Yesterday Joe Biden delivered an address from the White House to talk about inflation. He blamed the high price of gasoline (and diesel fuel) on: (1) Vladimir Putin, (2) oil companies price gouging, and (3) Republicans who refuse to sign on to so-called renewables. He’s wrong on all three counts, but that’s another post for…
The Bidenistas fight dirty. Last week MDN told you about a federal court ruling against Biden’s plan to use the so-called global “social cost of carbon dioxide” emissions as a new filter for all sorts of government agencies when considering whether or not to approve projects and activities, like drilling for oil and gas on…
Our friends at NGI (Natural Gas Intelligence) are running an excellent series providing expert forecasts for the global natural gas and oil markets in 2022. The latest installment interviews several experts about the prospects for the Marcellus/Utica. With the Shell ethane cracker plant coming online sometime this year, the prospects for NGL sales in the…
On Joe Biden’s first day occupying the White House, he signed an Executive Order (EO) suspending new oil and gas leasing on all federal while the Interior Department reviews existing leases and permitting practices for 60 days (see How Biden’s Drilling Ban on Federal Lands Affects the M-U). A few weeks later he extended the…
The executive branch of the federal government, including the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is appealing, to a federal appeals court, a Columbus federal court ruling that prohibits their respective agencies from issuing new permits to drill on oil and gas leases in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (WNF). Talk…
According to an extensive article appearing in the Pipeline & Gas Journal, “the oil and gas industry [in the Marcellus/Utica] is ready to pick up where it left off in 2019.” The Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) says “2021 is looking up.” However, nobody in the midstream is planning to build new pipelines anytime…
On Monday a federal judge with the U.S. District Court in Ohio put a temporary hold on issuing any more oil and gas drilling permits to drill on previously issued leases in the (mostly privately-owned) Wayne National Forest (WNF) in Ohio. The judge cited the Biden administration’s hold on all federal leasing/drilling permits until it…
On Joe Biden’s first day in occupying the White House, he signed an Executive Order (EO) suspending new oil and gas leasing while the Interior Department reviews existing leases and permitting practices for 60 days. The aim is to make the federal lease ban permanent. However, some permits on existing leases will continue to be…
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Shapiro goes full show trial to win over radical greens; Environmental policies stall critical energy projects, hamper economic growth; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Permian Basin reclaims status as top destination for frac crews; NATIONAL: Joe Biden and OPEC threatening US oil independence; Oil industry leaders see tough times ahead; Rising demand and the lowest…
Radicalized leftist groups pretending to care about the environment, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and Ohio Environmental Council, have struck again. In May 2017 the three groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to block the sale of leases for oil and gas drilling in Ohio’s…
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: ODNR issues two shale drilling permits; School finances study by Penn State doesn’t pass smell test; Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Soto bill to ban hydraulic fracturing to devastate working families, jeopardize Pa. union jobs; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: New Shintech ethane cracker in Louisiana starts up; NATIONAL: Why natural-gas prices may sink further after hitting 2016…
The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP), a nonprofit energy education and public outreach organization, recently commissioned a poll of Ohio voters in eight eastern counties–in the Ohio Valley area. The counties surveyed include those with the most active Utica Shale drilling in the state. The poll asked residents’ about their views on…
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced the winners of Utica Shale mineral rights for 14 parcels of land, adding up to ~655 acres, located in Wayne National Forest (WNF). The 14 properties netted the government $1.326 million and all 14 were purchased by two (possibly more) Utica Shale drillers. Average price per…
Last week the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Eastern States Office ran another oil and gas lease auction for federal land on the eastern side of the country. Up for auction was 2,456 acres in Ohio, Michigan and Mississippi. Only half of the property listed for auction actually brought bids and sold. Of the 2,456…
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Paid to protest: Lifting the curtain on Keep Wayne Wild, LLC; McCormick: WV should pitch energy jobs to veterans; Prometheus, Summit open Lebanon, Missouri LNG facility; Massachusetts lawmakers schedule 2 hearings natural gas disaster issues; Natural gas: The $4 dam…
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Lifting the curtain on the group blocking shale development in the Wayne National Forest; Congress, require BLM to respect the rights of private landowners; Unfazed by pipeline explosion destroying Beaver County house, nearby township removes setback ordinance; Dog days are…