U.S. Building 133 New Gas-Fired Power Plants to Help Renewables
U.S. utilities and investors plan to add 133 new natural gas-fired power plants to the nation’s grid, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Duke Energy alone has ten such plants either under construction or planned—all of which will use Marcellus/Utica molecules. In fact, when we look at a map by S&P showing where the 133 plants are located, it’s obvious that the vast majority of the new plants will be fed in full or in part by M-U molecules. It’s hard to overstate the importance of gas-fired power plants for M-U drillers (and, by extension, landowners). Read More “U.S. Building 133 New Gas-Fired Power Plants to Help Renewables”
According to Reuters, natural gas has supplied a record high of 46% of total power generation since June, according to data from LSEG. Power generators are boosting output from all sources (including unreliable renewables) to meet rising power demand. However, they are using natural gas the most. Most of the grid operators in the U.S. show no signs of reducing electricity from natural gas over the near term. Quite the opposite—they are looking to continue expanding the use of gas-fired electricity for years to come. All of this talk about wind and solar taking over is nonsense. 
Enbridge Inc. is using artificial intelligence (AI) pioneered by Microsoft to “drive significant advancements in safety, emissions reduction, and asset optimization across its operations.” Enbridge uses Microsoft’s AI to help it better flow its gas and liquids through pipelines, monitor right-of-ways where its pipelines are buried, and monitor and flag pipelines that need maintenance to prevent problems and accidents. 
In July 2023, Kimmeridge Energy, a private investment firm focused on the energy sector, published a white paper entitled, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (see 
California law firm Sher Edling received more than $3 million in unreported dark money to push high-profile climate litigation on behalf of dozens of Democratic-led cities and states, according to a congressional report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Sher Edling, the Senate Commerce Committee and House Oversight Committee report found, received $2.9 million last year from the Collective Action Fund for Accountability, a shadowy group managed by the New Venture Fund. Because the contributions were made in 2023, the New Venture Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based dark money organization, isn’t required to disclose its contributions until it files its next annual 990 form with the IRS in mid-November. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: County adds Oregon’s largest supplier of natgas to climate lawsuit; NATIONAL: Oil moguls emerge as key cash source for Trump as race nears end; Your vote matters – America’s energy policy depends on it; US natgas prices drop 4% to one-week low ahead of Hurricane Milton; INTERNATIONAL: China is on a LNG stockpiling spree; BP abandons goal to cut oil output, resets strategy. 
‘Tis the season for IPOs in the Marcellus/Utica. Two weeks ago BKV Corporation announced it was (finally) launching an initial public offering (IPO) looking to raise in the neighborhood of $300 million (see 
Four weeks ago, MDN told you about a developing story of rig realignment in the Marcellus/Utica (see 
EPA Administrator Michael Regan used a considerable amount of fossil energy and emitted tons of carbon dioxide to jet over to Dubai last December to participate in the COP28 confab, where he released a final rule that was “two years in the making” to force the U.S. oil and gas industry to cut methane emissions by using budget-busting new technologies and onerous (frequent) inspections (see 
Colder weather and increased demand will place slight upward pressure on natural gas prices compared to last winter, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) said last Thursday in its 24th annual Winter Outlook forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market. NGSA also projected higher-than-average storage, record production and supply, and modest GDP growth this winter. The NGSA Outlook shows we’re heading into a cooler winter well-prepared with record production and storage. Bottom line: A slight uptick in the price of natgas this winter because it will be colder, but we have plenty of gas on hand. 
In January, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy (DOE) announced it would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while D.C. swampies fart around pretending to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve such projects (see 
Big Oil sometimes works against the interests of smaller shale drillers and (we would argue) against the best interests of the U.S.A. Here’s a case in point. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that senior leaders with Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Phillips 66 have been whispering in President Trump’s ear that should he win, they want him to keep Biden’s Green New Deal legislation, otherwise called the Inflation Reduction Act. Why? To protect their investments in carbon capture, carbon credits, and other carbon scams. They don’t want to lose their big tax credits/money. 
There were 28 permits issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica for the week of Sept. 23 – 29, down slightly from the 32 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had 15 new permits, with seven of them going to Range Resources, most of them in Washington County. Three permits were issued to Chesapeake Energy in Bradford County, and two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy in Susquehanna County. As of Tuesday, Chesapeake and Southwestern combined in a merger to form Expand Energy (see 
Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a “slip opinion” dismissing a challenge to a tiny 3.7-mile, 30-inch pipeline Columbia Gas wants to build in Maumee, a city in Lucas County, Ohio, a suburb about 10 miles southwest of Toledo. The owners of a commercial office building claimed they would suffer “irreparable financial harm” if the pipeline were built near their office building. The pipeline does not cross any land owned by the company but does cross land adjacent to the building. We searched our considerable archives (over 28,000 posts!) and found no references to this project. 
A new Morning Consult/American Petroleum Institute (API) poll recently surveyed registered voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Inflation is a huge issue for voters in those states, with 81% to 86% saying the price of daily necessities has become “financially painful” and anywhere from 88% to 94% saying they are “concerned” about inflation. Of particular relevance for us, the vast majority of voters in those swing states said *more* domestic oil and natural gas production would lower costs. Anywhere from 80% to 87% of those surveyed support more domestic energy production over more foreign production. The poll also found that 9 in 10 voters in those states want details from presidential candidates on energy issues.