EQT Confirms Plan to Produce Jet Fuel from NatGas, but Few Details
Yesterday, we brought you the great news that the Marcellus/Utica region scored one of seven major hydrogen hub project grants being dished out by the Bidenistas (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). As we pointed out, West Virginia is the big winner, hosting most of the 15 projects associated with the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). However, other states, including Ohio, Kentucky, and even Pennsylvania, will also benefit by having some projects related to ARCH2 funding located in those respective states. One such project, that we are just now becoming aware of, is a plan by EQT to manufacture low-carbon aviation fuel using natural gas as a feedstock.
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Last Friday in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden tried to sell the line that Pennsylvania was a big winner in the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games (see 
Haters gonna hate (shake it off, shake it off). We learned that from philosophical genius and pop culture guru Taylor Swift. “Hate” perfectly describes the radicalized left in this country that refuses to admit the reality and truth that 95% of all hydrogen today comes from cracking natural gas. In the future, that percentage is likely to remain about the same. Of the seven projects the Bidenistas awarded $7 billion to last Friday in the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games, four of the seven in whole or in part will use natural gas as their feedstock to create hydrogen (see 
As predicted by Reuters, on Friday, the Bidenistas announced the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games winners. There were seven projects selected from 33 finalists. Among them was the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), which is a project that will use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, which is hydrogen made from natgas where carbon dioxide from the process is captured and either used or stored underground. While there is no doubt the big winner is West Virginia, other neighboring states, including Ohio and (yes) even Pennsylvania, will benefit with several locations that will be part of the larger hub project. We’ll explain below.
Joe Biden traveled to Pennsylvania (campaign rally) on Friday to make the official announcement of the seven lucky winners of the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games (see today’s lead story). Joe pitched Pennsylvania as the big winner, which is a joke. PA scored small pieces of two approved projects. The one big, main hydrogen hub project pitched by PA to the Bidenistas — the Decarbonization Network of Appalachia (DNA H2Hub) — didn’t make the cut. Joe needs to win PA in the next election, or he’s toast, hence his visit to Philly on Friday (with a complicit media) to try and paint PA as the big winner. It was not.
The U.S. rig count actually rose last week, adding a piddly four rigs to 622 active rigs (regaining the four it lost the week before). We remain near the lowest point since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica, after falling by one three weeks ago and holding steady two weeks ago, gained one rig (in Pennsylvania) and now stands at 39 active rigs. The national rig count is down 147, or 19%, below this time last year. We’d classify it as limping along, but we’re happy to see this slight reversal.
Explosive news from the Pittsburgh Business Times about the ill-fated plan by Pennsylvania to try and attract one of 6-10 regional hydrogen hubs to the state. As we told you yesterday, according to Reuters, PA’s application to score a government grant for a hydrogen hub, called the Decarbonization Network of Appalachia (DNA H2Hub), was passed over in favor of West Virginia’s plan called the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2 (see 
New shale permits issued for Oct 2 – 8 in the Marcellus/Utica were the same exact number as those issued the previous week. But wow, was there a shift in where they were issued! There were 23 new permits issued last week. Last week’s permit tally included a pathetic 4 new permits in Pennsylvania, 1 new permit in Ohio, and a whopping 18 new permits in West Virginia (after WV issued 13 the week prior). Antero was the top recipient, receiving 11 permits across two counties in WV: Doddridge and Wetzel. HG Energy received 7 permits in Lewis County, WV.
The left always twists language in its attempt to push its ideology and agenda — even in Christianity. The Pennsylvania-based Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), during its 15-year history, has supported every far-left environmental regulation proposed by the Democrat Party and has criticized every conservative, Republican energy plan that allows for fossil energy to flourish in the Keystone State. That’s been our observation. They call themselves “Evangelical,” which is supposed to mean sticking to the teachings of the Gospel of Christ. Somehow, they twist the word Evangelical into worshiping the mythology of man-made catastrophic global warming. They claim it is “creation care” to aggressively address global warming using anti-capitalist Marxist political ideology, like supporting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an onerous carbon tax aimed at killing off gas-fired power plants.
We remember (years ago) hearing Rush Limbaugh postulate this observation about liberals: “Liberalism is spreading misery equally.” Instead of cutting taxes, which boosts economic prosperity for everyone, including those at the bottom of the economic ladder, liberals seek to make more people pay more taxes. Spread the misery. Instead of allowing people to choose their form of energy, force them to use only certain (very expensive) forms, or force them to cut back on the energy they use (Jimmy Carter’s “throw a sweater on in the winter” comment in the late 1970s). Spread the misery. We now see this truism playing out with liberal Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro concerning the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — a clever name for an obscene carbon tax.
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to site a second injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing one. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
The U.S. rig count dropped again last week, for the third week in a row. The count shed another four active rigs, now down to 619 — the lowest point since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica, after falling by one two weeks ago, held steady last week at 38, which is the lowest it has been since the beginning of this year. The national rig count is down 143, or 19%, below this time last year. There’s no indicator the trend will reverse anytime soon.
Last November, MDN told you about a lawsuit filed by a family in Washington County, PA, against Chevron (now EQT) for drilling and fracking done in 2011-2012 near the family’s home (see 
Last November MDN told you about a research paper published by Penn State that says the state should look at repurposing old conventional oil and gas wells for use as geothermal energy sources (see