Poll Shows WV Gov. Jim Justice Would Beat Joe Manchin for Senate
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, has a big problem if he decides to run again for his seat in 2024. His problem is that in a head-to-head matchup with current Gov. Jim Justice, Manchin loses by 10 points. West Virginia residents have not forgiven Manchin for his sellout in voting for the Green New Deal bill, renamed to the Inflation Reduction Act (see Tragedy: Joe Manchin Caves & Agrees to Big Green Build Back Better). Gov. Justice has dropped hints that he may seek Manchin’s seat in two years. Justice is not the only WV politician with an eye on dethroning Manchin.
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As we previously reported, West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 188 is aimed at making WV more competitive with its neighbors–Pennsylvania and Ohio–with respect to siting more gas-fired power plants in the state. The only problem is that the coal industry isn’t thrilled with some of the language in the bill (see 
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 
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.
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 
Is the coal industry and natural gas industry in West Virginia friends? Or enemies? Or perhaps “frenemies”? We suppose it depends on the issue. In our book, the coal industry has largely been an enemy of the natural gas industry in WV because natgas-fired power plants threaten to displace coal-fired plants (see 
The Marcellus/Utica region is becoming a booming real estate market and manufacturing destination in the U.S., with manufacturing investment currently estimated at over $100 billion, according to Bryce Custer from NAI Spring Commercial Realty. What’s drawing manufacturers to the M-U region? Geopolitical instability, supply chain disruption, the reshoring trend, and abundant raw materials, including cheap (and clean) M-U natural gas.