Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Philadephia | Statewide PA
Bigoted Antis Label Hydrogen from PA NatGas as “Bad” and “Dirty”
When the Bidenistas announced a $750 million “investment” of taxpayer money would flow to the Philadelphia region (actually Delaware and New Jersey, and a little bit of Philly) for a “green” hydrogen hub, wackadoodle antis pitched a fit (see Mouthy Delaware Riverkeeper Disrupts PA Gov. at Hydrogen Rally). Antis, along with selfish companies (that would economically benefit from cutting off natural gas), continue the meme that PA’s “fracked” natural gas is “bad” and “dirty” and should be replaced with using other technologies to create hydrogen — technologies that cost 5X as much as natural gas.
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Greg Wrightstone, a Pennsylvania native, is a geologist, the executive director of the CO2 Coalition, and an author. Wrightstone recently published an article detailing how Pennsylvania’s environment is not in the state of crisis that alarmists say it is. He implores Gov. Josh Shapiro to get his head out of his…mental morass…and stop worrying about mythical catastrophic global warming. Overall, the weather has been getting better and agricultural production is up in Pennsylvania. Shapiro needs to drop the doom and gloom routine.
Permitting in Pennsylvania, especially permits overseen by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six to eight months for approval — instead of the law-mandated 14 days. It got so bad that in the fall of 2019, PA State Sen. Gene Yaw introduced a bill to allow third-party reviews of these permits in an attempt to speed it up (see 
In addition to opposition from the editors of the Wall Street Journal to the Biden EPA plan to ration electricity by prohibiting existing coal and any new gas-fired power plants (see today’s companion story), prominent Republican legislators in Pennsylvania issued statements challenging the new regulations. The Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, and Chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee all issued statements describing how the EPA regs will kill gas-fired power in the Keystone State.
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count lost six rigs, down to 613, the lowest the count has been since February of 2022. Since last October, the national count had gone as low as 616 and as high as 629, and that was it. No higher and no lower. That is, until last week when we crashed through the floor and went lower, down to 613. The Marcellus/Utica lost one rig last week and now runs 40 rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now runs 21 rigs; Ohio (which lost one rig two weeks ago) remained static with 11 active rigs; and West Virginia remained the same with 8 rigs.
A team led by Penn State researchers has developed a new tool that can estimate the emissions potential of shale wells after they are no longer active. The researchers claim drillers can analyze their own drill cuttings (samples of shale rock) to determine how much potential there is for methane leakage after a well is abandoned. Which is interesting and perhaps even useful information for Marcellus/Utica drillers. However, a tangential factoid in the news story is what caught our interest and got our mental wheels churning. The factoid is this…
Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count regained a couple of rigs; for the first time in five weeks, the count has gone up instead of down. The count went from 617 active rigs two weeks ago up to 619 last week. Since last October, the national count has gone as low as 616 and as high as 629. And that’s it. No higher and no lower. The Marcellus/Utica lost one rig last week and now runs 41 rigs. Pennsylvania remained constant with 22 rigs; Ohio lost a rig and now operates 11 rigs; and West Virginia remained the same with 8 rigs.
LS Power, headquartered in New York City, has developed or acquired 47,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation, including utility-scale solar, wind, hydro, battery energy storage, and natural gas-fired facilities. We’ve previously mentioned LS Power in a number of MDN articles (
In October 2019, Eureka Resources, which operates three frack wastewater treatment facilities in the Marcellus Shale (and is building a fourth facility in Dimock, PA), began extracting lithium from Marcellus wastewater at one of its plants in Bradford County, PA (see 
Although we support Donald Trump for President in 2024, this site is not and will not become a campaign site for Trump and the Republicans. We will, however, bring you news of Trump (and Biden) announcements with respect to energy and policies that impact the Marcellus/Utica in particular, and oil and gas in general. Trump was at a rally in Schnecksville (Lehigh County), PA, on Saturday. Trump said at the rally that on “day one” of a second term (if he wins), Joe Biden’s “insane electric vehicle mandate” and his “natural gas export ban” will be gone. Trump said Biden is currently waging war on PA energy. We agree.
Last November, CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see 
With the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region, a key issue has arisen. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania State Senate took the first step in establishing a framework that allows for the underground storage of CO2 in the Keystone State.