PA DEP Can’t Wait to Give Away $396M of “Restored” $2.1B from Feds
As we reported two days ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, acting like a junkie cut off from his drugs, finally got the Trump administration to restart the flow of drugs (i.e., money) that had been paused to give Elon Musk’s DOGErs a chance to ensure the payments are legit (see PA Gov. Claims Victory in Un-Pausing $2B in Energy-Related Pymts). Much of the money was earmarked for environmental programs. No sooner had the spigots reopened than Shapiro and his Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began advertising that they have $396 million burning a hole in their pockets. Read More “PA DEP Can’t Wait to Give Away $396M of “Restored” $2.1B from Feds”
We explored an important issue last September—the ballooning cost of plugging orphaned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Air Products cancels green hydrogen plant planned for New York; NATIONAL: Chevron makes leadership changes in simplification push; Are we ever likely to see an AI CEO at an oil and gas company?; White House says Trump meant EPA will cut 65 percent of spending, not staff; INTERNATIONAL: BP refocuses on oil amid Elliott pressure, but cuts buybacks. 
Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 update yesterday. The headline news (for us) is that the company announced it will restart its Marcellus drilling program in Susquehanna County, PA, “in the coming months” of early 2Q25. Whew! That puts a big, fat smile on our face. Also of note: Coterra exited 2024 with a three-year production high in the Marcellus, although that statement is not backed up with the raw data. Coterra produced 2,042.8 MMcf/d (2.04 Bcf/d) in 4Q24, versus producing 2,304.9 MMcf/d (2.30 Bcf/d) in 4Q23—11% less than the year ago period. In the bowels of the report, we learned that the company had stopped curtailing production in December. So, must be the “production high” was the rate flowing in December. 
The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee held a budget hearing yesterday in Harrisburg. The Department of Environmental Protection’s Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley was on the hot seat. Although many topics were discussed, Senators were most interested in speeding permit reviews, Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Energy Plan, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax Shapiro insists on inflicting on the state. A key topic that caught our attention was a call for Shirley to fire “intractable” DEP employees. The discussion echoed DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk). 
U.S. power generators plan to retire about 8.1 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power generation capacity this year, roughly double the amount that was retired in 2024, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday. In addition, power generators plan to retire 2.6 GW of U.S. natural gas capacity, representing 0.5% of the natural gas fleet in operation at the end of 2024. The natural gas plants are older (less efficient) simple-cycle plants. 
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), corrupted by the Bidenistas, voted 3-2 (three Democrats vs. two Republicans) in March 2024 to issue a final regulation that will force all publicly traded companies to disclose their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the imaginary climate risks their businesses face (see 
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro can rest easy now that he’s got his “fix” of $2.1 billion in federal taxpayer money promised to him by the Bidenistas before they left town. As you may recall, the Trump administration put an immediate pause on some federal funds after Elon Musk’s DOGE kids discovered massive fraud in government programs. The pause sent Shapiro into a tailspin like a junkie cut off from his drug supplier, so he sued to restore his money fix (see 
We’re always suckers for a good railroad story. We spotted an article in Railway Age magazine announcing the publication’s 2025 Short Line and Regional Railroads of the Year. Among the list of honorable mentions was the Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road Company (CUOH), owned by Genesee & Wyoming. CUOH operates in Ohio, with its main line stretching from Columbus to Mingo Junction near Steubenville on the Ohio River. Spanning 277 miles of track, it connects central and eastern Ohio, serving various industries, including the Utica Shale industry. 
Here’s a factoid that had escaped our notice until now: The NYMEX “front month” contract price for natural gas today is ~150% higher than it was one year ago. Yesterday, February 24, 2025, the NYMEX natural gas front-month contract (March 2025) settled at $3.994 per MMBtu. The same price a year ago was $1.602 per MMBtu (Feb. 23, 2024)—technically 142% higher over the past year. Any way you slice it, gas prices are up, and according to an analysis by Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com, the price is likely to stay higher. 
The great folks at Steel Nation, headquartered in Canonsburg, PA, have built over 2,200 compressor stations and other structures for the oil and gas industry in the Marcellus/Utica (and beyond) over the past 17 years. Last November, Steel Nation announced it had launched a new division to build electric microgrids for companies looking to create their on-site power plants to ensure their operations run efficiently 24/7/365 (see 