Warning: Rogue EPA to Illegally Ramrod Regs in Final Obama Days
Barack Obama and his policies were defeated on Nov. 8. Hillary Clinton ran on a platform of continuing Obama’s policies, an Obama third term, if you will. She, and Obama, lost. The American public doesn’t want more of what Obama and his minions have to offer. And yet, Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, apparently didn’t get the memo. McCarthy has promised to double down and ram as many Obama anti-growth, anti-energy policies through as she can before she is booted out of her EPA office. That is, she continues to thwart the will of the American public. In our opinion, illegally…
Read More “Warning: Rogue EPA to Illegally Ramrod Regs in Final Obama Days”
Nuverra Environmental Solutions is one of the largest companies in the United States that handles transportation and disposal of shale drilling wastewater and leftover rock and dirt from drilling. The company has major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. In January the company, going through tough economic times, was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange (see 
Events related to drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, primarily pro-drilling.
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Utica & Marcellus shale permit trends; veterans thrive at Range Resources; spotlight turned on NY AG Schneiderman; oil by railroad seeing big decreases; Dakota Access Pipeline now 84% built, ready early next year; M&A analysis for o&g; former Obama DOE Secretary loves fracking; 5 dangerous government agencies getting chopped by Trump; and more!
It was tough deciding on a headline for this post about Sunoco Logistics Partners third quarter 2016 update. In the end we opted to highlight the news that Mariner East 2–a $2.5 billion, 350-mile natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will run from eastern Ohio through the state of Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia, carting ethane, butane and propane to the facility from both the Utica and Marcellus region–will be delayed nine months from the original plan due to permit delays. Which is frustrating and disappointing. However, other important news was shared during yesterday’s update. On the earnings call Sunoco LP’s top brass said even though the prices Marcellus and Utica drillers get for their NGLs (natural gas liquids) is lower in the northeast than if they can cart it to the Gulf Coast, when you factor in transportation costs to get product to the Gulf, drillers end up making MORE money by selling their NGLs in the northeast via Sunoco’s Marcus Hook facility–$0.10 to $0.20 per barrel more. At least, that’s the claim made by Sunoco LP’s CEO Michael Hennigan…
In March of this year MDN reported that Ascent Resources–formerly Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners’ Utica Shale company–floated 2.2 billion common units (think shares of stock) to raise $500 million (see 
As MDN previously reported, the dupes in Waterville, OH voted to pass a resolution on Tuesday that would block the construction of the NEXUS Pipeline, planned to go through city property (see 
You know how Democrats in Pennsylvania vilified and viciously attacked pro-energy Republicans over the past two years, especially with regard to a severance tax. PA Gov. Tom Wolf has been one of the worst. The media in PA has stood behind Wolf and his calls to enact a Marcellus-killing, so-called severance tax, on top of the existing impact fee + corporate income tax which amounts to a rate higher than a severance tax in states like Texas. We were told, repeatedly, that Republicans blocking Wolf’s desire for a new tax (to pay back teachers’ unions) would be political death for the Republicans. The Republicans, most of whom have held firm and resisted such severance tax lunacy, have been called every name in the book and told “at the next election, you’re gone.” Guess what? After Tuesday’s elections, Republicans in PA now hold the LARGEST MAJORITIES in both the House and Senate than they have held IN DECADES! The voters in PA have spoken, and anti-fossil fuel numskulls have been drummed out of power. And not just in PA…
Weatherford International, the fourth largest oilfield services company in the world employing some 31,000 people (down from 44,000 a year ago) and with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region, is a company in trouble as we pointed out earlier this week (see 
What’s wrong with this AP story from yesterday: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it’s trying to defuse tensions between Dakota Access pipeline protesters and law enforcement in southern North Dakota, but the pipeline’s developer isn’t cooperating. The agency released a statement late Wednesday imploring Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to voluntarily stop work in the area where protests against the $3.8 billion pipeline have resulted in more than 400 arrests. The Corps made a similar plea last week, but was also rebuffed.” What’s wrong? It shows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is no longer a group of engineers. It has been corrupted by the Obama Administration into a political agency. IT’S NOT THE JOB OF ENGINEERS TO WORRY ABOUT OR PLACATE PAID CRIMINALS “PROTESTING” THE DAKOTA PIPELINE! It is the job of law enforcement to deal with the out-of-control, paid criminals who have gathered in North Dakota. We call on Congress to immediately convene hearings into what in the world is going on inside the USACE–and to force them to shut up when it comes to criminal protesters and stick to engineering. We are VERY concerned that the USACE has compromised their role to the point that they should be removed from any kind of regulatory oversight of the Dakota Access project. To their credit, Energy Transfer Partners (building the pipeline) is not backing down and continues to build the pipeline, even in the face of the Obama politicized USACE…
“Please pass the salt for my methane cheeseburger!” This story is one of those stories that makes us literally laugh out loud. It’s the kind of story we love to share–to push in the face of fossil fuel haters. (Sent to us by our faithful story-sniffing assistant, Chris Acker. Thanks Chris!) A California-based company, Calysta, has pioneered a way to convert methane (i.e. natural gas) into “high protein” food–for animals. Calysta is partnering with food-giant Cargill to build a big plant to manufacture this “gassy” food that will be fed to animals–animals that humans eat, like pigs. Calysta also wants to (one day) manufacture food from methane that humans will eat! The technology is already there and done. It’s just a matter of getting approvals and winning the public over to the idea that they’re eating food that started life as a dinosaur…
In August MDN reported that oilfield services company Seventy Seven Energy (SSE), the former Chesapeake Oilfield Operating company, had popped out of bankruptcy in record time–just two months after declaring bankruptcy (see 
Back in April the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told PennEast they would extend the amount of time they are taking until December of this year, rather than this past August, to complete their Environmental Review (see 