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    Towns Near Philly Collude with CAC to Block Mariner East 2 Pipe?

    Several townships in the Philadelphia orbit appear to be colluding with each other and with the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council in passing nearly identical resolutions opposing the Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline. Eight townships or boroughs along or “close to” (meaning not along) the route in Delaware and Chester counties have published resolutions or proclamations badmouthing the project. The municipalities include: Edgmont, West Goshen, Thornbury, Middletown, Westtown, Rose Valley, Swarthmore and Media. Some of the self-incriminating evidence for collusion comes from an admission by one of them: “The community statements are similar to each other because of consultation between their leaders.” And this, from the odious Clean Air Council: “Alex Bomstein, a lawyer with the environmental group Clean Air Council, said that while there are other local campaign such as those in Lebanon and Huntingdon Counties, the efforts in Delaware and Chester Counties are more ‘developed’ in the Philadelphia suburbs. ‘There are more people organizing than elsewhere,’ he said, probably because of a greater population density closer to Philadelphia.” Why would the StateImpact Pennsylvania propagandist quote the CAC in the same article as the colluding towns, unless they were somehow tied together?…
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    Nature Nuts Object to Appalachian Pipes Because of Visual Pollution

    La La Land

    Here’s a new one you probably haven’t heard before. Self-righteous and self-appointed people who claim to protect the Appalachian National Scenic Trail object to much-needed pipeline projects like EQT’s Mountain Valley Pipeline–a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA–because of “viewshed impairment,” or what the hoi polloi would call visual pollution. Yes, there’s a spot along the trail where if you look in a certain direction you will (if the pipeline gets built) see a path where the trees are cleared for the pipeline, and that just won’t do. It will rob the viewer of the pristine beauty they are used to seeing along that particular section of the trail. Of course, the fact that fires regularly destroy sections of the forest and destroy far more of the beauty along the trail is of no consequence. And the fact that entire cities are visible from the trail means nothing. It is that razor thin, narrow section where the pipeline will go that’s offensive to nature nuts…
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    Exterran Completes “Financial Restatement” – Releases Financials for 1Q-3Q

    Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Exterran Corporation (with 5,400 employees) specializes in natural gas compression production equipment and processing facilities. They design, build and operate compressor stations and natural gas processing plants. In 2012 MDN reported on a contract Exterran won to build three natural gas processing plants in West Virginia (see Exterran Wins Contract to Build 3 WV NatGas Processing Plants). The company is also active in other Marcellus/Utica states, including Ohio. In 2013 the company opened a plant to build compressor stations in an industrial park near Youngstown, OH. The state gave the company a $300,000 grant in return for promises to create 103 jobs over a seven year period. Exterran came close for the first couple of years, but then the crash in prices hit and along with it, work dried up. The plant closed in March, and as we recently reported, Ohio now wants “all or part of” the $300,000 grant back (see Ohio Wants to “Clawback” $300K Grant to TX-based Exterran Energy). The company, which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, has just issued what is called a “financial restatement”–which means they get to revise their previous quarterly financial statements. The do-over shows less bleeding in 3Q16 than earlier in the year. Exterran lost $93 million in 1Q16, they lost $96 million in 2Q16, and just $13 million in 3Q16. Here is the financial restatement issued by Exterran last week…
    Read More “Exterran Completes “Financial Restatement” – Releases Financials for 1Q-3Q”

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    Radical Democrat PA House Member Tossed to Curb by his Own Party

    Rep Greg Vitali

    Sometimes crazy, wacko environmentalist Democrats in the Pennsylvania legislature are so far left, so crazy, so wacko, it’s even too much for the PA Democrat party. Such is the case with “outspoken” (we’d say loud-mouthed) Rep. Greg Vitali, from the Philadelphia area. We’ve written a number of articles prominently mentioning Rep. Vitali, who wants PA residents to use less natural gas (see PA Rep. Vitali Wants to Force Residents to Use LESS Natgas). However, the wacko Vitali has burned bridges in Harrisburg. He has aggressively crossed swords with PA’s Dem Governor, Tom Wolf, after Wolf understandably fired John Quigley as Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection when Quigley was caught using a private email account to collude with his buddies in the Big Green movement (see Smoking Gun: Copy of the Email that Got John Quigley Fired). Vitali savaged Wolf for not supporting Quigley (see PA Dems Eating Their Own – Turn on Gov. Wolf over Quigley Firing). Since last June, Vitali has continued his infighting and it’s now caught up with him. He arrived in his office in Harrisburg one day to find a computer, and the person who operates it, being reassigned to the the new chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy committee–a committee Vitali used to chair. It was the first he’d heard of being tossed to the curb…
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    Court Denies PA Senators Right to Join Lawsuit Against DRBC

    Last May MDN told you about a group of brave landowners in Wayne County, PA who have had their property rights stolen by the Delaware River Basin Commission (see Wayne County, PA Landowner Sues DRBC Over Fracking Ban). They filed a lawsuit against the DRBC asking a judge to declare the DRBC does not have jurisdiction to prevent construction of a natural gas well. Several northeastern PA counties (unfortunately) are located in the Delaware River Basin and the DRBC has steadfastly refused to allow them to drill any shale wells, citing concerns that the Delaware River supplies fresh water to millions downstream–even though they can’t explain how that water might get contaminated. A few months later, the DRBC’s best friend and patron, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, sued to join the lawsuit to help defend the inept DRBC (see Delaware Riverkeeper “Intervenes” to Protect its Patsy – the DRBC). In November, three PA senators filed to join the lawsuit on behalf of the landowners that they represent (see PA Senators File to Join Case Against DRBC Fracking Moratorium). Predictably, THE Delaware Riverkeeper sought to prevent the senators from joining the lawsuit. You see, it’s OK for Riverkeeper to participate as an outsider, but not OK for the Senators to participate to ensure the people they represent get represented in the lawsuit. That’s how it works in the world of enviro radicalism. Unfortunately, the court where the case is being heard sided with the radicals and has ruled the Senators have no right to represent the people they were elected to represent when it comes to a court case…
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  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jan 9, 2017

    The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Rice Energy one of top gas picks for 2017; OH anti group quietly disbands after funding studies that prove fracking is safe; rig count shows PA drilling back on the upswing; DOE cuts off funds for NJ off-shore wind farm; natgas storage would not benefit Maine consumers, says study; US natgas production will increase in 2017; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jan 9, 2017”

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    Close-up on Petrogas Co: A New Player in the Ohio Utica?

    A couple of weeks ago four companies won bids on 17 parcels totaling 719 acres of federal land (for Utica Shale drilling) in the Ohio Wayne National Forest (see OH Wayne National Forest – List of Auction Winners). We recognized three of the winners: Eclipse Resources, Flat Rock Development, and Gulfport Energy. But we didn’t recognize the fourth as a Utica driller: Petrogas Company. Then we spotted a couple of press releases from Petrogas touting their first “successfully purchased two oil and gas leases in the Eastern States” with the added statement they are “looking forward to exploring the potential in this area.” Petrogas says in its press release that it is an exploration and production company (E&P, or what we call a driller) “focused on the acquisition of properties in areas with significant oil reserves and drilling potential.” So we began to dig. First, the land Petrogas leased in WNF amounts to a grand total of 3.7 acres, for which they paid the princely sum of $2,705.50. No, they won’t be drilling on 3.7 acres any time soon. Then we further dug and discovered that Petrogas is a Chinese-backed company with an office in Houston, TX, that started life as an entertainment company and is operated by what appears to be one guy. A guy who apparently knows how to publish press releases that sound big and and important…
    Read More “Close-up on Petrogas Co: A New Player in the Ohio Utica?”

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    REX Pipe Completes Expansion Today, 2.6 Bcf/d Flowing East-to-West

    The Rockies Express Pipeline (REX), originally built from Colorado and Wyoming to Monroe County, OH to bring natural gas from west to east, last year reversed the flow for a large and important section of the pipeline. On August 1, 2015 the section of REX from Monroe County, OH to Mexico, MO reversed the flow and began to carry 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica and Marcellus Shale gas to the Midwest, including to the greater Chicago area. REX has been hard at work on plans to expand capacity even more by beefing up compressor stations along portions of the pipeline. REX filed a plan with FERC to add another 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of capacity along the same portion of the reversed pipeline–for a grand total of 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). In mid-December, the first 200 MMcf/d of capacity came online (see Reversed REX Pipeline Goes from 1.8 Bcf to 2.0 Bcf). A week later another 250 MMcf/d was brought online (see REX Pipeline Adds Yet More Capacity, Now Flowing Extra 450 MMcf/d). Beginning today, the final 350 MMcf/d is coming online. REX is now flowing 2.6 Bcf/d of Utica/Marcellus gas to Chicagoland and beyond…
    Read More “REX Pipe Completes Expansion Today, 2.6 Bcf/d Flowing East-to-West”

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    Residents Pack County Bd Mtg re Atlantic Coast Compressor Stn

    As MDN reported earlier this week, on the last business day of 2016 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a favorable draft (not final, but draft) environmental impact statement (EIS) for the $5 billion, 594-mile Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (see FERC Gives Atlantic Coast Pipeline Thumbs Up, Antis Pitch a Fit). Atlantic Coast is a natural gas pipeline being built by Dominion that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. As part of the project, the pipeline will need several large compressor stations–one of them in Buckingham County, VA. Area residents packed a small meeting room last night to express their concerns over the compressor station. We have a few thoughts about that meeting and what was said…
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    NG Advantage’s “Virtual” NatGas Pipeline to Maine Begins Flowing

    In Oct. 2015 MDN reported a story about International Paper’s Ticonderoga mill in northern New York, near the Vermont border (see NY Paper Plant Opts for “Virtual” NatGas Pipeline Over Real One). The plant had converted to using natural gas–yet there are no natgas pipelines to be found in the region. International Paper planned to build a pipeline from Vermont to feed the plant as a permanent solution. In the meantime, it was using a “virtual pipeline” of a constant stream of trucks delivering compressed natural gas (CNG) from NG Advantage (subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels Corp.), trucking CNG to the plant 24/7. International liked the CNG trucking operation so much, and disliked the regulatory hassles of building a pipeline so much, they decided to keep the virtual pipeline over a real one as a permanent solution. Cool story. NG Advantage, the hero in this story, continues to expand. Last November they picked up a new CEO, and at the tail end of last year, the company expanded beyond Vermont, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and began delivering CNG via their virtual pipeline trucks to customers in the state of Maine…
    Read More “NG Advantage’s “Virtual” NatGas Pipeline to Maine Begins Flowing”

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    Beck Energy Seeks to Lease Middle School Property in Munroe Falls

    Over the past four years MDN has monitored and reported on conventional driller Beck Energy and their ongoing difficulties with attempting to drill in Munroe Falls (Summit County), OH. You can see our list of stories stretching back to February 2013 here. In a nutshell, Munroe Falls has attempted to use “home rule” (i.e. their own oil and gas regulations) to stop Beck cold from doing any drilling within the municipality. When doctored zoning regs didn’t work, Munroe Falls embarked on a course of filing frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit. The latest one failed (see Summit County Judge Blocks Munroe Falls’ Attempt to Stop Drilling). So imagine our delight, and the recalcitrant Munroe Falls leaders’ horror, to learn that Beck Energy now wants to drill a new conventional well–and they need a few acres from the neighboring Kimpton Middle School to do it!…
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    Law Firm Norton Rose Fulbright Closing Pittsburgh Marcellus Office

    A couple of times we’ve highlighted the great work done by the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm, most recently just last month (see Updated List of Proposed Laws in PA-OH-WV Affecting Marcellus/Utica). Researchers at the law firm issue a quarterly legislative action update looking at bills and laws previously voted on, and new bills/laws introduced, affecting the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Very impressive. So we were distressed to learn that Norton Rose Fulbright is closing its Marcellus/Utica office in Pittsburgh, with plans to cover the region from its other offices. It is a big firm, with more than 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. They opened their Pittsburgh office in 2011 with a eye on grabbing business from the PA Marcellus. We can only conclude that didn’t work out so well…
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    Enviro Radicals at NRDC Declare War Against Trump Administration

    Spitting and spouting about so-called renewables and nasty, evil, vile fossil fuels, the head of the extremist Natural Resources Defense Council is trash-talking the incoming Trump Administration even before it takes up residence in Washington. Typical. According to Rhea Suh, a Donald Trump presidency equals the end of a liveable earth. We invite Ms. Suh to relocated to Mars, or perhaps one of the moons of Jupiter. Here’s some of the insane ramblings from the NRDC earlier this week in declaring war on the Trump Administration…
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    EIA Annual Energy Outlook: US is Net Energy Exporter Within 10 Yrs

    The United States is already on the cusp of energy independence, thanks to the shale revolution. What does that mean? It means when you consider how much energy we produce and export, and how much we consume and import, at the end of the day, we are producing as much energy as we consume. But it gets complicated. We still import a lot of oil from the Middle East and elsewhere. We import (and export) oil via pipelines to Canada. We also still import natural gas. But at some point the U.S. will export more than it imports. That is, we won’t only produce as much as we consume, we’ll produce extra energy–and sell it abroad to other countries. We will become a “net exporter.” When will that happen? According our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), it will happen in the next 10 years–or less. The EIA has just released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2017” (full copy below). In the report the number crunchers at EIA look at multiple scenarios and conclude that under most scenarios we are a net exporter by 2026, and in some of those scenarios, it happens even sooner. That would be the first time since 1953 that our country has exported more energy than it uses. Not surprisingly, LNG (liquefied natural gas) plays a critical role in our country becoming a net exporter. Here’s what the EIA said in releasing the 2017 annual report…
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    API Annual Report: Production Up, Environment Cleaner, Thx to Gas

    The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) president and CEO, Jack Gerard, delivered the keynote address at API’s Seventh Annual State of American Energy event in Washington, DC on Wednesday. At the same event the API released the “State of American Energy 2017” report (full copy below) highlighting the energy issues that will shape America’s economic and political news this year. Gerard says we have now fully debunked the insane ramblings of the environmental left in this country, proving that we can grow our energy use and our energy production, while at the same time creating a cleaner environment. According to the EIA, in the first six months of 2016, carbon emissions from electricity generation were at their lowest point in 25 years even as electricity demand rose–thanks to greater use of natural gas. Below are highlights of Gerard’s speech along with a copy of the newly released report…
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