Plugging Orphan Wells in OH, PA More Complicated Than Just Money
In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Infrastructure Bill, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the help of turncoat Republicans (see Biden So-Called $1.2T Infrastructure Bill Passes Thanks to RINOs). Only about 9% of the $1.2 trillion will go to actual infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. One of the line items in the bill (so small it’s a rounding error) is money to plug orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. A small amount of money was distributed last fall, a year after the bill became law (see PA DEP Solicits Bids to Plug First 50 Orphaned Wells Using Fed $$). Finally, after two years of waiting, the Bidenistas issued the next round of money in July — some $660 million in total, of which $163 million (or 25%) went to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (see Bidenistas Dispense $163 Million to Plug Old O&G Wells in OH-PA-WV). It turns out that just throwing money at the problem doesn’t fix it. There is a long list of challenges before an old well gets plugged.
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Newly-elected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed a working group in April to help guide him on what he should do concerning the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax and the broader issue of global warming (see 
Two weeks ago, the U.S. rig count erased a couple of weeks of anemic gains by dropping 11 rigs from the total, sinking to 630 active rigs, the lowest count since February of 2022 (see 
New shale permits issued for Sep 18 – 24 in the Marcellus/Utica were roughly the same as the prior week. There were 21 new permits issued last week, down 1 from permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 11 new permits in Pennsylvania, 4 new permits in Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. Three companies tied for top permittee last week: PennEnergy Resources with 5 permits in Butler County, PA; CNX Resources with 5 permits in Washington County, PA; and Southwestern Energy with 5 permits spread between Wetzel and Ohio counties in WV.
Natural gas development is fundamental to the health and strength of Pennsylvania’s economy, supporting well over 100,000 family-sustaining careers, boosting state tax revenues, and generating billions in economic benefits, according to a new economic impact analysis (full copy below) commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). The analysis, released at the kickoff of the 
Did the Democrats running the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) just receive a consolation prize from the Democrats who run the federal Dept. of Energy (DOE)? That’s the question swirling in our heads as we read about the PA DCNR receiving a $1 million grant from the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) to do some CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) work. Is the DOE about to bypass PA and award a $1 BILLION grand prize to West Virginia for a hydrogen hub (that includes CCUS), and is this $1 million grant the Biden way of preempting sore feelings in PA by throwing them a bone?
As far back as July 2021, MDN began to cover the issue of geothermal energy, which uses the same technology (drilling rigs, horizontal drilling) to drill holes in the ground to circulate and warm (or cool) water underground as a “green” energy source. Geothermal is an area of interest for Marcellus/Utica shale drillers as a potential new source of revenue (
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to site a second injection well in Plum Boro, 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 
Two weeks ago, the U.S. rotary rig count rose nine after rising by one the week before that (see 
In August, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) approved 34 water-use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. We’re just learning of the action via an official notice published in the Sept. 23 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The approvals, which are NOT subject to public review according to SRBC regulations, are general water permits. Each site will be required to receive a specific water withdrawal approval at a later date.
Last week, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners announced it had cut two different deals with Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE). Both deals involve land swaps with the prospect of new shale drilling by PGE on the way in both Lycoming County and Sullivan County. The Game Commission’s remit is “to protect, propagate, manage and preserve the game or wildlife of Pennsylvania.” Money from shale drilling helps the Game Commission accomplish its objectives. Both deals with PGE will provide the Game Commission with a 16% royalty for any natural gas produced.
Less than a year ago, the Northeast experienced a major winter storm at Christmastime (Winter Storm Elliott). Do you remember it? On Dec. 23, temps in places like the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania hit 60 degrees! Within 12 hours, the bottom dropped out, with temps plunging into the single digits—a more than 50-degree change. Dec. 24’s high temp in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown) was 13 degrees. The massive temperature change caused problems with power generation by natural gas plants, some of which went offline due to freeze-ups in the pipelines that feed them. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a final report yesterday on Winter Storm Elliott, complete with recommendations for sweeping new regulations to prevent future blackouts from storms like Elliott.