Cornell University Rejects Fossil Fuel Divestment Scam
Cornell University is home to some real loons–like Tony Ingraffea and Robert Howarth, who try to claim using natural gas is worse for the environment than burning coal (see New Cornell University Study Says Shale Gas Extraction Worse for Global Warming Than Coal). Their research has been debunked numerous times (see Howarth, Ingraffea Shale Gas Study on Global Warming Discredited by U.S. Department of Energy). But then there are some real scientists and professors at Cornell, like Lawrence M. Cathles, Larry Brown, and Andrew Hunter (see New Cornell Study Says Coal is Not Cleaner than Natural Gas). Over the years we’ve despaired that Cornell would ever pull its collective head out of its…asphalt. But then none other than the Cornell Board of Trustees does us proud. There has been a great deal of pressure from spoiled, rich, white kids to force the universities they attend to divest from fossil fuels. This is true for Cornell as well. The Cornell Board of Trustees has just voted NOT to divest their considerable endowment funds from companies that produce fossil fuels. Kudos to Cornell!…
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Yesterday Range Resources, the fourth largest driller in the Marcellus, announced the company is laying off 55 people companywide, with 31 of those positions located in Washington County, PA. Another 20 positions will be eliminated in Range’s home office located in Fort Worth, TX. Two of the jobs disappearing will be in Williamsport, PA, and the final two in Oklahoma. Range CEO Ray Walker used the same identical language he’s used twice before (lazy PR department?) in saying, “Low commodity prices have created a harsh reality that everyone in our industry is facing.” Indeed. The oil and gas industry is facing the toughest market it’s had in 30 years…
Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the premier drillers in the Marcellus Shale (operates totally within Susquehanna County, PA) released their fourth quarter and full year 2015 operational update this morning. The highlights: Cabot ended up spending $774 million on capital expenditures (mostly drilling) in 2015, down a bit from the previous estimate of $850 million. It’s down because they scaled back activity during 4Q15. They also had to write down the value for some of their non-core holdings by $73 million–what’s called an impairment charge. Looking ahead, Cabot plans to spend $615 million on capital expenditures (i.e. drilling) in 2016, which is down 58% from 2015. They will drill approximately 30 new wells, 25 of them in the Marcellus and 5 in the Texas Eagle Ford Shale. Here’s the update…