NETL Research Says Hydrogen Can Safely Be Stored Under Shale
Hydrogen is all the rage, at least in the D.C. swamp. Joe Biden and his sidekick Kamala Harris held a Hydrogen Hunger Games contest and in 2013 awarded seven proposed projects around the country with a total jackpot of $7 billion. Among the winners was the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), which is a project that will use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, which is hydrogen made from natgas where carbon dioxide from the process is captured and either used or stored underground (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). There are a lot of questions about using hydrogen to produce energy and trying to replace natural gas with hydrogen. One of those questions, which has gone unanswered (until now), is whether you can store hydrogen underground like natural gas. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has an answer. Read More “NETL Research Says Hydrogen Can Safely Be Stored Under Shale”
Last week, National Center for Energy Analytics (NCEA) Senior Fellow Tristan Abbey published a report examining the politicization of liquid natural gas (LNG) exports and recommending three pathways to ensure the United States maintains and expands the economic and geopolitical benefits from its dominant position in the global LNG market. In “A Generational Opportunity: Achieving U.S. Dominance in Global LNG” (full copy below), Abbey explores the history of LNG exports, the mechanisms by which the U.S. ascended to primacy, and the urgency in pursuing reform to capture a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas industry groups look at upstream employment; NATIONAL: WTI plunges amid reduced risk premium; Trump’s energy policy is a clear no-brainer for Americans in 2024; Natgas names reinstated at BofA, sees capital discipline lifting stocks in 2025; Is peak investment coming for the shale patch? 
The realignment 
Last week, CNX Resources issued its third quarter 2024 update. The company made $65.5 million in profit for the quarter, compared with a profit of $21.3 million in 3Q23 (more than doubling net income). Production was 134.5 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in 3Q24 — which works out to 1.46 Bcfe/d — down from 143.4 Bcfe last year (a drop of 6%). Drilling all but stopped during 3Q. The company drilled just three new wells, all of them in the Utica in central PA. 
In September, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) renewed 20 water-use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Susquehanna counties. We’re just learning of the action via an official notice published in the Oct. 26 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The approvals, which are NOT subject to public review according to SRBC regulations, are general water permits. Each site will be required to receive a specific water withdrawal approval at a later date. 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published an interesting post about natural gas pricing hubs in North America. There are nearly 200 such pricing hubs. The hubs “provide transactional flexibility to buyers and sellers in the natural gas industry.” As we’ve pointed out before, there is no one “price” for natural gas. Prices at various trading hubs can vary significantly. All pricing hubs compare themselves to the Henry Hub “benchmark” hub in Southern Louisiana. You may read about such-and-such as a hub trading a “discount” or “premium” to the HH. The EIA post explains how these hubs work and provides examples from various locations around the country, including three hubs in the northeast that flow Marcellus/Utica molecules. 
How often have we told you the mainstream media lies to you about fossil energy? Maybe a bazillion times, right? Today, we have a case that incontrovertibly proves our point. Last Friday, researchers from Colorado University at Boulder (CU) and collaborators from several other institutions published a new study in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study proves that so-called fugitive methane floating in the atmosphere is NOT coming from fossil fuels. At least, the contribution from fossil fuels is minor and nonconsequential. Where DOES fugitive methane come from? The researchers can’t be 100% sure (yet), but they say it’s either natural (Mom Earth, things like wetlands) or agriculture (cow burps and rice paddies). And where are the stories in mainstream media about this earth-shattering discovery? NOWHERE. It’s crickets. You can’t FIND a mainstream article that covers this study. Nothing in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle, AP, UPI, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc. 
For the week of Oct 14 – 20, there were 14 permits issued to drill Marcellus/Utica wells, up from 10 permits issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) had just four new permits (down from six the previous week), with three going to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Susquehanna County and one for Seneca Resources in Lycoming County. The Buckeye State (OH) had seven new permits, with six going to Encino Energy (EAP) for two pads in Carroll County. The other OH permit was for Ascent Resources in Harrison County. The Mountain State (WV) issued three new permits, with all three going to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Marshall County. 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that U.S. natural gas production from shale and tight formations declined by about 1% from January through September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Most of the decline comes from two shale plays—the Haynesville in Louisiana and Texas (down 12%) and the Utica Shale in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (down 10%). Although the EIA’s analysis (below) is excellent and instructive, it misses one important detail about the decrease in Utica Shale gas production. 
Yesterday, MDN reported on Range Resources’ third quarter update (see 
The Biden-Harris administration continues to spend money like drunken sailors. They can’t hand it out fast enough ahead of November 5th. We can’t even count how much has been doled out just this week—certainly several billion dollars. Some of the money flowing out of D.C. this week ($44 million) will go to a project that is part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) to establish new carbon dioxide injection wells, one in Marshall County, WV, and one in Belmont County, OH. 
As we outline in a companion post today, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy is investing $44 million in a project to drill two carbon dioxide injection wells, one in West Virginia and the other in Ohio (see DOE Spends $44M on Drilling CO2 Injection Wells in WV & OH). Some companies are ready to dive into the CCS pool. Others in our region are also exploring the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) space but are proceeding a bit slower, dipping their toes first. Power plant and energy-trading giant Tenaska and Marcellus/Utica driller EQT are “cautiously moving ahead with plans to develop carbon storage projects in the region.” Both indicate it will take “years to develop” carbon injection wells. They both plan to have carbon wells operating in the next 5-10 years.