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WV Judge in Landowner Royalty Lawsuit Points Gun at EQT Lawyer
This is one of those more bizarre court cases we’ve heard about. In April 2021, MDN reported that a group of West Virginia landowners/rights owners filed a claim against EQT, alleging the company had allowed leases to lapse, then at a later date, reentered their property and drilled new wells without permission (see Federal Judge Allows EQT Trespass Lawsuit in WV to Advance). The case, Huey v. EQT, has been in and out of federal court. A West Virginia Second Judicial Circuit Judge, hearing a related part of the case, is accused of pulling out a gun and leaving it on his bench pointing at the attorney representing EQT, who was, understandably, quite nervous.
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For the week of July 4-10, the three Marcellus/Utica states issued 37 permits to drill new shale wells. Pennsylvania led the way, as it typically does, by issuing 25 new permits. Three PA drillers tied with six permits each, all six (in each case) on the same pad: Olympus Energy in Allegheny County, Repsol in Bradford County, and Clean Energy Exploration in Tioga County. Ohio issued five new permits, with four going to Encino Energy for a single pad in Carroll County. West Virginia issued seven new permits, all of them to Antero Resources in Doddridge County but spread across three pads.
We’ve been keeping an eye on articles that appear with increasing regularity from the D.C. swamp hinting that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is talking with New York Senator Chuck “the schmuck” Schumer about Biden’s harebrained New Green Deal bill that would shut down even more fossil energy and soar inflation above the currently unbelievable level of 9.1%. The Washington Post, in particular, is pressuring Manchin to go along and pass a bill hoping it will help the Democrats win in November. Since appealing to Manchin’s loyalty to the Democrat Party is going nowhere, the Dems have decided to bribe Manchin by promising him the moon–including a fast track to finish the 94% completed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. Will Joe Manchin cave and trade away the country’s future in return for completing an important M-U pipeline? Will Washington Dems torpedo MVP if Manchin doesn’t play along? He’s on the horns of a dilemma.
All six Big Banks (and investment firms) on the West Virginia blacklist of companies pressuring investors to avoid fossil energy companies are objecting to being included on the WV blacklist. One month ago WV State Treasurer Riley Moore sent a letter to six big banks/investment firms alerting them they are about to be added to the state’s “blacklist” for violating policies by not investing or doing business with fossil fuel companies (see 
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA that changes everything. It’s hard to overstate just how important the court’s decision is. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the attorney generals from 18 other states sought to limit the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its misinterpretation of the so-called Clean Air Act in order to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. The court ruled in favor of WV against EPA, meaning EPA cannot regulate coal- and natural gas-fired power plants out of existence, as it was seeking to do. Let’s all revel in this MAJOR victory!
Using data from several government agencies, the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, Inc. (GO-WV) published its annual Gas Facts report earlier this week. Natural gas production in WV increased 6% to approximately 2.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2021. The increase in production helped drive a 10% increase in state severance and local property taxes collected.
Tug Hill Operating is focused on acquiring, exploring, developing, and producing oil and natural gas in the onshore U.S. with a primary focus on the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachia Basin (Southwest Appalachia in West Virginia, and Northeast Appalachia in Pennsylvania), Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, Niobrara Shale in the Rockies region, and other select basins and formations. According to sources speaking with Reuters, Tug Hill is looking to divest its West Virginia assets for $5 billion.
Columbia Gas, a subsidiary of Canada-based TC Energy (formerly TransCanada), wants to build a tiny 3.37-mile, 8-inch pipeline under the Potomac River from Maryland to West Virginia. The Eastern Panhandle Expansion, as it is called, is being blocked by the lefties in Maryland (see 
Last month MDN brought you the news that Joe Biden is renominating Richard “Dick” Glick to serve yet another undistinguished term at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see