Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Aug 16, 2024
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Clinton County is business friendly, oil-gas company says; Second phase of Wyalusing natgas pipeline project underway; MSC members support Debby relief efforts; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Richlands receives $2 million to build natural gas-fired turbine and generator; Texas comptroller adds NatWest to list of energy boycotters; NATIONAL: J.D. Vance on tax-exempt foundations behind green energy; U.S. LNG ambitions shaken by regulatory setback; INTERNATIONAL: Oil ends two day drop on Middle East tensions; The real story of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Aug 16, 2024”
In early 2018, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected a whopping $1.7 million fine from Energy Corporation of America (ECA) for violations at 17 well sites in Cumberland, Jefferson, and Whiteley Townships in Greene County, and Goshen Township in Clearfield County (see 
CNX Resources released its first Radical Transparency™ assessment report yesterday. The initial results of nine months of continuous air emissions monitoring at natural gas well sites and compressor stations in southwestern Pennsylvania indicate that CNX natural gas development poses no public health risk. Period. The data is collected and disseminated to the public by an independent third-party contractor. This is objective, you-can’t-argue-with-it data shows CNX is not causing any kind of public health hazard. Big Green isn’t happy that their lying narratives are now countered by objective (truthful) data.
Epsilon Energy issued its second quarter 2024 update earlier this week. Epsilon, a relatively small company, used to concentrate most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells. However, over the past few years, the company has expanded into other plays and now owns assets in the Anadarko (Oklahoma and Texas) and the Permian (Texas and New Mexico). Epsilon typically does not do its own drilling. The company joint venture partners with (gives money to) other companies, like Chesapeake Energy (in the Marcellus), and the other company does the drilling. For 2Q, Epsilon’s capital expenditures were $5.7 million, primarily related to work in Texas.
ECA Marcellus Trust I, the royalty interest holder in some of the wells drilled and maintained by Greylock Energy in Greene County, PA, announced yesterday that it will not issue a dividend to unitholders for the second quarter of 2024. The company paid 4.3 cents per unit in 1Q23, nothing in 2Q23, six-tenths of a penny ($0.006) in 3Q23, 3.0 cents in 4Q23, and most recently, 2.1 cents per unit for 1Q24. The company continues to hold back some profits ($90,000 in 2Q24) to build a cash reserve for “future known, anticipated or contingent expenses or liabilities.” 
We spotted some news that, on the surface, may not appear to be connected to the Marcellus/Utica, but we think it is. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) is investing approximately $843 million (CAD 1.2 billion) in Denver, Colorado-based Tallgrass Energy. CPP is a major investor in the Utica Shale (via Encino Energy), and Tallgrass is the owner and operator of the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline that flows Marcellus/Utica gas to the Midwest.
Many political pundits say the presidential election will come down to Pennsylvania. Whichever candidate wins PA — Trump or The Cackler — will likely win the White House. EVERYTHING that happens between now and then has a political component, including yesterday’s announcement by the Biden-Harris Dept. of Interior that yet another slug of up to $152 million is coming PA’s way for plugging orphaned and abandoned conventional oil and gas wells. This has politics written all over it. 
In late 2015, MPLX (i.e., Marathon Petroleum) bought out and merged in the Utica Shale’s premier midstream company, MarkWest Energy, for $15 billion (see 
In December 2022, Rice Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) started by the Rice brothers (Danny, Toby, and Derek), announced a deal to acquire NET Power — an electric power developer with revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants (see 
On May 31, Constellation Energy shut down and permanently retired the natural gas-fired Mystic Generating Station it owned and operated in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the north side of Boston (see 
For some time, we’ve brought you news of the coming expansion of new data centers due to the rapid (explosive) spread of AI or artificial intelligence. Every time you type a query into ChatGPT or another AI engine, a process runs on a computer in a data center somewhere. That computer uses electricity. The electricity comes from somewhere — most of the time from natural gas being burned in a power plant. More AI queries equals more computers (and data centers) needing more energy. Just two days ago, we told you that most of the big pipeline companies in the country, including Williams, Energy Transfer, Kinder Morgan, Enbridge, and TC Energy, are telling investors of this coming expansion as an opportunity (see 
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) continues to do its job. Yesterday, the group held a meeting and awarded five contracts for drilling and fracking UNDER (not on) several state-owned lands, including a contract with EOG Resources to drill under 85 acres in Keen Wildlife Area in Washington Township, Harrison County, for $211,650 ($2,500/acre). Also of interest at yesterday’s meeting was that 40 parcels of land in Salt Fork State Park and Salt Fork Wildlife Area were removed from the committee’s agenda. Apparently, the nominating company withdrew its application for those tracts.