetoed a horrible bill passed by County Council that would prohibit drilling and fracking *under* county-owned parks (see Allegheny County Council Passes Frack Ban, Co. Exec Fitzgerald to Veto). In his veto message, Fitzgerald pointed out the single case of drilling that has happened under a county park–under Deer Lakes–resulted in no pollution or contamination and the inflow of some $7 million into county coffers from signing bonuses and royalties. Fitzgerald doesn’t want to hamstring future executives with a bad law that would prevent drilling under other parks, someday.
Read More “Allegheny Co. Exec Vetoes Frack Ban Under Parks, Supports Alt Bill”
Allegheny County | Antero Resources | Belmont County | Bradford County | Butler County | Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Clean Energy E&P | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Doddridge County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | LOLA Energy | Ohio | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Repsol | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA) | Weekly Permits | West Virginia

37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 4-10
July 15, 2022July 15, 2022

For the week of July 4-10, the three Marcellus/Utica states issued 37 permits to drill new shale wells. Pennsylvania led the way, as it typically does, by issuing 25 new permits. Three PA drillers tied with six permits each, all six (in each case) on the same pad: Olympus Energy in Allegheny County, Repsol in Bradford County, and Clean Energy Exploration in Tioga County. Ohio issued five new permits, with four going to Encino Energy for a single pad in Carroll County. West Virginia issued seven new permits, all of them to Antero Resources in Doddridge County but spread across three pads.
Read More “37 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 4-10”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Tennesse Gas Pipe Explodes in McKean County – 125 MMcf/d Offline
July 14, 2022July 14, 2022

Pipeline explosion in McKean County (Credit: WESB)

A portion of Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) running through Clermont, PA (in McKean County) exploded and caused a fire in a remote part of the town (wooded area) Tuesday evening. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Thanks to the speedy actions of first responders, the fire was contained and only burned about five acres of woods. The cause has not yet been determined. TGP declared a “force majeure” shutting down the pipeline (actually two pipelines) in the area, knocking some 330 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas offline. Yesterday TGP posted a new notice to say Line 2 was OK and returning to full service. Roughly 125 MMcf/d will remain offline from Line 1 (the pipeline that exploded) in that area until further notice.
Read More “Tennesse Gas Pipe Explodes in McKean County – 125 MMcf/d Offline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Parting Swipe at Marcellus – Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Blocking Gas Bans
July 13, 2022July 13, 2022

PA Gov. Tom Wolf

He’s about as lame a duck as they come with his term ending at the end of this year, yet Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is once again attacking (at the behest of the radical left) the Marcellus industry in his own state. The PA legislature, following the example of many other states, passed a bill that blocks local leftist-infested communities from doing something truly stupid–banning the use of natural gas. PA is not California, or New York, or other leftist hornet nests filled with fossil fuel haters. Yet Wolf acts as if he is a fossil fuel hater himself, tightly bound to the radical environmental left, doing whatever they ask of him. His latest act against the Marcellus is to veto Senate Bill (SB) 275.
Read More “Parting Swipe at Marcellus – Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Blocking Gas Bans”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Allegheny County Council Passes Frack Ban, Co. Exec Fitzgerald to Veto
July 13, 2022July 13, 2022

Since 2013 anti-fossil fuel zealots–people with an irrational hatred of fossil fuels–have tried to ban drilling under (not on) public parks in Allegheny County, PA (near Pittsburgh). In January of this year, County Councilor Bethany Hallam, a committed anti-fossil fuel fanatic (who herself uses fossil energy every day) introduced yet another resolution to ban fracking underneath county parks, which would potentially deny an important revenue stream to the county (see Antis Try Again to Ban Fracking Under Allegheny County Parks). Unfortunately, Hallam managed to get a vote on the bill and it passed 11-4–enough votes to overcome a promised veto by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
Read More “Allegheny County Council Passes Frack Ban, Co. Exec Fitzgerald to Veto”