2 More Programs Introduced to SPEED Up Broken PA DEP Permitting
How many government programs does it take to fix the broken Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)? However many have gone before, you can add another two new programs to the list. Yesterday, the DEP announced two new programs that will, this time, really, actually, fix the agency’s chronically slow permitting for simple permits. Pinky swear. (And if you believe that, we have a bridge you may be interesting in buying. It’s located in New York City.)
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Sometimes, we are at a loss to explain the actions of “our side” (the fossil fuel industry). This is one of those times. Penn State University, in recent years, has become hostile to fossil energy and the shale fracking that pervades (and blesses) the state. Yet petrochemical giant Shell, with its $15 billion ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, is donating $1 million to Penn State to fund (and we quote): “initiatives focused on energy transition, decarbonization, polymer recycling and biodiversity, and the creation of an inclusive and innovative energy workforce.” Translating the gobbledygook: It’s $1 million to fund a way to put Shell and other fossil energy companies out of business. We have to ask, Why would Shell do this?
In July, MDN told you about a disappointing (but not surprising) decision from the Democrat leftists on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (see 
The vast majority (up to 99%) of Pennsylvania’s abandoned conventional wells are “orphans,” or wells without an identifiable, documented owner whom the state can hold liable for cleanup. Orphan wells date back to the Civil War in some cases. Even with “newer” wells, the problem has been poor recordkeeping by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see 
The Baker Hughes U.S. rig count has gone up three out of the last four weeks, including last week, when it went up by two to 588. However, it’s still down 41 from the 629 it hit earlier this year in March, so we don’t get overly excited about reading that it went up again last week. It’s still below 600, an important psychological level. The Marcellus/Utica stayed even last week with 36 active rigs. However, one rig moved. Pennsylvania gained a rig and now operates 21 active rigs. Ohio lost a rig and now operates 10 active rigs. West Virginia remained the same with five active rigs. The M-U’s primary competitor, the Haynesville, was down two rigs and now operates 32 rigs. The gap between the M-U and Haynesville grows!
The CEO of the Energy Association of PA who is also a former chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) asks this question: What can Pennsylvania lawmakers do about a looming regional power shortage that they didn’t cause and can’t easily fix? He says this dilemma poses the most important energy issue facing the commonwealth today. He’s certainly not against renewable energy, but he points out in an op-ed appearing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that coal and natural gas-fired power plants are “retiring prematurely” for several reasons, and renewables can’t handle the load. The predictable end result will be blackouts in the PJM region.
The U.S. national oil and gas rig count lost ground last week it had gained the week before. The national combined Baker Hughes oil and gas rig count now stands at 586 rigs, down three from 589 two weeks ago. The Marcellus/Utica lost one rig last week. Pennsylvania lost a rig and now operates 20 active rigs. Ohio operated 11 active rigs. West Virginia remained the same with five active rigs. The M-U is operating a combined 36 rigs. The M-U’s primary competitor, the Haynesville, was down one rig from two weeks ago and now operates 34 rigs.
PJM, the grid manager for Pennsylvania, twelve other states, and the District of Columbia, is worried about future energy needs. As existing power plants come offline and lawmakers seek to replace them with woefully inadequate alternatives, PJM estimates electricity shortages as early as 2027. PA Gov. Josh Shapiro isn’t helping matters with his disastrous energy proposals (see 
Range Resources Corporation, the very first company to drill a shale well targeting the Marcellus Shale layer in Pennsylvania (in 2004), issued its second quarter 2024 update earlier this week. Range continues to hold its production relatively flat. During 2Q, Range produced 2.15 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), with approximately 69% of production comprised of natural gas and the rest in NGLs and oil. Range’s 2Q24 production is up 3% from 2Q23, but essentially flat from 1Q24 (2.14 Bcfe/d). Steady as she goes. Net income was $28.7 million, down 5% from the same quarter last year.
Yeah, well, that didn’t take long. Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro (left-wing Democrat) held a rally with Biden’s EPA chief Michael Regan in Pittsburgh to tout a big old pot of money, $396 million, coming from the feds to PA to essentially buy votes (see 
According to the left-leaning Spotlight PA, “A flurry of recent bipartisan agreements by state lawmakers on energy projects and policies is sending a clear message: Pennsylvania is slowly moving toward clean energy but fossil fuels aren’t going anywhere.” Joe Biden is sending big money to Pennsylvania to fund all sorts of ludicrous “renewable” energy initiatives (i.e., bribes). However, sources talking to Spotlight PA confirm that fossil fuels — the Marcellus industry — remain strong and are not going anywhere.
Here is an incontrovertible fact: In a CNN town hall debate during the 2019 presidential primary, Kamala Harris said, “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” She hasn’t changed her position in the last five years. And that’s a problem for Harris in “swing” states like Pennsylvania. She said she would ban it from “day one” on federal lands and then work her way around to private lands later. The left always uses incrementalism. There is no question that Harris is left of Joe Biden if such a thing is possible. We think it’s quite possible Harris will try to recruit PA’s dud, do-nothing Governor, Josh Shapiro, to run with her as her VP candidate to try and persuade PA voters that her radical position supporting a fracking ban shouldn’t prevent them from voting for her. Harris figures that if Shapiro is on the ticket, it will assuage voters’ concerns. Don’t fall for it. If Harris loses PA, she loses the election.
A disappointing (but not surprising) decision from the Democrat leftists on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was issued last Thursday. The so-called Supremes ruled in favor of allowing three well-financed Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, PennFuture, and Clean Air Council, to join a lawsuit attempting to force the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) obscene carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired plants in the Keystone State. Big Green can now participate, bringing along big money and attorneys to support the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is trying to force state participation in RGGI.