Energy Sec. Wright’s 1st Order Cancels Net-Zero, Streamlines Permits
As we reported yesterday, Chris Wright, now-former CEO of Liberty Energy (big fracking company), was confirmed on Monday to be the new Secretary of Energy (see Full Senate Confirms Fracker Chris Wright as DOE Secretary 59-38). Yesterday was Wright’s first official day at the agency. Right out of the box, he signed his first Secretarial Order directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to unleash American Energy per President Trump’s executive orders. The order (below) outlines nine initial actions the DOE will take to “Unleash the Golden Era of American Energy Dominance.” Read More “Energy Sec. Wright’s 1st Order Cancels Net-Zero, Streamlines Permits”
Energy Sec. Chris Wright’s opening day directive (yesterday) to employees at the DOE got a fair bit of media attention (see today’s companion post). A day earlier, Lee Zeldin, the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, issued a similar directive to EPA employees. Zeldin announced the agency’s “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” to achieve the agency’s mission while energizing the greatness of the American economy. The plan includes five pillars that will guide the EPA’s work over the first 100 days and beyond. The mainstream media has been completely silent on Zeldin’s plan. No coverage that we could find. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Con Ed proposes massive rate hikes that could increase energy bills by $154/month; NATIONAL: USAID, using our money, funded the war against fossil energy using NGOs; Trump is looking for ways to cancel $400 billion in clean energy loans; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC+ Damocles sword hanging over shale oil producers; Large unexpected crude build sinks oil prices; OPEC drops U.S. EIA as a secondary source assessing oil production; LNG shipping rates plunge on increasing vessel availability; The real reason behind Trump’s Gaza decision: natural gas; Quebec willing to rethink natural gas pipeline project. 
We suppose we shouldn’t be shocked, but we are. Reuters is exclusively reporting that Canadian pension fund CPP Investments, the majority owner of Encino Acquisition Partners (aka Encino Energy), is considering either a sale of the company or possibly an initial public offering (IPO) that values the company at roughly $7 billion. Encino’s claim to fame is that after taking over Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio Utica assets in 2018, it cracked the code on how to coax crude oil (condensate) out of the low-pressure Utica shale (see 
Donald Trump threatened and was prepared to implement a 25% tariff on both Mexico and Canada, including a 10% tariff (tax) on incoming oil and natural gas (and other energy) from Canada (see 
According to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, U.S. natural gas output stands near an all-time high as a period of strong demand and improved prices enable a production resurgence. Output averaged 106 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) over the latest weekend. In the Marcellus/Utica, production over the last seven days has come in at nearly 36 Bcf/d, up about 1.7 Bcf/d, or 5%, compared with the prior week. Single-day volumes at 36.3 Bcf over each of the last several days mark highs not recorded since winter 2023-2024. 
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2025-26 Budget Address to the General Assembly and the people of Pennsylvania. He presented a bloated, whopping $51.47 billion budget for 2025-2026, a 7.5-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The budget proposed flops in many ways (like legalizing pot), but none more so than his doubling down on failed energy proposals, including support for a Marcellus-killing carbon tax. Dems never learn. 
The environmental left is panicked that it may be losing one of its bluest strongholds—the State of Maryland—with the introduction of a new bill by state Democrats (!) that would make it easier to build new natural gas-fired power plants. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, along with other Maryland Democrats, held a presser on Monday in the state capitol of Annapolis. Without revealing the actual language, the pair unveiled a new plan (bill) to reduce energy costs “while furthering the state’s clean energy ambitions” by building more “dispatchable” power. The enviro-left rightly assumes dispatchable means building gas-fired power plants. 
Arguably the most qualified person to ever become Secretary of the Department of Energy, Chris Wright (CEO of Liberty Energy, a fracking company) was confirmed on Monday by the full U.S. Senate (59-38 vote), replacing arguably the most unqualified person to ever hold the position, Jennifer Granholm. The comparison is striking. Chris Wright not only headed a major oil and gas company, but he also has experience with the nuclear energy space and advanced degrees in electrical AND mechanical engineering. Smart guy. Granholm, on the other hand, was a complete political hack picked by Biden to do the bidding of the radicalized left. She’s been a political hack her entire adult life, first as Attorney General and later as Governor of Michigan. She didn’t know (still doesn’t) a darned thing about energy, which is quite obvious. 
Prior to last week, the Baker Hughes national rig count had been in a freefall for weeks, dropping to a 3+ year low of 576 (see 
In December, Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO), the agency charged with providing revenue projections along with impartial and objective analysis of fiscal, economic, and budgetary issues for the citizens and legislature of Pennsylvania, provided its best guess as to how much revenue the PA impact fee (i.e., severance tax) will generate from shale wells drilled or flowing in 2024 (see 
A couple of encouraging signs for Infinity Natural Resources (INR) and its recent initial public offering (IPO). Two weeks ago, we told you that INR had pulled the trigger on its IPO and was offering new shares, targeting to receive somewhere between $18.00 and $21.00 per share (see