PA Geologists Building a Map of Rock Layers for Future CO2 Storage
Hydrogen energy is all the rage these days–even though it’s unproven, and there’s no evidence it will ever replace natural gas as a main fuel source. Indeed, there’s plenty of evidence hydrogen will never fully replace gas (see Why 100% Hydrogen Will Never Power Your Home; Why Antis Hate H2). Wrapped up in the “hydrogen is the future of energy” debate is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), sometimes called CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration). In simple terms, CCS is capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from sources like burning oil and natural gas and storing it deep underground where it can’t (please don’t laugh) toast Mom Earth into a cinder, as the left insists is happening. To store CO2 underground, you must know where it can be safely and permanently done. The Pennsylvania Geological Survey and its partners are building a digital tool and testing hundreds of rock core samples to help others know where the safest places to store CO2 in the Keystone State are located.
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The nutters are out in full force, particularly in Pennsylvania, using fraudulent “studies” by the Ohio River Valley Insititute (ORVI) and (sadly) the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) to call for an end to the Marcellus industry in the great Keystone State. A recent “letter to the editor” appearing in the Sunbury (PA) Daily Item is a perfect example. On Sept. 3, the Daily Item ran an op-ed titled “Is fracking good for Pennsylvania,” concluding that it is not. It was written by a member of the Climate Reality Project, a far-left organization that irrationally hates fossil energy. The typical references were made to the fraudulent ORVI and Pitt studies. Ten days later, another op-ed appeared in the Daily Item, written by David Callahan from the Marcellus Shale Coalition, setting the record straight.
For the first time since June, the national active U.S. rig count added rigs–a single rig–last week. The new active U.S. rig count is 632, up from 631 the previous week. Unfortunately, the Marcellus/Utica lost yet another rig, sinking to 39 active rigs. Once again, West Virginia was the unlucky state that lost a rig, now running just 8 shale rigs. The rig counts for both Pennsylvania and Ohio stayed the same last week.
Every single week, we read stories in mainstream media (and in the fringe environmental media) that declare so-called renewables, namely solar and wind, are taking the world by storm. They’re replacing fossil fuels. The fat lady is just about ready to sing and bring down the curtain on fossil energy because wind and solar are taking over, baby. Except it’s all a lie! The editor of the Times Observer (in Warren, PA), The Post-Journal (in Jamestown, NY), and the OBSERVER (in Dunkirk, NY) penned a sobering column that points out wind and solar contribute roughly 2% of the electricity flowing to the grid in New York State, and not much more for the grid in Pennsylvania.
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for April through June 2023 (full copy below). There were 94 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 2Q23, a huge decrease of 39 wells (-29%) compared to 2Q22. Data for July and August 2023 show that new wells spud declined 48% (!) from the same period in 2022. Ouch. However, natural gas production volume was 1,859 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2Q23, up 7 Bcf (+0.3%) from 2Q22. It is the first quarter without a year-over-year production decline since 2Q22. Let’s celebrate the small victories, right?
Last November, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania) began to leak. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) provided updates for various issues to the Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board (TAB) at a meeting held in Harrisburg and online. TAB’s mission is to increase transparency and communication about regulating the shale drilling industry in PA. TAB is authorized under the 2012 Oil and Gas Act to advise DEP in the formulation, drafting, and presentation stages of all regulations relating to unconventional oil and gas extraction. Kurt Klapkowski, DEP Deputy for Oil and Gas Management, spoke to the board on several issues. He was asked to comment on the recent fake studies released by University of Pittsburgh that purport to show a link between fracking and certain health conditions (see 
Pennsylvania State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (
Quick! Apply pressure to the wound before the patient (in this case, the Marcellus/Utica) bleeds out. Another week, another lost rig in the Marcellus. We can’t seem to stem the flow of rigs leaving. The national rig count also lost one rig overall. For the eighth week in a row and the 17th of the last 18 weeks, the U.S. active rig count lost rigs. The total is now down to 631 active rigs across both oil and gas (down from 632 last week). At least the loss is slowing. West Virginia dropped one rig after adding one last week. The rig counts for both Pennsylvania and Ohio stayed the same last week.
Three weeks ago, University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) researchers released three studies commissioned by the State Dept. of Health supposedly investigating whether or not there is a connection between shale drilling and childhood diseases, including cancer (see 
A couple of major changes to alert you to at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). The PUC is the public utility commission in Pennsylvania. The PUC has five commissioners appointed by the Governor with the consent of the state Senate. The PUC oversees public utility and services operations in the Commonwealth, in sectors including water, energy, telecommunications, and transportation. The decisions made by the PUC impact the Marcellus/Utica–particularly pipelines, including the Mariner East pipelines. Consequently, any changes at the agency are of concern. This week, the PUC got a new Chairman and a new commissioner, both Harrisburg swamp dwellers, appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro and confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration is once again signaling its intent to block shale drilling in certain regions of the state by using a new “environmental justice” (it’s racist to drill there) policy. We told you about Shapiro’s intent two weeks ago when the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued new so-called environmental justice (EJ) policies to go into effect in September (see 
Two weeks ago, University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) researchers released three studies commissioned by the State Dept. of Health supposedly investigating whether or not there is a connection between shale drilling and childhood diseases, including cancer (see 
The rig count carnage continues. For the seventh week in a row and the 16th of the last 17 weeks, the U.S. active rig count lost rigs. A lot of rigs. Last week, the number decreased by 10 rigs after falling by 12 for the prior week. The total is now down to 632 active rigs across both oil and gas. Oil rigs have now fallen for a ninth straight month, while the combined oil and gas count has fallen for four straight months. After losing three rigs two weeks ago, the Marcellus/Utica count added one rig last week–in West Virginia.
Last summer, Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 2644 was passed into law, becoming Act 96 of 2022 (see 