The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has just published its 2018 Oil and Gas Annual Report. This is the third year in a row the DEP has published the report in an interactive, electronic (i.e.online) format ONLY. What does the 2018 report show?
Read More “PA DEP 2018 Annual Oil & Gas Report: Permits Down, Production Up”
Last July a group of 100+ southwestern Pennsylvania landowners sued EQT for failure to pay them rental fees for storing natural gas under their properties (see 100+ PA Landowners Sue EQT re Gas Storage Field Payments). That same group has just filed a request in U.S. District Court to upgrade the lawsuit to class action status, potentially including thousands of affected landowners.
Read More “PA Landowners Seek Class Action Against EQT re Gas Storage”
When so-called protesters take the law into their own hands and illegally block a legal activity, like building a pipeline, they should be arrested and the maximum sentence should be enforced. If that doesn’t happen, people begin to disrespect and not trust our legal system. Such a miscarriage of justice happened yesterday in Lancaster County, PA. A group of seven radicalized anti-pipeline activists, including an 88-year-old grandma, were given a pass by a local judge for their illegal actions in blocking pipeline construction back in 2017. One more erosion of our legal system.
Read More “Law-breaking Lancaster Pipe Protesters Get Off with Slap on Wrist”
A project we’ve been tracking since 2017, a 620 megawatt Marcellus-fired electric plant in Greene County called Hill Top Energy Center (see our stories here), has just gotten a new investor–from France. Investment firm Ardian, based in Paris, announced it has purchased a 41.9% stake in the project. The price of the deal was not disclosed, although it’s easy to guess the number is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Read More “SWPA Gas-fired Electric Plant Project Gets French Investment”
A little over a year ago CNX Resources announced that the company had signed a long-term contract with Evolution Well Services to use Evolution’s 100% natural gas-fueled electric pressure pumping equipment (see CNX Signs Deal with Evolution to Use 100% Electric Fracking Fleet). That is, CNX will use electric fracking equipment, with the electricity generated by burning natural gas, instead of diesel.
Read More “CNX Operates SWPA’s Sole 100% All-Electric Fracking Unit”
It seems the door *does* swing both ways when it comes to Pennsylvania municipalities and the Act 13 lawsuit decision that allows municipalities to have a say in zoning in, or zoning out, shale drilling. In 2013 seven selfish PA towns won the right, from the PA Supreme Court, to impose their own zoning rules on oil and gas drilling (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). Since that time, Big Green groups have asked the court to rule the door only swings one way–that zoning can keep shale drilling out, but never allow *more* of it. That notion has now been put to rest. The door swings both ways.
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Court Case to Block Martian Drilling”
Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) finally broke ground and began to build a new Marcellus gas-fired power plant in Cambria County, PA in October 2017 (see CPV Marcellus-Fired Power Plant in Cambria, PA Breaks Ground). Located 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, the CPV Fairview Energy Center is a 1,050-megawatt natural gas and ethane-fueled two-by-one combined-cycle electric generating plant expected to begin commercial operations in early 2020. An Indiana company supplying scaffolding to work on that plant was so impressed with the project, and others like it popping up in PA, that the company has decided to establish a branch operation in Johnstown, PA.
Read More “Indiana Co Sets Up Shop in W PA Thx to Marcellus-Fired Gas Plants”
In late June, MDN brought you the sad news that Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which operates the East Coast’s largest refinery on the banks of the Delaware River, has decided to close, throwing 1,020 people out of work following a recent fire (see Philly Refinery to Close Following Massive Fire – 1,020 Jobs Lost). Later this week, July 12, was to be the last day for those employees. However PES recently announced they are extending the “last day” date, from July 12 to August 25, an extra six weeks. Why?
Read More “Philadelphia Refinery Delays Firing 1,020 Workers Another 6 Weeks”
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”