PA State Sen. Gene Yaw Receives MSC “Shale Gas Advocate Award”
Founded in 2008, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) works with exploration and production, midstream, and supply chain partners in the Appalachian Basin and across the country to address issues regarding the production of clean, job-creating, American natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. The MSC provides in-depth information to policymakers, regulators, media, and other public stakeholders on the positive effects responsible natural gas production is having on families, businesses, and communities across the region. It’s one of the premier organizations representing the M-U. The MSC held its annual 2023 Annual Awards Ceremony on Nov. 28 at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, PA. Among the award recipients was PA State Sen. Gene Yaw (from Lycoming County), who received the “Shale Gas Advocate Award.”
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently published its 2022 Oil and Gas Annual Report. This is the seventh year in a row the DEP has published the report in an interactive, electronic (i.e., online only) format. Don’t worry; we’ve made the report a convenient PDF for MDN readers. What does the 2022 report show? Permits issued went down, but the number of new wells drilled went up. The big news is that natural gas production has, for the first time, gone down year over year in the Keystone State. It is the first time natural gas production has decreased for a given year in the modern shale era in PA.
We spotted an article appearing on the PBS-backed Allegheny Front website supposedly reporting a story about Pennsylvania lawmakers looking for “best practices” to adopt in regulating the soon-coming hydrogen hub projects the state will see. PA will see some investment in hydrogen from two different hydrogen hub projects led by neighboring states (West Virginia and Delaware). The article wants you to think that PA lawmakers are reviewing and considering various regulations they might use to protect the public in this uncharted new territory of hydrogen energy. The real thrust of the article, however, is to push a leftist narrative that the hydrogen hubs should avoid using natural gas as the feedstock to produce hydrogen.
Last Wednesday, before heading out the door for the Thanksgiving holiday, MDN brought you the sad (but not unsurprising) news that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had decided to appeal a Commonwealth Court decision striking down his predecessor’s attempt to force the state to implement a multi-billion-dollar carbon tax, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (see 
Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
The dead cat bounce bounced a little higher last week (i.e., the slight bounce a dead cat makes when it hits the ground). The rig count hit a new low for 2023 three weeks ago (see 
We’ll say it right up front: We told you so. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced yesterday that he will appeal a decision by the Commonwealth Court that blocks PA’s entrance into the obscene Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. Are you surprised? Shocked? We certainly aren’t. Shapiro has just revived a huge threat to the future of the Marcellus Shale industry in the Keystone State. Still happy you voted for Shapiro? No, we didn’t think so.
Grab the popcorn! It’s fun to sit back and watch the other side eat its own for a change. We’re talking about the civil war that has erupted on the Democrat Left over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “bold” agreement signed with CNX Resources to “move the ball forward” on “environmental progress” in PA (see 
In July, MDN compared the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection to an organized crime mob with its ongoing shakedowns in assessing “fines” on the Mariner East pipeline project (see 
It’s sad to see a major university like the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) publish fake research to fit a political narrative that fracking can be tied to cancer in kids (see 
In 2019, when then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced he would unilaterally force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon tax scheme aimed at forcing coal- and gas-fired plants out of business, he claimed the tax would only amount to a few dollars per short ton of CO2 (see 
Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (liberal Democrat) launched, with much fanfare, 
Last Friday, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis had 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 
Coterra Energy, formed in 2021 by the merger of Permian oil driller Cimarex Energy and Marcellus gas driller Cabot Oil & Gas, issued its third quarter 2023 update yesterday. The company made far less profit in 3Q23 than it did one year ago, in line with most other big Marcellus/Utica drillers. Coterra made $323 million in profit for 3Q23, versus $1.2 billion in 3Q22. Why the drop in profit? The crashing price of natural gas over the past year. Coterra received an average of $6.20/Mcf (before hedges) for its Marcellus gas in 3Q22, and $1.20/Mcf in 3Q23, a drop of 80%. Ouch. During a conference call with analysts, company CEO Tom Jorden firmed up and recommitted to a plan to free up around $200 million from Marcellus operations in 2024 and reallocate it to other plays (the Permian or the Anadarko) by continuing to run just two rigs and one frac crew in the Marcellus.
The U.S. rig count changed course again last week, dropping rigs after adding rigs (albeit anemically) for the prior three weeks in a row. The national rig count lost seven rigs last week — dropping to 618 active rigs — not only the lowest rig total this year but the lowest count since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica gained one rig and now stands at 40 active rigs. However, the mix changed. PA lost two rigs, going from 22 to 20 last week. Ohio picked them up, going from 10 to 12 active rigs. And WV picked up one rig after losing it the week before. WV now stands at 8 active rigs.