Say NO to ‘Permitting Reform’ that Does Not Include O&G Projects
Ever notice how the left loves to stack the deck? Change the rules. Rig the game. Play unfair. That’s what’s happening with so-called “permitting reform” bouncing around the D.C. swamp right now. Sen. Joe Manchin (liberal Democrat from West Virginia) wants permitting reform that benefits both fossil energy projects (including the Mountain Valley Pipeline), and so-called renewable energy projects. But here’s what’s happening. The Bidenistas are nodding their heads, slapping Joe on the back, and voicing their support for his latest bill (see Joe Manchin Floats New “Save MVP” Permitting Bill, Biden Supports). But their strategy is to gut Manchin’s bill, or any proposed bill on permitting reform, purging the sections that would benefit fossil fuel projects. The Bidenistas want permitting reform that benefits renewables ONLY–not fossil energy. And they’re willing to lie, cheat, and do whatever it takes to pass a version of the bill they want, to rig the game in their favor.
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The news lit up Friday afternoon with the latest rig count by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). We always caution that weekly rig counts are not a reliable way to gauge drilling activity as the count floats up and down each week. However, on Friday, the bottom kind of dropped out of the natural gas rig count. BKR said the gas-focused rig count dropped by 16 to 141 for the week, which amounts to a 10% drop in a single week. That *does* get your attention. The general consensus seems to be that low, low prices (bumping around near $2/MMBtu) have finally taken their toll, and drillers are pulling back on drilling new wells. How many rigs were lost in the Marcellus and Utica last week?
Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (liberal Democrat from West Virginia) introduced a permitting reform bill (for the third time) to save the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from the clutches of colluding leftists who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (see 
A group of 17 states, including Ohio and West Virginia, filed a motion yesterday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking the commission to block BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, from forcing utility companies in which BlackRock invests to adopt so-called ESG policies. BlackRock buys up a significant portion of ownership in a company and then tries to force that company to stop using fossil energy via the back door of forcing it to implement ESG (environment, social, governance) policies. It is “woke” investing, plain and simple. And the Attornies General of 17 states have had enough of it.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a liberal Democrat from conservative West Virginia, is desperately trying to hold on to his job following the 2024 election. Manchin thought nobody would notice when he caved to pressure from his own party and voted to pass the devastatingly bad (and misnamed) Inflation Reduction Act (see 
In March, West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 188, aimed at making WV’s gas-fired power generation more competitive with its neighbors in Pennsylvania and Ohio, was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (see 
For the third time, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (liberal Democrat from West Virginia) has introduced a permitting reform bill to save the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from the clutches of colluding leftists who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Manchin is rebranding this bill (essentially the same one he introduced last year that bombed out) as the “Building American Energy Security Act of 2023” (full copy below). He introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate yesterday.
During the second week of May, Marcellus driller Northeast Natural Energy will begin to drill a geothermal and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) data collection well–all the way down to 15,000 below the surface. The test well is being done in cooperation with (under the direction of) West Virginia University and the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The study and the data collected from the well aim to test the potential of geothermal energy in the region and gather information on the potential for underground CCS in the Appalachian basin.
One of the world’s largest chemical companies, the Chemours Company (which you used to know as DuPont), along with TC Energy (which you used to know as TransCanada), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the potential development of two electrolysis-based hydrogen production facilities at or near Chemours’ Washington Works and Belle manufacturing sites in West Virginia. Both companies are part of the effort to attract a hydrogen hub to West Virginia called Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). The financial terms of the Chemours/TC Energy deal were not disclosed.
Yesterday the 303-mile, 94% complete Mountain Valley Pipeline project received a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Forest Service, clearing the way for the pipeline to get built through a piddly 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest. Ring the bells! Dance for joy! Blow the party noisemakers, right? Wrong. This is the third time this same permit has been issued. Nobody was impressed. We only found a single news story about it. The stock of Equitrans, the builder, moved up one penny on the news. Why the muted response? Because everyone has seen this movie before.
Yesterday MDN told you about the recently-filed application by the State of Pennsylvania to attract one of 6 to 10 so-called hydrogen hubs to the Keystone State (see