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Nat’l Rig Count Continues Drop: U.S. Loses 2 @ 588, M-U Even @ 36
The U.S. national oil and gas rig count has been in a pattern of free-falling for the past three weeks. The national combined Baker Hughes oil and gas rig count dropped by another two to 588, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica, after losing two rigs three weeks ago, maintained the same count last week — a combined 36. Pennsylvania continued to operate 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. And West Virginia kept five active rigs. At this time last year, WV operated 12 active rigs. The M-U fell down three weeks ago and (so far) hasn’t gotten back up.
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In 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) began formulating new regulations for intrastate pipelines transporting gasoline, petroleum, crude oil, and natural gas liquids like ethane. In July 2021, the PUC finally published a draft of new regulations (see 
There’s no way to sugarcoat bad news. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) predicted in January that money raised by the shale impact fee (PA’s version of a severance tax) would plummet this year (see 
As we report in a companion post today, Pennsylvania is currently dishing out close to $180 million in impact fees raised from 2023 shale activity — PA’s version of a severance tax (see PA PUC Distributes 2023 Impact Fee – Revenue Dropped $99M YOY). As the name implies, some 60% of the money raised goes to the counties and municipalities where drilling happens, those “impacted” by shale drilling. The other 40% goes to the black hole of Harrisburg for redistribution to various state agencies and the other counties with no shale drilling. Let’s look at how some counties and towns will spend the money coming their way.
Being reasonable and seeking compromise and the middle ground exited American politics about a decade ago. Maybe 20 years ago. What we have today, at least on the left of the political spectrum, is “my way or the highway.” Tyranny. It is the very definition of unreasonableness. Here is a perfect example: Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, chaired by Democrat Rep. Greg Vitali (a Marcellus shale hater), held a hearing on Hydrogen Hubs and Climate Change. The name of the hearing says it all. Vitali paraded mind-numbed robots (“we hate fossil fuels, we hate fossil fuels”) from radicalized organizations like Earthjustice to testify before the hearing. The stupidity on display was breathtaking.
Last Friday, MDN told you about a problem brewing that will block new hydrogen projects from getting built in the Marcellus/Utica (see 
Only in the dysfunctional Josh Shapiro administration. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced it had added a Customer Experience Management Advisory Council (CXMAC) to advise the DEP’s Acting Secretary and so-called Chief Customer Experience Officer on strategies and improvements to enhance service delivery to the public. The thing is, none of the board members are actual customers of the DEP! There are no oil and gas members on the board. There are no members of the public on the board. Only well-connected people from private businesses, non-profit organizations, and (worst of the worst) other government agencies landed a spot on the board. Some people actually think PA Gov. Josh Shapiro is presidential material. What a joke!
Did you know that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for processing and issuing some 800 different types of permits? Does that not seem a bit excessive? (Is there a permit for applying for a permit?) Being responsible for issuing 800 permits sure sounds like government run amok. Big government. PA State Rep. Jim Struzzi (Republican from Indiana County) announced the introduction of House Resolution 468 last week. The legislation directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to conduct a survey of the PA DEP’s permitting processes.
Well, the bottom dropped out of the rig count last week once again. The national combined oil and gas rig count dropped by six to 594, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica did not go unscathed either, losing two rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now operates 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. However, West Virginia lost another rig and now only has five active rigs. One year ago this week, WV operated 13 active rigs. Yuck.
Patience is a rare commodity these days. We live in a day and age of instant gratification. Our food is made and delivered in minutes. The latest gizmo we want can be on our doorstep the next day (or, in some cases, the same day) from Amazon and any number of other retailers. Entertainment and distractions are everywhere! Just lift your eyes from your own phone and observe everyone else around you staring at their phones. So perhaps it is no surprise that some people feel lied to because the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, hasn’t instantly delivered the promised thousands of extra jobs and dozens of relocated companies.
Every now and again, the liberal Democrat editors of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publish an unsigned editorial (from the editors) that surprises us. Yesterday was another such instance when Post-Gazette editors said Pennsylvania should leverage frack wastewater to extract lithium, which can be used to make electric vehicle batteries for Joementia’s EV fantasies. The editors cited a study recently published (in April) by the National Energy Technology Laboratory that says Marcellus wastewater in Pennsylvania alone has enough lithium to provide 40% of the country’s needs (see 
NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.3 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. Earlier this year, NiSource hosted representatives from LRQA, a global engineering, technical, and business services organization based in the U.K. (owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation). NiSource hosted the LRQA reps at its Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania service territory. The LRQA reps were there to review safety practices. NiSource and its Columbia Gas of PA subsidiary passed the review with flying colors, resulting in NiSource receiving the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55001 and American Petroleum Institute’s Recommended Practice (API RP) 1173 certifications.
One of the aspects of the Austin Master Services (AMS) story (from Ohio) that captures people’s attention is that the frack waste at the facility contains drill cuttings, some of it with a low level of radioactivity. The headline-grabbing media touts that aspect of the story, overplaying just how “radioactive” it actually is. “OMG! If that stuff gets into the Ohio River, it’s an ecological disaster!” That sort of thing. While the percent threat to public health from AMS’ stored drill cuttings is not zero, it’s also not 100. We need a little balance added to the discussion. Just how much of a threat is the waste in the AMS facility?