Natural gas-fired electric generation has increased in most U.S. regions since 2015, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Annual electricity generation from natural gas power plants in the U.S. increased by 31% in the Northeast region, by 20% in the Central region, and by 17% in the South region between 2015 and 2019.
Read More “NatGas-Fired Power Plants in M-U See Dramatic Increase 2015-2019”
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is in major butt-covering mode with the state’s conventional (non-shale) oil and gas industry. During an industry-led advisory committee meeting held yesterday, members of PA’s conventional oil and gas industry delivered some rather blunt comments to DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management Scott Perry, accusing the DEP of “ramming the most punitive set of regulations on this industry to date.”
Read More “O&G Industry Calls Out PA DEP for “Appalling” Conventional Regs”
A truly bipartisan bill ensuring only those people in Pennsylvania who actually need pipeline safety information have access to it was signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Wolf. PA House Bill (HB) 2293 requires pipeline operators to provide emergency response plans upon request to the secretary of the Public Utility Commission, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and the Emergency Management Director for each county where the pipeline runs through a densely populated area.
Read More “PA Gov. Wolf Signs Law Requiring Pipe Cos. Share Emergency Plans”
Yesterday Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report–for July through September 2020 (full copy below). The report shows natgas production in PA rose 2.0% compared to the same period last year, which is the lowest increase on record since the shale revolution began. The number of new wells spud (drilled) in 3Q20 was 111, down 18% over 3Q19.
Read More “PA Marcellus Gas Production Up 2%, Wells Drilled Down 18% in 3Q”
Last Wednesday Shawn Lehman, from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources’ (DCNR) Resource Inventory and Monitoring Section, gave an update on DCNR’s ongoing efforts to monitor environmental and natural resource impacts of shale gas drilling on state forest land. We learned some interesting facts about shale drilling on PA state land as part of the presentation.
Read More “Shale Drilling on PA State Land Slows Down; Only 1/3rd Built Out”
Monday night the radical Sierra Club hosted a virtual town hall in which people could complain about the Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline project. And complain they did. The aim of the virtual complaint session is to try and close down the already up-and-running ME pipelines (plural), and most particularly prevent the final bit of ME2X from getting completed. By airing sob stories, the Clubbers are hoping to bully the state Dept. of Environmental Protection and/or the Governor into blocking further work on the project–a project just a few months from being done.
Read More “Sierra Club Hosts 90-Min Online Mariner East Pipeline Kvetch”
The Pennsylvania Senate previously passed and yesterday “concurred” (signed-off on) Senate Bill 790, sending it to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. SB 790 restores sanity to regulations for conventional oil and gas drillers in the Keystone State. Unfortunately, Gov. Wolf has stubbornly said he will veto this common sense bill. Why are we not surprised?
Read More “PA Lawmakers Send Bill Splitting Conventional & Shale Regs to Gov”
Here’s a little known fact: Fracking for natural gas in shale only extracts about 20% of the methane gas that’s trapped in shale rock, meaning (of course) that 80% of the gas gets left behind. Researchers with the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory have made what we consider an astonishing breakthrough discovery: Too much pressure used during fracking actually locks some of the methane away tighter in the shale, instead of loosening it. In a published paper revealing their results (full copy below), researchers recommend a range of pressures to use to optimize (increase) recovery rates for methane in the Marcellus.
Read More “DOE Marcellus Research Finds High Frack Pressure Keeps Gas Trapped”
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues to block Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline gathering system in western PA from restarting. In September the DEP finally, after two years, gave ET permission to fix problems that caused the pipeline to explode. Even though ET has fixed the original site of the explosion, the DEP says there are other areas of concern and forbids certain sections of the pipeline from restarting, until…
Read More “PA DEP Blocks Revolution Pipe Restart Even Though Repair is Done”
Eureka Resources, which operates three frack wastewater treatment facilities in the Marcellus Shale, is doing really cool stuff. In October 2019 the company began extracting lithium from Marcellus wastewater at one of its plants in Bradford County, PA (see Marcellus Wastewater Plant in PA Extracts 1st Batch of Lithium). On Tuesday the company announced it has received its fourth patent for its lithium extraction process. The company also said its plants can theoretically supply up to 25% of the country’s annual lithium demand–solely with lithium recovered from Marcellus wastewater!
Read More “Eureka Can Supply 25% of US Lithium Demand from Marc. Wastewater”
Radical anti-fossil fuel groups have not given up hope they can somehow, at the last minute, block the $10 billion Shell ethane cracker plant (about a year from being completed) from ever starting up. Perhaps Biden’s “victory” has given them a little boost of irrational exuberance? In 2015 the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an air permit for the cracker plant. Shell needs to tweak the permit with new information. Antis are asking PA to deny the new tweaks, claiming Shell wants to pollute the region even more. Shell says the tweaks reflect new realities, including LOWER emissions.
Read More “Anti Groups Ask PA to Reject Shell Cracker Air Permit Modification”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and his Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continue to push a plan that will raise Pennsylvania residents’ electric rates by 50% or more, a carbon tax plan called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The DEP will conduct 10 three-hour virtual public hearings between Dec. 8 and 14. There will be no in-person hearings due to concerns over COVID-19.
Read More “PA DEP Continues to Push Carbon Tax via Public Hearings”
The radicalized Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) never gives up. In June 2017, the PEDF won a case at the PA Supreme Court by the skin of their teeth (see PA Supreme Court Hands Antis Partial Victory re State Land Drilling). The case dealt with the narrow issue of how PA can spend revenue raised from drilling for oil and gas under state-owned land. A divided court ruled that money from royalties (not lease signing bonuses) must be used only for “environmental” purposes.
Read More “PEDF Continues Effort to End Marc. Production on PA State Land”
Although the national election is still undecided (looking like Biden, a complete disaster), in almost every other respect Republicans (i.e. pro-shale candidates) won, big-time. Republicans gained seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, look to be keeping a majority in the U.S. Senate, and picked up seats in many state legislatures. Leftist Democrats poured BIG money into Pennsylvania in an attempt to flip both the PA House and Senate from red to blue. They failed. And that’s very good for shale energy in the state.
Read More “Repubs Keep Control of PA Legislature, Block Wolf’s Energy Plan”
During the Williams third-quarter 2020 update yesterday, CEO Alan Armstrong shared some very interesting, and relevant (to the Marcellus/Utica) comments. Armstrong said that two important pipeline projects to carry M-U gas to other markets, the Southeastern Trail expansion project and the Leidy South project, are both in the midst of coming online–ahead of schedule.
Read More “Williams Record M-U Volumes, Early Startup for SET, Leidy South”
In August Pennsylvania hiked its permit fee to drill a new shale well to be the most expensive of any state in the country, from $5,000 to $12,500 (see Permit Fee to Drill PA Shale Well Officially Went Up 250% on Aug 1). New analysis by the non-partisan think tank Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says the new fee is deterring new drilling and will likely be a drag on PA’s economy.
Read More “PA DEP Massive Shale Permit Fee Affects Drilling, PA Economy”