PennEnergy Resources, a Pittsburgh based independent oil and gas company focused on the Marcellus/Utica Shale, is getting ready to drill new wells on a pad in Economy (Beaver County), PA. The plan is facing stiff opposition from local residents because it’s located near a housing development in a residential (albeit rural) area, and will use a local road for access.
Read More “PennEnergy Resources Gets Ready to Drill in Economy, PA”
Two weeks ago MDN provided a list of Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects for which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is withholding approvals, unnecessarily, due to Democrat commissioners gumming up the works over mythical global warming concerns (see List of M-U Pipeline Projects Waiting for FERC Approval). One of those delayed projects, as we report today, is now a casualty (see Dominion Cancels Sweden Valley Marcellus Proj – Blames FERC Delay). A second pipeline on that delayed list is also in trouble if FERC doesn’t take action asap: Adelphia Gateway.
Read More “FERC Delay re Adelphia Pipe Causing Financial Strain for Talen”
Each June the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), the agency charged with keeping tabs on impact fee revenue from shale drillers (PA’s version of a severance tax) releases the final numbers of impact fee revenues and disbursements for the prior calendar year. Yesterday was the appointed day for 2018 fee revenue generated. The PUC reports impact fees on natural gas producers in 2018 totaled $242,964,000–the highest-ever yearly amount of revenue generated since the fee/tax was implemented in 2011. If you add in another $8,866,900 disbursed after a court case was settled about “stripper wells,” the total that was disbursed this year amounts to a whopping $251,830,900–a quarter of a billion dollars!
Read More “PA PUC Distributes $252M from Impact Tax – Highest Ever!”
Two weeks ago today MDN editor Jim Willis experienced the rare treat of venturing out from behind the keyboard to a press conference held in the great outdoors in nearby Susquehanna County, PA. The topic? Energize PA, a series of bills being promoted by Republicans in both the PA Senate and House. The event was organized by PA Rep. Jonathan Fritz, who opened the presser with details on House Bill (HB) 1103, a bill that will expand the state’s PIPE program to run more “last mile” natural gas pipelines to homes and businesses in rural communities. PA makes the gas, and now they want to benefit from using it.
Read More “Spreading Marcellus Love Throughout PA with Expanded PIPE Program”
Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which operates the East Coast’s largest refinery on the banks of the Delaware River, was already wobbling because of onerous federal regulations that require refiners to blend in biofuel with gasoline and diesel, or purchase very expensive credits. PES can’t blend, so they must buy the credits, which put them under water financially, forcing them into bankruptcy last year (see Philadelphia Refinery Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Following a series of explosions and a massive fire last week (see Massive Explosion, Fire at Philadelphia Refinery), PES has announced it will be closing down over the next two weeks, throwing 1,020 people out of work.
Read More “Philly Refinery to Close Following Massive Fire – 1,020 Jobs Lost”
More than 100 union members packed a Delaware County, PA Council meeting yesterday to send the loud and clear message they are not happy with council members who have asked PA Gov. Tom Wolf to impose a moratorium on all of the Mariner East pipelines that pass through the county. Two weeks ago the council passed a resolution asking Wolf to block all of the pipelines, those already built and those under construction. This is what third world, tinpot dictatorships do–not the U.S.A. Union members were at the meeting to remind council members they vote, in large numbers, and they’re willing to toss them out of office if they continue with this chicanery.
Read More “100+ Union Members Protest Dela. County Council Mtg re ME Pipes”
Rockford Corporation, a subsidiary of Primoris Services Corporation, entered into a consent judgment with the U.S. Dept. of Labor to pay $354,933 in back wages and “damages” to employees over the practice of failing to pay overtime. Those affected include equipment operators, welders, and helpers. Rockford is one of the pipeline construction companies Williams uses to build gathering pipes in Susquehanna County, PA. Rockford works in other geographies too, not just the Marcellus. The investigation into Rockford began with their Marcellus pipeline activities in northeastern PA, then spread nationwide.
Read More “NEPA Pipeline Builder Rockford/Primoris Clipped $355K for Back Pay”
We caught a helpful update on PennEnergy Resources from a report on last week’s Hart Energy DUG East Conference in Pittsburgh. PennEnergy CEO Richard Weber told the DUG audience that his company is currently producing an average half a billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, with plans to increase that by 10% this year. One thing holding the company back is the ongoing outage of Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline gathering system.
Read More “Pipeline Outage Causing Headache for PennEnergy in W PA”
Nobody seems to have noticed, or if they did notice they’re not reporting, what we consider big news: Yesterday the Pennsylvania State Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee “reported out” (i.e. approved) Senate Bill (SB) 694, the Senate version of House Bill (HB) 247, a bill which allows fully leased parcels that are part of one drilling “unit” to be combined with parcels in a different unit–“cross unit drilling.”
Read More “PA Cross Unit Drilling Advances After Senate Ctte Approves”
We received some pictures from a loyal MDN subscriber (S.B.) showing progress on clearing a site where a new $5 million office and warehouse facility in Tunkhannock Township (Wyoming County), PA. Ever hear of BKV Operating? No? How about Kalnin Ventures? Or if not Kalnin, how about Banpu, the largest coal producer in Thailand? Like a Russian matryoshka (nesting) doll, BKV Operating is a subsidiary of Kalnin Ventures, and Kalnin is the American agent/partner representing Banpu here in the U.S. Ultimately it is Banpu money that is building this new facility, and major Banpu money being invested in PA Marcellus drilling in northeastern PA.
Read More “Progress on $5M Office in NEPA for Marcellus Co. from Thailand”
The Falcon ethane pipeline being built by Shell in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio is unique in many ways. Falcon is a 97-mile, two-legged pipeline system to carry ethane to the mighty Shell cracker plant now under construction in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh). We spotted an article about the pipeline and its construction. According to a local conservation office in Beaver County, pipeline construction “hasn’t even affected us [wildlife] a bit,” thanks to careful planning by Shell. A pipeline everybody loves? Is that even possible?!
Read More “Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipe – Building a Pipeline the Right Way”
Last Friday around 4 am there was a series of three explosions and a massive fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Refining Complex, the East Coast’s oldest and largest oil refinery. It took fire fighters until Saturday afternoon to extinguish the blaze. The main concern was that if the fire reached a tank of hydrofluoric acid used in the refining process it would be released as hydrogen fluoride (a poison), affecting nearby residents. Fortunately that didn’t happen. The thing about the story that caught our attention is that propane and butane (potentially sourced from the Marcellus) are what fed the fire.
Read More “Massive Explosion, Fire at Philadelphia Refinery”
LOLA Energy was birthed near the end of 2015, by former EQT executives using private equity money from Denham Capital (see New Marcellus/Utica Drilling Company is Born – LOLA Energy). In July 2017, Rice Energy (later sold to EQT) bought the assets of LOLA Energy for $180 million, over the objections of LOLA CEO Jim Crockard (see Rice Energy Paid $180M for LOLA Energy; CEO Didn’t Want to Sell). Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, LOLA Energy and Jim Crockard are back. The company has scooped up leases that EQT inadvertently let expire, potentially blocking EQT from drilling some already-planned-and-in-the-works wells–until EQT pays LOLA.
Read More “LOLA Energy is Back! Scoops Up Rice Acreage EQT Let Expire”
A group of enviro-Nazis has sunk to a new low in their holy mission to block Marcellus Shale drilling. A group of colluding Big Green groups along with sympathetic (and sycophantic) “reporters” (i.e propagandists) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are exploiting the pain and suffering of southwestern PA families of children who have cancer in their attempt to stop shale drilling. It’s disgusting and sick.
Read More “Antis Continue Attempt to Tie Childhood Cancer to SWPA Fracking”
Got a well drilled and ready to produce with no prospects of connecting it to a pipeline system any time soon? No problem! We have exciting, breaking news to share. Edge Gathering Virtual Pipelines 2 LLC (EDGE) earlier today announced in May they deployed a special LNG unit to a remote Marcellus well in PA, converting gas from the well into LNG. The LNG was then loaded into a special unit and trucked to a gas utility some 300 miles away in New England. A new “virtual pipeline” is born!
Read More “Stranded PA Marcellus Gas Converted to LNG, Trucked to New England”
Energy Transfer continues to squabble with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) over the fate of the still-closed Revolution Pipeline in western PA. In May the DEP issued an order to Energy Transfer, builder of Revolution, to “identify and restore or mitigate all streams and wetlands that it illegally eliminated or altered during the construction” of the pipeline (see PA DEP Claims Energy Transfer Illegally Damaged Streams, Wetlands). DEP claims ET “illegally” eliminated at least 23 streams and changed the length of another 120 streams.
Read More “ET Appeals PA DEP Order on Revolution Pipeline to Enviro Court”