PA IFO Predicts 2025 Impact Tax Revenue Increasing $70M from 2024
The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) is out with an initial estimate for how much money will be raised and distributed from the 2025 impact fee assessment. The IFO projects that impact fee revenue will increase by $70 million in 2025 compared to the revenue collected in 2024. IFO predicts revenues will hit around $235 million. The impact fee is PA’s version of a severance tax. The impact fee generated $164.6 million in 2024 and $179.6 million in 2023. Read More “PA IFO Predicts 2025 Impact Tax Revenue Increasing $70M from 2024”
A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT (Penn-Trafford), located in Westmoreland County, PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, has for years challenged Penn Township ordinances that allow Apex Energy (now CNX Resources) to drill and operate shale wells. Protect PT finally struck out (legally) at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in May 2020 (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development. 
The United States continued to produce more energy than it consumed in 2024. This surplus energy production helped energy exports grow to a record high 30.9 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2024, up 4% from 2023. Energy imports remained flat at 21.7 quads in 2024, indicating that the United States exported 9.3 quads more energy than it imported, the highest net exports in the records of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which date back to 1949. Thanks to the miracle of shale energy! 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PJM issues alert requiring all electric generators to operate at maximum output; Manchin said ‘we cannot get back into another war’; NATIONAL: Climate lawsuits are weakening America and strengthening China; Interior releases major update on oil and gas potential beneath U.S. public lands; INTERNATIONAL: World braces for Iran response to US strikes; Iran’s parliament backs blocking Strait of Hormuz; U.S. radical groups urge EU commissioners to reject Trump’s pressure to purchase LNG; Middle Eastern oil giants go on LNG buying spree. 
It’s not often this happens. Last week, for the week of Jun 9 – 15, only Pennsylvania issued new permits to drill shale wells. Neither Ohio nor West Virginia issued any new shale permits. Bummer. PA issued 18 new permits last week. Eight of the permits went to Pennsylvania General Energy for a single pad in Lycoming County. Another six permits went to Range Resources for a single pad, also in Lycoming County. Ergo, 14 of the 18 permits were issued in Lycoming County. 
Last week, MDN told you that EQT’s vice president of midstream, Robert Wingo, was moving on to another job (see 
Recent actions taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) appear to be quite significant, yet it has not received any media attention. On June 18, FERC took several actions to remove regulatory obstacles and therefore speed up the construction of needed natural gas infrastructure projects in the United States. FERC issued a blanket waiver (valid for the next two years) of its Order No. 871, which has allowed Big Green to block the construction of pipeline projects while rehearing requests are being handled. The result has been to delay projects by years while Big Green ties up such projects with endless appeals. Waiving Order No. 871 frees up FERC personnel to go ahead and issue orders to allow projects to begin construction. 
Commonwealth LNG received major news this week from two different government agencies. The first bit of news was a final authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to proceed with building the $11 billion project in Cameron, Louisiana. The second bit of news was a final authorization to export to countries without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, granted by the Department of Energy (DOE). Commonwealth still plans to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project in the third quarter of this year. 
Energy Transfer (ET) is a major energy infrastructure company based in Dallas, Texas, owning and operating one of the largest and most diversified portfolios of energy assets in the United States. It is a publicly traded master limited partnership with a vast network of pipelines and associated infrastructure, transporting a variety of energy products (natural gas, NGLs, oil, refined products) across the country. In our region, ET built and operates the Rover Pipeline, Mariner East, Revolution, and various refined products (gasoline, oil) pipelines. Big company. Important company. However, it wasn’t always this large and significant. How did it get that way? 
Every now and again, the left will deal honestly with energy issues. It’s rare, but it happens. Recently, a journalist for Canary Media made the following stark admission in an article: “Even before Trump and fellow Republicans began pulling the financial rug out from under the industry, green hydrogen megaprojects were collapsing.” He goes on to list the evidence for “green” hydrogen’s collapse—prior to Trump and the Republicans coming into power in January. 
Today, June 19th, is a stock exchange and bank holiday. Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the U.S. commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas. Originating in Galveston, the holiday has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States, often marking a broad celebration of African-American culture. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in June 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. As with other bank holidays, and as we have been doing since 2022 (our fourth year), MDN will not publish today to honor and commemorate the Juneteenth holiday.
In yesterday’s MDN post about the spike in the NYMEX futures price for natural gas, MDN told you that traders were targeting the next significant trading target to be $3.84/MMBtu (see