U.S. NatGas-Fired Electricity Hit New Record High in Summer ’24
Hardly a day goes by that we don’t cover at least one story about a gas-fired power plant that will get fed with Marcellus/Utica molecules (see our power stories here). As we so often point out, gas-fired power plants are extremely important customers for M-U natgas, using huge amounts of our gas. Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a post observing that U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation set new daily records in the summer of 2024, despite all of the hype that “renewables” like solar and wind are taking over. Read More “U.S. NatGas-Fired Electricity Hit New Record High in Summer ’24”
MDN reported a few weeks ago that EQT Corporation, now the U.S.’s second-largest natural gas producer (following the merger of Chesapeake Energy and Southwest Energy to form the country’s largest producer), was about to ship a fully-MiQ-certified LNG cargo to Germany (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Junior high classes underway at Utica Shale Academy; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Woodside takes over Tellurian for $1.2 billion; NATIONAL: Will the real Kamala Harris please stand up?; Traders bet hurricane will knock out electricity, leave power plants idling; INTERNATIONAL: Oil prices plunge as China fails to deliver new stimulus. 
You know you’re a loser when you can’t even spin the results of your own rigged push poll. The Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) is nothing more than a front group, another name for the ultra-left, biased, and virulent anti-fossil fuel Heinz Endowments. ORVI pokes its head up periodically to issue “reports” (i.e., propaganda) bashing fossil energy. Sometimes, they conduct slanted push polls to try and further pollute the news with false claims, as was the case with a recent poll (with results released yesterday) by ORVI surveying 700 Pennsylvanian voters on the topic of fracking and energy. Interestingly, the ORVI couldn’t hide the fact that 58% of those surveyed (a strong majority) are opposed to banning fracking, and 75% support the continued use of natural gas. 
Parts of Ohio (like other areas in the northeast) have experienced a moderate drought over the past several months. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) manages ten lakes and four dry dams in southeastern Ohio for purposes of flood control, recreation, and conservation. One of its biggest customers for water sales is the shale oil and gas industry. With the ongoing drought, MWCD recently stopped water sales from Atwood Lake, a popular boating and fishing spot southeast of Canton that has experienced a foot-and-a-half drop in water levels over the past few months. It is the only location where MWCD has had to stop water sales. 
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). 
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. 
‘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