PA IFO Predicts 2024 Impact Tax Will Fall $10-$15M from 2023
Last week, MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) is now distributing money raised by the shale impact fee (PA’s version of a severance tax) from 2023 to municipalities and government agencies (see PA PUC Distributes 2023 Impact Fee – Revenue Dropped $99M YOY). The state raised and distributed $179.6 million based on 2023 activity — down just over $99 million from a record-high $278.9 million raised and distributed last year from 2022 activity. The state Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) is out with an estimate for how much money will be raised and distributed from the 2024 impact fee assessment. Sadly, the revenue will fall again for the second year in a row.
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A key issue has arisen with the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including here in the Marcellus/Utica region. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. In April, the Pennsylvania State Senate took the first step in establishing a framework that allows for the underground storage of CO2 in the Keystone State by passing Senate Bill (SB) 831 (see 
Two days ago, MDN brought you the list of the Top 100 private oil and gas producers in the Lower 48 states, which includes four Marcellus/Utica drillers in the Top 10 (see 
Hey Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), why have you not launched a complaint against Joe Biden for the OVERT quid pro quo involving First Solar? The company donated at least $2 million to Democrats in 2020, including $1.5 million to Biden’s election campaign. The company subsequently received a promise of $10+ BILLION in government money from the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Yet you (CREW) launched a complaint against Donald Trump for allegedly seeking campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Aramco agreement for equity, offtake from Port Arthur LNG2; Why are Midwest grid operators turning away wind power?; NATIONAL: Shale executives see mergers squeezing US oil production; Red states notify Biden admin of lawsuit over ‘nonsensical’ EV rule; U.S. crude imports touch two-year high despite lukewarm demand; How consolidation has changed the midstream landscape; Five energy failures Joe Biden needs you to forget before the debate; INTERNATIONAL: Denmark is charging farmers a $100 ‘burp tax’ per cow; Russia’s Gazprom announces natural gas supply deal with Iran.
We previously reported that a section of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Roanoke County, Virginia, ruptured during a water test in early May (see 
Last week, MDN told you that two Big Green groups in Pennsylvania, Trout Unlimited and the Mid State Trail Association, are attempting to block a project by Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) to install a tiny 3.7-mile gathering pipeline to connect several PGE wells to the Transco pipeline system, along with two 8-inch water pipelines of about the same length, in Lycoming County (see 
In March, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to Scranton, PA, to announce a proposal to “immediately pull Pennsylvania out of a multi-state carbon cap-and-trade program” (the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI) and instead enroll PA in its very own RGGI-like carbon tax program (see 
Yesterday, the Massachusetts State Senate voted to have the state jump into the energy abyss. They voted in favor of blackouts and brownouts by banning the use of natural gas — coming in the next five years. It boggles the mind. Their vote (if confirmed by the House, which is a given) will destroy thousands of jobs related to the natural gas industry in the Bay State. You know, we don’t feel a bit sorry for the people living in Massachusetts for the energy Armageddon they are about to experience. Of note, there were two patriots who voted against this insanity: Republican Sens. Peter Durant of Spencer and Ryan “Paul Revere” Fattman of Sutton.
As we reported in May, former President Donald J. Trump met with oil and gas industry members in April at his Mar-a-Lago estate (see 
Who doesn’t love a good Top 10 (or, in this case, Top 100) list? Yesterday, Hart Energy published a list of the Top 100 private oil and gas producers in the Lower 48 states. The list is based on information provided by Enverus and Oil and Gas Investor. The article’s point was to call attention to the dramatic change in the list given the consolidation (mergers and acquisitions) over the past 18 months — changes which are “reshaping the landscape,” according to Hart Energy. When perusing the list, the first thing we noticed is that four of the Top 10 in the list of Top 100 are major gas and oil producers operating in the Marcellus/Utica.
Last Friday, Morningstar DBRS published a commentary titled, “Record-High Temperatures Boost Power Demand but Ample Gas Inventories Prevent a Bigger Jump in Prices” (full copy below). Since early March, U.S. and European natural gas prices have climbed steadily in the anticipation — and eventual onset — of much warmer than normal early summer temperatures even as producers curbed supply to contend with the glut built up during the past mild winter. Although U.S. and European gas storage inventories have been drawn down from early 2024, they remain high for this time of year. Large inventories are preventing prices from moving higher, says Morningstar analysts. It’s classic economics — more supply with the same demand equals lower prices.