Joe Manchin “Furious” Over Biden Implementation of IRA Climate Bill
We just have to say right up front, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia is either a lying sleazebag, or he’s really, really stupid. And neither option is very inspiring. Last year Manchin was lured into voting in favor of a massive government spending bill that previously was called the New Green Deal. It got renamed (misnamed) to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), to make it an easier sell to voters (see Tragedy: Joe Manchin Caves & Agrees to Big Green Build Back Better). Now Manchin is making noise to reporters that he’s “livid” and “furious” that the Bidenistas are actually following through and distributing money from the IRA the way they said they would–with money for rich millionaires who buy electric cars. Lying? Or stupid? Take your pick.
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New shale permits issued for Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 in the Marcellus/Utica were about half the number of the week before, but the week before was a recent record high. There were 26 new permits issued in total last week, including five new permits for Pennsylvania, six new permits for Ohio, and 15 permits issued in West Virginia. Which is a turnaround from previous months. Lately, WV has puttered along with just a few (if any) each week. Last week WV issued eight new permits to Antero Resources and seven new permits to Tug Hill Operating.
The heads of three major oil and gas groups in the Appalachian region–the Marcellus Shale Coalition (representing Pennsylvania), the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association–combined to pen an open letter to President Biden encouraging him to let the Marcellus/Utica “lead the way” in achieving our country’s shared goals for domestic, affordable, and clean energy. It’s a great letter making strong and cogent arguments for why more M-U natgas can reduce emissions and benefit not only the economy but the environment. There’s just one small problem…
On Dec. 22, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) published a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that allows the nearly-completed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to finish up construction through 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest straddling West Virginia and Virginia (see 
Baker Hughes reported the rig count for last week saw the deepest cuts in rigs for any single week since June 2020 (just as the COVID pandemic and lockdowns were taking hold). The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 12 to 759 in the week ending Feb. 3. That is the lowest overall rig count number since September of last year. All of which sounds rather ominous. So we grabbed the numbers and updated our own spreadsheet/chart, and found the rig count across the three Marcellus/Utica states–Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia–remained a constant 52 active rigs over the past three months. Whew.
In a bid to prop up his in-the-toilet poll numbers, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (Democrat who voted to screw the country with the Inflation Reduction Act) has joined Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to introduce a new bill aimed at blocking the Bidenistas at the Consumer Product Safety Commission from using federal funding to ban new or existing gas stoves. Since it’s a Republican and a Democrat jointly sponsoring the bill, the bill is considered “bipartisan,” and we can jam that label down the left’s throat. However, even if all Republicans plus Manchin vote for it, we’re still one vote shy of passing it (plus Biden will veto it for sure).
The number crunchers at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) have analyzed proved reserves data for 2021 (the most recent year available) and have determined that proved reserves soared, up by 32% from the previous year. Why? Five of the eight states with the most proved reserves of natural gas each reported new record volumes, driving the growth nationally. And one of those five is a Marcellus/Utica state: West Virginia.
We love West Virginia. The state continues to fight the good fight against those who insist on trying to defund fossil energy companies. WV’s latest target is the two proxy advisory services, Glass Lewis and International Shareholder Services (ISS), that control some 90% of all corporate proxy voting in the U.S. WV is advancing a new bill, at the prompting of State Treasurer Riley Moore, that the state (including its massive pension fund) will not do business with proxy services that use ESG (environment, social, governance) as a litmus test for how to invest. States like WV (and Florida, and Texas) are changing the game–having an impact.
In February 2022, Equitrans Midstream announced it had filed a new pipeline expansion project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see