Williams CEO Says FERC Should Have Total Control Over Pipe Permits
Wow! Trump winning the election has clearly emboldened some CEOs in the oil and gas sector. Anti-fossil fuel zealots long ago figured out if they could stop new pipelines from getting built, they could block the growth of new shale drilling. The antis have been devastatingly effective in places like the northeast U.S. in places like New York, New England, and even in the three active Marcellus/Utica states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The problem, in a nutshell, is that states have a role in approving permits for new interstate pipelines under the Clean Water Act. One CEO wants to see that changed. Read More “Williams CEO Says FERC Should Have Total Control Over Pipe Permits”
The U.S. Supreme Court is gearing up to hear arguments for and against a proposed railway that would connect Utah’s oil-rich Uinta Basin to Colorado. Other than this is a railroad story (and you know we’re suckers for a good railroad story), how does it connect to the Marcellus/Utica? The case could fundamentally change how the federal government conducts environmental reviews. This case revolves around what should and should not be part of a so-called environmental review. A Circuit Court of Appeals wanted more nonsense included in such a review. The conservative Supreme Court is now going to review their work with a potential eye on overruling them. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Manchin skips mention of climate law in farewell to Senate; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Columbia County coal plant retirement delayed for a second time; NATIONAL: Why has the USA natural gas price been dropping lately?; U.S. crude production at record high; Electrifying everything means higher energy costs for consumers; Study on impact of LNG exports expected by the end of the year; INTERNATIONAL: Equinor, Shell announce UK combination; Saudi Arabia is losing its iron grip on global oil markets. 
A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspector showed up at Stonehaven Energy’s Class IID “Latshaw 9” oil and gas wastewater injection well in Cranberry Township, Venango County, on Nov. 27 for a routine inspection. He found the well is not in use and hasn’t been in use since March 2023. The well was inspected in March 2024, yet no violations were issued at that time. However, the inspector tagged the well with a violation on Nov. 27, claiming the well had been “abandoned.” 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for July through September 2024 (full copy below). There were 63 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 3Q24, the same exact number as in 2Q24, but 3Q’s number was a decrease of 39 wells (-38%) compared to the third quarter of 2023. The number of new wells drilled, 63, is the lowest since 2008 (except for 2Q24, which was also 63). This was the eighth consecutive quarter with a year-over-year (YOY) decline in new wells spud. Natural gas production volume was 1,838 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 3Q24, down 33 Bcf (1.8%) from the 1,871 Bcf produced in 3Q23. 
According to an extensive report appearing on the World Oil website (and in the November issue of the magazine), multiple possible futures lie ahead for the Marcellus and Utica shales. So, which future will come to pass? Today, both industry and government see the Marcellus and Utica formations as tremendous opportunities for companies and state governments, with domestically produced energy, jobs, and a huge economic impact. 
Three weeks ago, MDN told you that Coterra Energy, formed in 2021 by the merger of the Marcellus-focused Cabot Oil & Gas and the Permian/Anadarko-focused Cimarex Energy, has succumbed to the siren song of more oil drilling (see 
In October, Diversified Energy Company (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil) announced it had signed a deal to supply 40 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas over three years to a “major Gulf Coast LNG facility” for exporting (see 
Watching the crazy environmental left crack up following the Republican victory (particularly Trump) in November is, we have to admit, pretty fun. Lefties say the craziest things. Just watch “The View” sometime. Most non-governmental environmental groups, like the Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch (FWW) have pledged to litigate even more than they did in Trump’s first term. Apparently, they have unending funds from George Soros (i.e., György Schwartz) and other Big Left funders to hire sleazy lawyers to file blizzards of frivolous lawsuits. The thing is, this time, these groups won’t know what’s hit them come Jan. 20th. We predict the Trump administration will hit so hard and so fast that these groups won’t be able to catch their collective breath. 
There is an important development for landowners AND drillers in a class action case that began some seven years ago. A civil suit was brought by Harrison County oil and gas owners against Antero Resources Corp., claiming the company had deducted post-production costs from royalties not allowed under the leases they had signed. In 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia ruled mostly in favor of the landowners. The District Court sent two certified questions to the state Supreme Court. The Supremes ruled on both issues in November. The court ruled that energy companies cannot deduct post-production costs without explicit lease language, favoring royalty owners over drillers. 
When EQT first announced it intended to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), stretching from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA, the project came with an estimated price tag of $3.5 billion and an estimated completion date of 2018 (see 
In July, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) opened up the shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, to begin cleanup work at the facility (see 
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states ended the natural gas injection season (Apr 1 – Oct 31) with 3,922 billion cubic feet (Bcf), the equivalent of 3.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). U.S. inventories are starting winter 2024–25 with the most natural gas since 2016, which is typically bearish for natgas prices. The more supply you have with the same demand, the more prices will decrease. However, weather is the big unknown variable. A cold winter could quickly drain supplies and lead to higher prices. 
In June, we told you that a once-respected oil and gas consultancy had become a partisan purveyor of pap (see