Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia
FERC Issues Favorable Enviro Assessment for MVP Southgate Pipeline
On Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project. An EA is not a “decision document.” It presents FERC staff’s independent analysis of the environmental issues for the commissioners to consider when making a final approval decision. However, the EA is a good indicator of what is to come, and according to the document issued on Friday, positive developments (such as final approval) are forthcoming. Read More “FERC Issues Favorable Enviro Assessment for MVP Southgate Pipeline”
What is it about the modern Democrat Party that seeks the total destruction and annihilation of that which they perceive as a political threat? The party, or perhaps more accurately, the radical left elements of the party (which increasingly is all of the party), wants to destroy law and order, including our police departments. Just look at the “protests” (i.e., violent riots) in places like Portland, Oregon. Look at the violence against ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) employees in places like Chicago. And look at the dangerous talk of politicians like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is threatening to force the state out of the PJM Interconnection electric grid (see 
Last Thursday, energy and labor leaders gathered for the “All About Propane & Energy Reliability” one-day conference, held in Boothwyn, PA (Delaware County, near Philadelphia). The speakers highlighted the significant economic and employment impact of energy production, particularly at the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Speakers noted that Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural gas producer, with 12,000 wells producing 7.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas last year. Marcus Hook, originally a crude oil refinery dating to 1901, now exports propane and ethane globally, supporting hundreds of jobs and generating substantial wages and tax revenue. Projects like the Mariner East 1 and 2 pipelines created millions of man-hours for local trades. Panelists emphasized Marcus Hook’s ongoing growth potential and its central role in local and statewide energy development. 
In January, MDN brought you the great news that the six largest banks in the United States had canceled their memberships in the awful Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of woke banks under the umbrella of the equally terrible United Nations (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Utica Shale Academy exceeds expectations; Natural gas power plants powering WV’s future; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Virginia could pay $500 million per year in higher electricity costs if Spanberger wins gov race; NATIONAL: Natural gas futures face mild temperatures; Execs predict where natgas price will land in future; The Supreme Court should end climate lawfare once and for all; Beware how climate crusaders ‘partner’ with the media and ‘educate’ the courts; INTERNATIONAL: Oil rises as Trump warns Hamas; OPEC+ 8 decide to implement production adjustment; Saudi Arabia’s spending spree meets oil price reality. 
For the week of September 22 – 29, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased from the previous week. There were 27 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up three from 24 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 18 permits in four counties. Ohio issued nine permits, also in four counties. West Virginia got skunked last week, issuing zero new permits. 
Carrie Crumpton, Vice President of Environmental Strategy, presented on behalf of CNX Resources at the recent 2025 Shale Insight Conference. Carrie provided an overview and update on CNX’s 
Ohio State University (OSU) is constructing two natural gas combustion turbine generators and one steam turbine generator with a maximum power generating capacity of 105.5 megawatts of electricity and 285 kilopounds per hour of steam. It’s being built on 1.35 acres at OSU’s main campus in Franklin County (see 
DT Midstream, Inc. announced yesterday that it has closed a successful binding open season (signup period) to award expansion capacity on its Guardian Pipeline. DT awarded capacity to five shippers totaling 328 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day, equivalent to 328,000 dekatherms per day) with a targeted in-service date of November 1, 2028. Guardian is an approximately 260-mile interstate pipeline with a current capacity of approximately 1.3 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) serving key Wisconsin demand centers. And yes, Guardian flows at least some Marcellus/Utica molecules. 
Disappointingly, the Trump Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-0 to maintain a “consent order” that prevents private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners from owning stock in EQT and prohibits the CEO of Quantum from serving on EQT’s Board of Directors. This is all to do with EQT’s purchase of fellow driller Tug Hill in 2023. In September 2022, EQT announced a deal to buy privately owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets (90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d of production in West Virginia) for roughly $5.2 billion (see 
Gas-fired power plants in the Marcellus/Utica region (and beyond) continue to change hands at a rapid pace. In May, Vistra Corp. announced a deal to acquire seven natural gas-fired power plants, totaling approximately 2,600 MW of capacity, from Lotus Infrastructure Partners (see 
Although we’re seeing an increase in both natural gas demand and production, combining these factors with relatively normal winter weather, economic indicators and natural gas storage levels, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) is projecting “flat” pressure on natural gas prices compared to last winter, according to the NGSA’s annual Winter Outlook forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market (full copy below). The NGSA 2025-2026 Winter Outlook, a forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market, compared the upcoming winter to the winter of 2024-2025 when the average Henry Hub price of natural gas was $3.76 per MMBtu. “Winter” is defined as the period from November through March, the industry’s traditional winter heating season. 
In August, EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in several other countries) and a Fortune 500 company, closed on the $5.6 billion purchase of Encino Energy, adding 675,000 net acres in the Utica and over 1,000 operating shale wells (see 