PA Senate Passes Resolution to Block State Joining RGGI Carbon Tax
Last week the Pennsylvania Senate passed a concurrent resolution that would block the state from joining the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced “Reggie”), a carbon tax that aims to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the state. PA will join RGGI next year if the Republican-controlled legislature can’t derail it. Unfortunately, the bipartisan Senate vote (with several Democrats joining Republicans) was 32-18, one vote short of a two-thirds majority needed to override the inevitable veto from leftist Gov. Tom Wolf.
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Are labor unions so in-the-tank for *any* Democrat candidate that they can be lied to, to their faces, again and again, year after year, and still vote for the Democrat? Apparently yes. Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, the very corrupt Josh Shapiro, someone who has demonstrated a hatred for the Marcellus Shale industry (he’s prosecuting multiple Marcellus companies for “crimes” that are in fact accidents), is using the same tired playbook politicians always use–an outright lie-to-the-face. This time the lie is about his position on whether or not he supports Tom Wolf’s efforts to force the state to join the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide that’s meant to force coal and gas-fired power plants out of business.
Last week MDN told you about a clever play by Republicans in the Pennsylvania House and Senate to box in Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running for governor next year, on the issue of whether or not it is legal for current Dem Gov. Tom Wolf to force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an obscene carbon tax meant to kill coal and gas-fired power plants in the state (see 
Everyone is scratching their heads trying to figure out why, given the price natural gas is fetching in both the futures and physical spot price market, natural gas drillers don’t drill more wells. The excuse given is that budgets are cast, plans made, and by gosh companies are finally showing fiscal discipline and sticking to their plans because if they don’t, investors will scream bloody murder. The last time we checked investors don’t mind spending a little more money to drill new wells if it puts more money in their pockets! That message finally seems to be getting through. Yesterday U.S. natural gas production surged to its highest level since late August (when Hurricane Ida struck, shutting down natgas production in the Gulf). Most of the gains came from more production in the Marcellus/Utica.
Last week America’s Rural Energy Coalition (AREC), a national organization created by rural community stakeholders and industry representatives from across the country to build sustainable rural communities by maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the challenges presented to them as a result of the development of their regional energy resources, held a regional meeting in Bradford County, PA. While AREC advocates for safe development of all forms of energy in rural America, front and center at last week’s meeting was the mighty Marcellus Shale and the critical role of oil and natural gas in the lives of every citizen on planet earth (and to the people of PA).
Even though Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is already one of the most liberal governors in the country who delights in screwing with the Marcellus Shale industry in his state, some truly rabid leftists don’t think he’s doing enough to ruin the shale industry. A rogues gallery of the worst of the worst–including the PA Clean Air Council, Earthworks, Clean Water Action, and the Environmental Defense Fund–launched a website this week specifically aimed at pressuring Gov. Wolf to adopt methane rules so severe it completely strangles the Marcellus Shale industry into stopping.
A group of hardened leftist Democrat Pennsylvania legislators, in a coordinated attack with the state’s horrible Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, are making a play to shut down the fully operational Mariner East pipeline system. Two weeks ago Shapiro, who is running for governor next year, indicted Energy Transfer’s Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline project with 48 so-called environmental crimes (see 
Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
Well permits, long tracked by MDN, are a leading indicator of drilling activity. In Pennsylvania, four of the state’s five biggest producers–EQT, Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources, and Southwestern Energy–have kept the pace of drilling new wells “subdued” according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The top five producers in PA accounted for only 51% of the permits issued in September, down from 53% in August. Normally, the top five drillers account for roughly two-thirds of permits issued each month.
Last week we told you about the uber-sleazy Attorney General in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, handing down an indictment with 48 counts against Energy Transfer over (mostly) drilling mud spills–accidents that were previously addressed and handled by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (see 
Once again the crack reporters at the Reuters news service have landed a huge scoop: Chief Oil & Gas, which owns 600,000 acres of leases in northeastern Pennsylvania and produces 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day, has hired an investment bank to shop the company for sale. Asking price: $3 billion.