PA Rep. Cris Dush, a Republican from Jefferson County, is about to introduce two bills that would either dissolve both the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) or withdraw PA from both compacts.
Read More “PA House Introducing Bills to Terminate DRBC, SRBC Compacts”
Aqua America, the nation’s second-largest water/wastewater utility company headquartered near Philadelphia, announced in October 2018 it would buy Peoples Gas, the nation’s fifth-largest natural gas utility company headquartered in Pittsburgh, for $4.275 billion (see Aqua America Buys Peoples Gas for $4.3B – Old Pipes, Similar Nature). It took a while, but the last hurdle was cleared yesterday when the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission gave its blessing on the deal.
Read More “PA PUC Approves Aqua America Purchase of Peoples Gas for $4.3B”
The 2014 Polar Vortex event, when most of the U.S. was plunged into record low temps for an extended period, created a propane shortage for many. One of the states most affected by lack of propane during that event was…Pennsylvania! Should such an event hit again, PA is now in the clear, thanks to the Mariner East pipelines.
Read More “Mariner East Pipe Flips PA from Propane Shortage to Surplus”
Last April President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Transportation to write a new rule allowing specially constructed tanker cars for railroads (DOT-113 tank cars) to ship LNG, i.e., liquefied natural gas (see Here Come the “Bomb Trains” – Trump to Allow LNG by Rail). The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), issued a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (draft regulations) to move the process forward in October (see US DOT Gets Serious About LNG by Rail – Publishes Proposed Rules). Monday was the final day for comments on the proposed rules. Unsurprisingly 16 uber-partisan Democrat state attorneys general filed a joint letter opposing the new regs.
Read More “16 Democrat State AGs Oppose Trump Plan to Ship LNG via Rail”
Just coming to light for us now is a report issued by the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) that estimates the amount of gas production royalties paid by drillers to landowners for calendar year 2017 (the most recent year available). It’s a fascinating report that breaks down royalty payments by the eight top gas-producing counties in the state. You may be surprised to learn the county producing the most natural gas in the state (Susquehanna County) does NOT, in fact, pay out the most in landowner royalties.
Read More “New IFO Report: PA Shale Drillers Paid $1.5B in Royalties in 2017”
MDN previously told you about unconfirmed rumors that the FBI is investigating the PA Gov. Tom Wolf administration over how permits came to be issued for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project (see FBI Investigates Wolf Admin for Corruption re ME Pipe Permits). The allegation/rumor is that Wolf and/or members of his staff pressured the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to approve permits for the pipeline project in return for something (money or something else). Two different law firms seized on the rumor as reason enough to launch speculative class action lawsuits for shareholders, accusing Energy Transfer (the builder) of corruption (see 2nd Class Action Lawsuit Against ET/Sunoco re Mariner East Pipe). A third such lawsuit was filed last week–this one by a public employee retirement fund.
Read More “3rd Lawsuit Filed Against Energy Transfer re Mariner Corruption”
For years Pennsylvania’s small, independent conventional oil and gas drillers have objected to the one-size-fits-all regulations concocted by the Gov. Tom Wolf Administration that applies the same regulations to them as to big shale drillers. The two types of drilling are apples and oranges. To make small drillers jump through the same hoops as big shale drillers will bankrupt many of the smaller drillers. So in 2016, PA’s conventional drillers filed a lawsuit to block Wolf’s new regs from going into effect (see PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations).
Read More “Bill Separating PA Conventional from Shale Regs Advances in Senate”
In 2019 Pennsylvania raised a record high of $247 million from its version of a severance tax, called an impact fee, based on drilling activity from 2018 (see PA IFO Report Says Record High Impact Tax for 2018 – $247M). The state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) is out with projections for how much revenue will be raised this year (based on drilling in 2019). Given we hit a downturn last year, you won’t be surprised to learn the impact fee will drop by $53.6 million (21%), to a projected $198.2 million.
Read More “IFO Projects 2019 PA Impact Fee Revenue Fell by $53.6M (21%)”
Corning Natural Gas (based in Corning, NY) has a 50% joint venture partnership in Leatherstocking Gas Company and Leatherstocking Pipeline Company with another Upstate NY-based company, Mirabito. Leatherstocking runs gas mains to residents and businesses in small, mainly rural communities–like Montrose, PA (see PA Rural Residents Burn Marcellus Gas, Save Big Bucks on Heating). Corning announced yesterday they are buying out Mirabito’s 50% interest on the PA side of the border.
Read More “Corning Gas Buys Out JV Partner in PA Leatherstocking Gas & Pipe”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), the agency charged with overseeing oil and gas drilling in the state, “blindsided” the shale industry in February 2018 with a proposal to hike the fee required when submitting an application to drill a new shale well by 2 1/2 times, or 250% (see PA DEP Plans to Raise Marcellus Well Permit Fee by 250%). The industry reacted, negatively. It’s taken nearly two years, but on Jan. 21 the DEP’s Environmental Quality Board will meet to finalize and activate the new insanely high fee schedule.
Read More “PA DEP to Finalize 250% Hike in Shale Permit Fee on Jan 21”
The companies behind PennEast Pipeline, a $1.2 billion new greenfield pipeline project from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ, have not given up on the long-delayed project. As we told you in November, PennEast plans to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court (on Feb. 3) to overcome a lower court ruling that prevents PennEast from using eminent domain in New Jersey for some of the route (see PennEast Pipe to Appeal Bungled Fed Court Decision to US Supremes). Since the original Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certificate authorizing construction of the project expires on Jan. 19, 2020, PennEast asked FERC to extend it another two years (see PennEast Pipe Still Hopeful, Asks FERC for 2-Year Extension). Three Big Green groups have filed an objection, asking FERC to kill the project now.
Read More “Big Green Groups Ask FERC to Deny PennEast Pipe More Time”
On Jan. 15 the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environment Protection’s (DEP) Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board will meet to hear a presentation on a draft Horizontal Drilling Pipeline Construction Guidance and stakeholder report. The so-called guidance is the first step in adopting new regulations (i.e. laws) to govern underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for pipeline projects.
Read More “PA DEP Proposes New Horizontal Pipeline Drilling Regulations”
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) recent settlement with Energy Transfer (ET) concerning the Revolution Pipeline explosion in southwestern PA also has significant impact on southeastern PA. How? The signed consent order in which ET pays the state $30.6 million lifts a moratorium on granting new permits to ET for *any* of its pipeline projects in PA for the past one year–including permits to complete the Mariner East (ME) projects. With the consent order comes a lifting of that permit moratorium, meaning the final bits of ME can now be completed.
Read More “PA DEP Clears Way for ET to Complete Mariner East Pipelines”
This is a slightly older story (from December), but an important story that deserves your attention. Last October Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf went completely off his rocker with a power-grab to force PA into a regional alliance to tax natural gas-fired electric plants out of existence (see Gov. Wolf Goes Bonkers: EO Destroying Gas-Fired Elec, Carbon Tax). Republicans controlling both the PA House and Senate have pledged to stop him (see PA House & Senate Republicans to Stop Wolf’s Insane Carbon Tax). Republicans now have an important new ally in their effort to stop Wolf–some 130,000 trade union members.
Read More “130,000 PA Union Members Join Fight Against Wolf’s Carbon Tax”
If you use the number of active rigs operating in a given shale play/state as the measure for “success,” 2019 wasn’t such a good year for the Marcellus/Utica. In January, Pennsylvania entered 2019 with 48 active rigs. In December that number was cut nearly in half, to 25 active rigs. It was a similar story for Ohio, which entered 2019 with 17 active rigs and exited with 12 rigs. West Virginia, on the other hand, entered 2019 with 15 rigs and exited the year with the same number. But at one point during the year WV had 21 active rigs. We have the monthly rig stats below for all three states.
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Rig Counts 2019 – The Trend was Not Our Friend”
The companies behind PennEast Pipeline, a $1.2 billion new greenfield pipeline project from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ, have not given up on the long-delayed project. As we told you in November, PennEast filed will file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court (on Feb. 3) to overcome a lower court ruling that prevents PennEast from using eminent domain in New Jersey for some of the route (see PennEast Pipe to Appeal Bungled Fed Court Decision to US Supremes). Apparently the builders believe they have at least something of a chance to get the Supremes to review the case because PennEast has just asked FERC to extend the deadline to build.
Read More “PennEast Pipe Still Hopeful, Asks FERC for 2-Year Extension”