NATIONAL: Kamala Harris won’t explain change of heart on fracking; Navigating the surplus in U.S. LPG and ethane production; Exxon CEO promises to sue more activist shareholders if they abuse proxy rules.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Sep 11, 2024”
We never thought we’d see the day when we would write the headline that Coterra (nee Cabot Oil & Gas) was pulling all of its active rigs in the Marcellus in Susquehanna County, PA. But today is that day. It makes us profoundly sad (and the primary reason we opposed the merger of Cimarex and Cabot, see Markets “Baffled” by “Unexpected” Cabot Merger with Cimarex). Coterra CEO Tom Jorden was interviewed during a session last week at the Barclays 38th Annual CEO Energy-Power Conference. As part of the Q&A, Jorden confirmed (dropped the bombshell) that his company has just “released our last rig in the Marcellus.” Read More “Coterra Stops Drilling New Wells in Marcellus, Fracking Ends Soon”
The Board of Supervisors for Cecil Township in Washington County, PA, caved to pressure from radical leftists and, by a vote of 3-2, instructed the town’s solicitor to prepare a new zoning ordinance that increases setbacks from “protected structures” from 500 feet to 2,500 feet (a half a mile!), and add a setback of 5,000 feet from schools and hospitals (almost a full mile!). It is a ban on new shale drilling in the township, plain and simple. In May, the supervisors favored a setback of 1,500 feet, which is still too far and onerous, but not an outright ban like 2,500 feet (see Cecil Twp Board Considers Revising Drilling Setbacks to 1,500 Feet). Something happened to tip three of the supervisors into open hostility against the Marcellus industry. We wonder what it was. Read More “Cecil Twp Hellbent to Ban New Shale Drilling via 2,500-Ft Setback”
Dominion Energy plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County, VA, near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes. Dominion recently changed the location of the proposed plant to occupy an old coal-fired power plant site (see Dominion Officially Changes Location of Chesterfield Peaker Plant). Even though these clean gas-fired plants will replace dirty coal-fired plants, anti-fossil fuelers, flying under the banner of Friends of Chesterfield, continue to oppose the project. Nearly 100 protesters showed up at the first of three open houses Dominion conducted last Thursday. Read More “Anti-Fossil Fuelers Pack Dominion Open House for Va. Gas Plant”
The liberal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a string of rulings this year that have greatly damaged the country’s LNG export industry. Those rulings, if left unchallenged, put future LNG growth in this country in doubt. So says energy expert David Blackmon, writing for the Forbes magazine website. The D.C. Circuit has been coloring WAY outside the lines by using White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) criteria for what should be included in environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Read More “DC Circuit Rulings are Harming the U.S. LNG Export Industry”
The price of natural gas is the foundation for our entire industry. If the price is too low, as it is right now, drilling falls off (see today’s lead story about Coterra doing NO new drilling in the Marcellus). If there’s no (or little) new drilling, everything else suffers. Landowners’ royalty checks shrivel, oilfield services companies don’t have work and lay personnel, pipelines are used less, and new pipelines don’t get built. It all comes down to price. So, we closely monitor the price and where it’s heading. Is there a way, short of hauling out the dusty crystal ball, of knowing where the price is heading in future months, even in future years? Sort of. It’s called the forward market. Read More “NYMEX HH Forward Market Signals 44% Gas Price Rise in 2025”
The federal government is spending BILLIONS of dollars on a huge gamble: hydrogen energy. This raises an important question: Will low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen make economic sense or not? In November 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked the National Petroleum Council (NPC) to take a deep dive into that very topic. The NPC is appointed by the Secretary of Energy and privately funded, with 200-plus members combining diverse experiences across industries and consumers, including the oil and gas industry. The NPC recently issued its 800+ page final report, Harnessing Hydrogen: A Key Element of the U.S. Energy Future. Today, we look at one aspect of the larger question about hydrogen — how can hydrogen be transported and stored (and does it make economic sense to transport and store it)?
Read More “If Hydrogen Energy is the Future, How Do We Transport and Store It?”
NATIONAL: Presidential debate: let’s talk energy; US natgas prices fall 5% as hurricane threatens LNG and power demand; Harris buries her ‘clean energy’ agenda while Trump goes big on fossil fuels; Talking points on Kamala Harris’s fracking reversal; UTulsa tests optimal mix of hydrogen and natural gas; 2024 American Energy Scorecard for the House of Representatives. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Tue, Sep 10, 2024”
A very big story is unfolding in the Marcellus/Utica, and nobody else is talking about it. There is a major reshuffling of rigs in the M-U, with Pennsylvania losing active rigs and West Virginia picking them up. Two weeks ago, PA dropped from 21 to 18 active rigs, the lowest count it has had in 2 1/2 years (see Pennsylvania Dropped 3 Rigs Last Week, Lowest Count in 2.5 Years). WV picked up one of those rigs, moving from five to six active rigs. Last week, the trend accelerated.
Read More “Trend Accelerates: Pennsylvania Loses 2 More Rigs to West Virginia”
In 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) began formulating new regulations for intrastate pipelines transporting gasoline, petroleum, crude oil, and natural gas liquids like ethane. In July 2021, the PUC finally published a draft of new regulations (see PA PUC Proposes New Regs for Pipelines—Landmen Must be Licensed). The onerous regulations landed with a thud. The DEP and antis loved them; the oil and gas industry hated them. After another two years of tinkering, the PUC’s regs, all 314 pages of them, were approved in June and are about to be adopted as the equivalent of law in the Keystone State when they are published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin this month. They will become the equivalent of law (go into effect) in November. Read More “Onerous New Regs for PA Liquids Pipes, Landmen Go Live in November”
Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project would increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The two NY compressors include one in Dover and one in Athens. The CT compressor is located in Brookfield. The left, via the odious Food & Water Watch, has made a concerted effort to block the two NY compressor station upgrades (see Radicals Pressure NY Gov. Hochul to Block Iroquois Pipe Expansion). Now the left is making a run and blocking the Brookfield, CT, compressor upgrade via the odious Sierra Club and a fake “study” paid for by the Clubbers. Read More “Antis Attack Iroquois Plan to Expand Connecticut Compressor Stn”
Researchers at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering have developed a “novel method” for direct lithium extraction from Marcellus produced water to contribute to the high demand for electric vehicles and so-called green energy. The researchers are getting a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy to optimize and scale up this new technique. Read More “Va. Researcher “Novel Method” to Extract Lithium from M-U Brine”
The Utica Shale Academy (USA), located in Salineville (Columbiana County), OH, is already a decade old. Where does the time go?! The USA, through an innovative high school curriculum, serves as a leading educational institution for all students who seek to explore, develop, and enhance career opportunities and further advance their education. The curriculum trains kids and adults in the skills needed to get jobs in the shale industry. Several weeks ago, USA staffers, state and local officials, and community members held a luncheon and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the USA’s Connecting Communities Through Workforce Training Project. USA was heralded as a “transformative beacon for the community and education of youth and adults.” Read More “Utica Shale Academy Transforms Community Through Education”
Over the years, we’ve written many posts about the Everett LNG import terminal near Boston (see our stories here). Everett LNG plays a key role in keeping the lights on and the furnaces belching heat throughout New England (see Everett LNG’s Key Role in Keeping the Lights on in New England). The Everett terminal has 3.4 Bcf of LNG storage capacity and plays a crucial role in stabilizing gas supplies in New England. Everett can supply up to 35% of regional gas demand on peak winter days — and is typically used to fill supply gaps during high-demand periods or when regional gas systems are under significant stress. Everett is also a poster child for what’s wrong with American energy policy. Read More “Boston LNG Import Terminal is Poster Child for Bad U.S. Policies”
Oh yeah, Kamala “The Cackler” Harris is all in favor of fracking and natural gas and even oil. Right? Then why the heck did her campaign just hire Camila Thorndike, a self-styled “climate hype girl for democracy” who worked for two years at Rewiring America, the organization pushing a nationwide ban on natural gas stoves, as the campaign’s point person on climate outreach? These are the questions mainstream media should be asking, but mainstream media has become the de facto PR agency for the Democrat Party. You are being lied to every day about Harris and her true intentions. Read More “Harris Hires Director of Gas Stove Ban Effort for Climate Outreach”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Protestors interrupt forum featuring Manchin and Capito; PJM considers fast-track review for shovel-ready generating projects; NATIONAL: Oil settles down 2%, big weekly drop after US jobs data; Why has the green hydrogen hype faded?; Bernie Sanders says Kamala Harris is lying to win; Democrat voters have been hypnotized by media flunkies.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Sep 9, 2024”