Environmental Radicals: The Gangsters Among Us
Dr. Jack Rafuse is a former White House energy adviser and current principal of the Rafuse Organization. He advises government agencies, policy centers, businesses and associations on energy, trade, sanctions, national security issues and their interrelationships. Yeah, he’s a really smart guy who knows a LOT about energy. He’s forgotten more about energy that we’ll ever know! In a recent column published in Ohio Gas & Oil Magazine Rafuse doesn’t beat around the bush. He calls the organized protests we’ve been seeing from radical Big Green groups like 350.org exactly what it is: “Gangsterism paid for by billionaires.” Rafuse points out the silly, empty-headed protesters are nothing more than useful idiots for big money bullies behind them–out for a thrill, paid for by someone else. Thing is, there are very real and tragic consequences to their actions that affect all of us…
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Five more wackos were recently arrested in Vermont, chaining themselves to a short pipeline being built to deliver more clean-burning natural gas. The so-called “protesters” (whom we will now refer to as enviro gangsters, see today’s companion story) endangered themselves, pipeline workers and emergency personnel who had to extricate them. Keep a sharp eye out. When these kind of nutters wake up and understand their tactics aren’t working, they sometimes tip over into eco-terrorism. We’ve seen it before…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Marcellus/Utica pipeline overbuild; the economics of a new gas pipeline in the NE; secret is out, NY AG began RICO investigation BEFORE InsideClimate story; Ohio Valley lures manufacturers with low natgas prices; DTE retiring 8 coal plants in Michigan by 2023; federal pipeline rules to complex; how pigging works; and more!
In May MDN told you that Seventy Seven Energy (SSE), the old Chesapeake Oilfield Operating unit that was spun into its own company a few years ago, was planning to screw shareholders by devaluing their shares to worthless status and converting the company’s considerable outstanding debts into new shares of ownership (see 
Baker Hughes released their monthly rig count, for May, yesterday. While the worldwide rig count went up by 9, it continued to crash here at home in the U.S. May’s rig count in the U.S. was down another 7% (in one month), from April’s count. Sadly the trend was the same in the northeast. While PA’s count averaged the same month over month–16 active rigs–both OH and WV slid, with 10 rigs operating in each state. Overall the Marcellus/Utica rig count was down by 3 in the past month…
Last week three former CEOs of the Williams Companies sent a letter to Williams shareholders outlining their reasons for voting against the proposed merger with Energy Transfer Equity (copy of the letter embedded below). The CEOs urge all shareholders to “strongly consider” voting against the deal. The CEOs say the deal would give Williams shareholders a permanent second class status. The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma–where Williams is headquartered–is also voicing his opposition to the proposed merger. Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. said in his own letter that the merger has no “economic merit” and would be “tragic” for both the city shareholders. MDN told you yesterday we’re dubious the deal will actually happen, based on all of the legal posturing we see (see 
An update on the notorious case of illegal frack wastewater dumping near Youngstown, OH that happened in 2012 and 2013. Ben Lupo, previous owner of D&L Energy and its associated company Hardrock Excavating, directed employees to dump frack wastwater hauled by Hardrock into a drain that emptied into a stream that emptied into the Mahoning River near Youngstown, OH (see 
It was just two days ago MDN told you about a Pennsylvania-based electric power generating company–Talen Energy–getting bought out by an investment company (see 
This is the biggest of big news. We’ve been waiting for this day a LONG time. Earlier today Shell held a “Capital Markets Day” (in the Netherlands) and provided an extensive update on “reshaping” the company–for 2020 and beyond. As part of the update, hidden part of the way through their press release, we get this statement from Shell: “In Chemicals, the company already has brownfield growth projects underway on the US Gulf Coast and in China. 