Statewide PA

Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Energy Transfer Faces Hearing for Supposed ME Pipe Crimes June 21
June 10, 2022June 10, 2022

Last October Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is now running for governor, indicted Energy Transfer with 48 enviro-crimes related to the building of the Mariner East pipeline project (see Corrupt PA AG Shapiro Charges Mariner East 2 Pipe with 48 Crimes). Shapiro has an ongoing, open attack against the Marcellus industry. He duped a grand jury into indicting Energy Transfer, convincing them accidents are now crimes. A preliminary hearing on those 48 sham charges will happen on June 21st. Here’s the latest update…
Read More “Energy Transfer Faces Hearing for Supposed ME Pipe Crimes June 21”
Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Still Going its Own Way, Trying to Attract Hydrogen Hub
June 9, 2022June 9, 2022

Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia are all scrambling to form working groups or other alliances in an attempt to be THE state chosen for one of four regional hydrogen hubs funded by the so-called Biden infrastructure bill (see WV, OH, PA Compete Against Each Other to Attract $2B Hydrogen Hub). The infrastructure bill provides $8 billion for four regional hydrogen hubs. It’s a safe bet one of those hubs will be located in either PA, OH, or WV. Unfortunately, the three states that should be cooperating to attract the hub are instead going their own way, attempting to do it without cooperation. PA is making a serious push to be THE state chosen as the site for the northeast.
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Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Radical Dems Make Another Stab at Smearing PA Fracking with Lies
June 8, 2022June 8, 2022

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” (Quote attributed to Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda) The left so often adopts the attitude if you keep repeating the same lie over and over–preferably the bigger the lie the better–the lie will become accepted as the truth. State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery, chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and Sen. Jim Brewster, D-Allegheny, are expert practitioners of this strategy with respect to lying about the Marcellus Shale and fracking. They were at it again last week holding a public (i.e. propaganda) hearing at the Community College of Allegheny County.
Read More “Radical Dems Make Another Stab at Smearing PA Fracking with Lies”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

RGGI Carbon Tax Soars Again, Averages Near $14/Ton Latest Auction
June 6, 2022June 6, 2022

The so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants aimed at killing off those two sources of energy, is more expensive than ever. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is forcing PA to join the RGGI cabal of 11 states (most of them in the northeast), a move endorsed by the man who wants to replace him in November, PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro (see PA AG Shapiro Signs Off on RGGI Carbon Tax…After Criticizing It). In the most recent RGGI “auction” of so-called carbon allowances, bidders paid an average of $13.90 per allowance–per short ton of CO2 emitted. That’s the highest price EVER paid, and there’s no sign that the ongoing increases will slow down.
Read More “RGGI Carbon Tax Soars Again, Averages Near $14/Ton Latest Auction”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Newt Gingrich Rips PA Dems for Forcing State into RGGI Carbon Tax
June 2, 2022June 2, 2022

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Fox)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared on national TV yesterday, on the Fox News program hosted by Laura Ingraham, to discuss a variety of issues. Among them was Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. Gingrich said Gov. Wolf’s executive order forcing the state into RGGI will “punish” PA for producing natural gas. He said Wolf is hopelessly locked in because the left wants to punish Pennsylvanians “in the name of their ideology.”
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

PA New Wells Drilled Up in 1Q22, but Production Down from 1Q21
May 31, 2022May 31, 2022

Last week the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for January through March 2022 (full copy below). There was 136 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 1Q22, an increase of nine wells (7.1%) compared to 1Q21. However, natural gas production volume was 1,851 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 1Q22, a slight decrease (-0.6%) from 1Q21. It is the first quarterly decrease in production in over a year.
Read More “PA New Wells Drilled Up in 1Q22, but Production Down from 1Q21”
Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Biden Spending $33M to Plug 277 Wells on Fed Land Incl. PA, OH, WV
May 31, 2022May 31, 2022

The Bidenistas at the Dept. of Interior breathlessly announced the agency is (finally) releasing $33 million to plug 277 orphaned oil and gas wells across the country located on federal lands. The average price per plugging is $119,000. Spending $33 million to plug wells on federal lands is chump change compared to the $4.7 billion allocated for plugging old wells under the so-called Biden infrastructure bill. Why is the government paying $119K to plug wells that normally cost maybe $50,000 to plug? We’ll answer that question with another question. Why does the government pay $400 for a hammer it could buy at Lowes for $18?
Read More “Biden Spending $33M to Plug 277 Wells on Fed Land Incl. PA, OH, WV”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Nobody Likes Proposed Changes to PA DEP Enviro Justice Policy
May 26, 2022May 26, 2022

In March MDN brought you the bad news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) had floated a draft reworking of its so-called environmental justice policy (see PA DEP Goes Hard Left with New “Enviro Justice” Policy Revisions). Under onerous new regulations proposed by the DEP, Big Green groups will be able to more easily challenge and block shale drilling and pipelines, accusing such projects of violating “environmental justice” policies. With the official comment period on the proposed new regs now closed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has read through the comments and discovered the new policy is universally opposed and panned, by both the environmental left (saying it doesn’t go far enough) and by the shale industry (saying it goes WAY too far).
Read More “Nobody Likes Proposed Changes to PA DEP Enviro Justice Policy”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Secretary Pat McDonnell Leaving Agency July 2nd
May 24, 2022May 24, 2022

Pat McDonnell – Sec. DEP

The ship of the Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf administration is slowly sinking beneath the waves as Wolf is term-limited and out the door, exiting stage left at the end of this year. So it’s time for senior members of his administration to look elsewhere for other jobs and hop off the sinking ship before it goes completely beneath the waves. First up to flee is Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell, who has been Wolf’s patsy in attempting to force the massive RGGI carbon tax on the residents of PA. We wonder, who will be next? And why is McDonnell really leaving now, seven months before the end of Tom Wolf’s term?
Read More “PA DEP Secretary Pat McDonnell Leaving Agency July 2nd”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Changing, Resubmitting Onerous VOC/Methane Regulations
May 19, 2022May 27, 2022

In March the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB), a sub-agency of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), approved a final version of onerous new regulations that supposedly will capture every last molecule of stray methane that leaks from shale and conventional drilling operations (see PA EQB Approves Final Onerous Methane Regs Harming Conv Drillers). These regs have been developed and tweaked since 2016. In late April several oil and gas associations that represent conventional drillers sued to block the new regs. Subsequently, the DEP withdrew the proposed new regs saying it would rework them. The DEP is about to resubmit a tweaked version of the regs for consideration, hoping to diffuse opposition from conventional drillers. Will it work?
Read More “PA DEP Changing, Resubmitting Onerous VOC/Methane Regulations”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Big Green Trash Talks Wolf’s Play for $2B Hydrogen Hub in PA
May 17, 2022May 27, 2022

Yesterday Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, one of the most left, radical governors in the country, endorsed an “aggressive push” to be THE state to grab one of four $2 billion regional hydrogen hubs financed under the so-called federal infrastructure bill (see PA Gov. Wolf Announces “Aggressive Push” to Get Hydrogen Hub). Wolf hasn’t yet read the memo from his pals in the Big Green movement, who are now turning against hydrogen energy. The latest example is the PA-based Breathe Project, which calls the proposed hydrogen hub and PA’s pursuit of it “a plan that will take us in the wrong direction.”
Read More “Big Green Trash Talks Wolf’s Play for $2B Hydrogen Hub in PA”
Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Gov. Wolf Announces “Aggressive Push” to Get Hydrogen Hub
May 16, 2022May 27, 2022

Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia are all scrambling to form working groups or other alliances in an attempt to be THE state chosen for one of four regional hydrogen hubs funded by the recently passed so-called Biden infrastructure bill (see WV, OH, PA Compete Against Each Other to Attract $2B Hydrogen Hub). The new law provides $8 billion for four regional hydrogen hubs. It’s a safe bet one of those hubs will be located in either PA, OH, or WV. Unfortunately, the three states that should be cooperating to attract the hub are instead going their own way, attempting to do it without cooperation. The latest example is an announcement this morning by Gov. Wolf.
Read More “PA Gov. Wolf Announces “Aggressive Push” to Get Hydrogen Hub”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Gov. Wolf’s Carbon Tax Scheme Gets Court Hearing Yesterday & Today
May 11, 2022May 11, 2022

We’re holding on by a thread folks, with respect to PA’s onerous new carbon tax. Back in April, we told you about a lawsuit filed by Big Coal against the Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf administration to block Wolf’s attempt to force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants (see Big Coal Sues PA to Block PA Carbon Tax + Court Hearing for Senate). A hearing in the state’s Commonwealth Court beginning yesterday and running through today may help decide the fate of RGGI. That hearing is the only thing that can postpone RGGI until next year when we stand a better chance of outright defeating it.
Read More “Gov. Wolf’s Carbon Tax Scheme Gets Court Hearing Yesterday & Today”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Mariner East Pipe Fulfills Promise as Southeast Pa. Economic Engine
May 9, 2022May 9, 2022

As we told you last week, Energy Transfer, during its first quarter update, spoke about the now-completed Mariner East pipeline system that flows NGLs, including ethane, propane, and butane, from eastern Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania all the way to southeastern PA and the Marcus Hook terminal (see Energy Transfer 1Q: ME Pipe Done; Possible Marcus Hook Expansion). Here’s two pieces of information we picked up in a new article in the Philly Inquirer: (1) The original ME1 Pipeline (an older pipeline repurposed to use for NGLs) is being converted back into flowing refined fuels from Midwestern refineries to the Philadelphia market, and (2) a temporary workaround pipeline in the Philly area used for ME was taken out of service back in February.
Read More “Mariner East Pipe Fulfills Promise as Southeast Pa. Economic Engine”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Withdraws Onerous VOC/Methane Regs After Lawsuit Filed
May 6, 2022May 6, 2022

In March the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB), a sub-agency of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), approved a final version of onerous new regulations that supposedly will capture every last molecule of stray methane that leaks from shale and conventional drilling operations (see PA EQB Approves Final Onerous Methane Regs Harming Conv Drillers). These regs have been developed and tweaked since 2016. Last week several oil and gas associations that represent conventional drillers sued to block the new regs. The DEP promptly withdrew the proposed new regs.
Read More “PA DEP Withdraws Onerous VOC/Methane Regs After Lawsuit Filed”
Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA DCNR Seizes $45M in Streambed Royalties & Bonuses Since 2015
May 6, 2022May 6, 2022

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has, for years, claimed that under a centuries-old law the state of PA “owns” the property under “navigable” waterways–including rivers and streams (see PA DCNR Publishes Lease Agreements for Deals Under Rivers/Creeks). DCNR refuses to lease new tracks of state-owned land for oil and gas drilling under leftist Gov. Tom Wolf. However, they’re just fine grabbing (stealing) money from landowners for drilling underneath streams crossing private land. In fact, the state has earned $45 million in bonuses and royalties from other people’s land since 2015.
Read More “PA DCNR Seizes $45M in Streambed Royalties & Bonuses Since 2015”