Research Says Converting Marcellus Gas into Methanol is Profitable
The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center (SGICC) funded a research study that looks at the potential to convert natural gas to methanol on a small to medium size plant scale. The study, titled “Natural Gas Utilization via Small-Scale Methanol Technologies” (copy below) concludes that yes indeed, such a use for potentially significant quantities of natural gas is feasible. Methanol is the simplest alcohol and is a light, volatile, colorless, and flammable liquid with a distinctive odor. Methanol is produced mainly using a two-step catalytic chemical process. It is an important chemical with a wide range of applications and end-uses. The SGICC’s research shows that methanol is priced similar to oil (i.e. much more profitable than regular natgas) and building plants in remote areas without pipeline infrastructure is relatively fast and effective. What’s not to like?…
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Canary LLC is the largest privately owned (no publicly traded stock) oilfield services company in the U.S. Canary competes with the likes of Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes. We wrote about Canary in January 2014, pointing out the company has operations in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale (see 
Yesterday Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s pick to head the all-important Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Quigley, faced a confirmation hearing in the PA Senate. Quigley sparred with Republican Senators who challenged him over his two-year stint at the anti-drilling organization PennFuture. He also assured the Senators that if Gov. Wolf’s insidious severance tax is passed, the “industry’s not going anywhere” he said. In other words, we have them by the short hairs and they have no other options. Au contraire, Mr. Quigley. Au contraire. We’ve made no bones about our disdain for Quigley. He shouldn’t be the next Secretary of the DEP. But we’re under no illusion. He’ll likely get approved. What was interesting, however, is that at the conclusion of the hearing, the Senators on the panel voted to refer Quigley’s appointment to the full Senate–without recommendation. That’s extremely rare. It was a vote of no confidence by the senators, as in “here, we’ll let ya’ll vote on him any which way you want to, we wash our hands of it.” It will be interesting to see how many vote against his confirmation. It’s good to know we’re not a lone voice crying in the wilderness. There is someone else–a very important someone else–who also doesn’t think Quigley should be confirmed. That important someone else is John Peterson, former U.S. Congressman and Executive Director of the Allegheny Forest Alliance…
Which counties in Ohio produced the most shale gas in the first quarter of 2015? Can you guess? We have the top 6 (of 17) listed below…
Who knew that Martians are Democrats? Well, to be honest, we had guessed as much. A small group of Mars School parents who object to fossil fuels have formed a group to oppose Rex Energy’s plan to drill five wells on a pad about 3/4 of a mile from the Mars School in Middlesex Township (Butler County), PA. We’ve chronicled the fight over the past year or so (
The head of Pennsylvania’s so-called Independent Fiscal Office (a partisan organization) testified before a joint hearing of the state Senate’s energy and finance committees yesterday and said (fantastically) non-Pennsylvanians will “eventually” pick up most of the tab for a nosebleed high severance tax proposed by PA Gov. Tom Wolf (Democrat). Matthew Knittel, head of the Independent Fiscal Office, also testified under oath that Wolf’s severance tax will have an initial effective rate of 17.3% in 2016–instantly skyrocketing to become the nation’s highest severance tax…