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Temporary Setback for CNX Gas & Water Pipeline Project in SWPA

CNX Resources filed a request with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) in April 2023 to build two pipelines — two for natural gas — along a 13.9-mile route in Bell, Loyalhanna and Salem Townships in Westmoreland County. An additional 4-mile pipeline would be built for water. Called the Slickville Trunkline Project, the DEP told CNX last December (yes, it took the agency eight months to reply!) that the application was “incomplete” and that CNX had 60 days to provide the extra info.
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17 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 26 – Mar 3

There were 17 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, down 1 from 18 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And West Virginia issued 5 new permits last week. Four companies tied for the top slot of receiving 3 permits each: Chesapeake Energy (Susquehanna County, PA), Seneca Resources (Tioga County, PA), Gulfport Energy (Harrison County, OH), and Antero Resources (Ritchie County, WV). Arsenal Resources received 2 permits (Taylor County, WV). Three companies received a single new permit: Laurel Mountain Energy (Butler County, PA), Campbell Oil & Gas (Westmoreland County, PA), and EOG Resources (Noble County, OH).
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18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 19 – 25

There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 19 – 25, up from 13 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits (after issuing none the week before). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. Encino Energy took the prize for the most permits issued with 9 permits, all for Carroll County, OH. Repsol had the second most permits with 5 issued for Bradford County, PA. Everyone else had a single new permit: Beech Resources (Lycoming County, PA), Chesapeake Energy (Bradford County, PA), CNX Resources (Westmoreland County, PA), and HG Energy (Lewis County, WV).
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Penn Twp Zoning Bd Going on Field Trip to Proposed Compressor Site

Hyperion Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy, is seeking a special exception to a Penn Township (Westmoreland County) zoning ordinance to build a six-generator compressor station along Wilderness Road over the next four years. In early January, Hyperion representatives and witnesses testified at a township zoning hearing in favor of the plan (see Olympus Makes the Case for 6-Unit Compressor Station in Penn Twp). Those who spoke said the proposed compressor site would not create a problem for the air and water quality of that area. However, local groups (namely, Protect PT), backed with Big Green money, are opposing the plan. The local zoning board that must grant a variance is doing something unusual: They’re going on a field trip to the rural location of the proposed compressor station.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 29 – Feb 4

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 29 – Feb. 4, versus 27 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 12 new permits last week. Ohio issued 6 new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. We had a tie for the company receiving the most permits. Seneca Resources received 4 permits to drill in Tioga County, PA, and Ascent Resources received 4 permits to drill in Harrison County, OH.
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PA EHB Allows “Narrow” Appeal of 2 Apex Energy Well Permits

A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (now Olympus Energy) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out legally at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see Penn Twp Frack Ban Case Strikes Out at PA Supreme Court). However, continuing to use Big Green money, Protect PT soldiered on, even after its crushing Supreme Court defeat. Apex Energy proposed drilling two wells on a pad in a rural part of Trafford, PA, straddling Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Protect PT challenged the original permits and a time extension of the permits.
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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 22 – 28

There were 27 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 22 – 28, versus 20 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits last week. Ohio issued 5 new permits. West Virginia issued 3 new permits last week. Olympus Energy scored the most new permits with 7, all of them in Westmoreland County, PA. Apex Energy came in second with 6 new permits, also in Westmoreland. In fact, Westmoreland County, in southwestern PA, received 15 new permits last week, by far the most of any county.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 15 – 21

There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 15 – 21, versus 24 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits. West Virginia had a big, fat zero new permits last week. Ascent Resources scored the most new permits issued, with 5 permits across two counties, Jefferson and Harrison, in Ohio. Encino Energy (EAP in the list) had the second most new permits issued with 4 permits in Harrison County, OH.
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Olympus, CNX Still Blocked from Using Reservoir Water for Fracking

In November, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) issued a water conservation warning asking more than 56,000 MAWC customers to conserve water due to the lack of rainfall and the low level of the Beaver Run Reservoir (see Olympus, CNX Blocked from Using Reservoir Water for Fracking). MAWC provides water to more than 122,000 customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette, and Indiana counties. When full, Beaver Run Reservoir holds about 11.4 billion gallons. Over the last several years, dry conditions have steadily reduced the reservoir’s volume — to roughly half that volume. Two customers who sometimes use water from the reservoir (for fracking and drilling) are Olympus Energy and CNX Resources. Both companies were temporarily suspended from using water from the reservoir. The suspension continues…
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Olympus Makes the Case for 6-Unit Compressor Station in Penn Twp

Hyperion Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy, is seeking a special exception to a Penn Township (Westmoreland County) zoning ordinance so it can build a six-generator compressor station along Wilderness Road over the next four years. Last night, Hyperion representatives and witnesses testified at a township zoning hearing in favor of the plan. Those who spoke said the proposed compressor site would not create a problem for the air and water quality of that area.
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PA EHB Allows Moot Challenge to Already Drilled & Fracked Wells

For years, anti-fossil fuel haters have made the same false claims: Drilling and fracking will destroy the environment, contaminate your water, make you sick, and create death and destruction everywhere it’s tried. Then, a responsible driller, like Olympus Energy, comes along and drills wells not far from the lefties in Pittsburgh, and none of those things happen. The air is fine, the water is fine, and nothing gets polluted or contaminated. In other words, the left’s wild claims are exposed as outright lies. But that doesn’t stop the left, funded by shadowy sources, from continuing to sue and challenge time and again — even AFTER shale wells are already drilled and online!
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24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 18 – 31

We are catching up on permits issued…for the last two weeks of December. Normally we cover permits issued for a single week. This report covers permits issued for the two weeks covering Dec. 18 – 31. Perhaps it’s a good thing we’re reporting on two weeks as Ohio’s ODNR seems to have taken the last two weeks of the year off, issuing just a single permit. There were 24 new permits issued for the final two weeks of the year, cumulatively, versus 35 permits issued for Dec. 11 – 17. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits for the final two weeks of last year. Ohio issued just 1. And West Virginia issued 4 permits. Range Resources took the top spot with 9 permits issued in Washington County, PA.
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35 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 11-17

New shale permits issued for Dec 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica continued the trend up over the previous week. There were 35 new permits issued last week versus 27 issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 17 new permits in Pennsylvania, 13 new permits in Ohio, and 5 new permits in West Virginia. The company receiving the most permits last week was Ascent Resources with 8 new permits in two different counties: Guernsey and Belmont counties in OH. Antero was second highest with 5 new permits in Ritchie and Doddridge counties in WV.
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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 4 – 10

New shale permits issued for Dec 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica were up by 2 over the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued last week versus 25 issued two weeks ago. However, there was a major surprise! Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, 9 new permits in Ohio, and 10 new permits in West Virginia. The pattern is typically the opposite, with PA receiving the most permits and WV the least. The company receiving the most permits last week was EQT Corporation, with all 10 of WV’s permits all on the same well pad in Marion County.
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NatGas-Powered WATT Fuel Cells HQ Staying in Westmoreland County

WATT Fuel Cell

WATT Fuel Cell Corp. signed a seven-year extension of its lease to keep its headquarters in Westmoreland County, PA. WATT Fuel Cell manufactures Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (“SOFC”) stacks and systems that operate on common, readily available fuels such as natural gas and propane. Instead of burning and combusting natural gas (or propane), those fuel sources are subjected to an electrochemical process that produces electricity (see this MDN post for a description of the process: SWPA NatGas Fuel Cell Backed by EQT Wins Product Certification).
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Olympus, CNX Blocked from Using Reservoir Water for Fracking

Last week, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) issued a water conservation warning asking more than 56,000 MAWC customers to conserve water due to the lack of rainfall and the low level of the Beaver Run Reservoir. MAWC provides water to more than 122,000 customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette, and Indiana counties. When full, Beaver Run Reservoir holds about 11.4 billion gallons. Over the last several years, dry conditions have steadily reduced the reservoir’s volume. As of last Friday, the reservoir only had about 5.5 billion gallons in it. Two of the customers who sometimes use water from the reservoir (for fracking and drilling) are Olympus Energy and CNX Resources. Both companies are currently (temporarily) suspended from using water from the reservoir.
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