Sen. Successfully Blocks MA Dem Bill to Remove NatGas for 2nd Day
Last week, we told you about a modern-day Paul Revere, a Republican Senator from Massachusetts who single-handedly blocked a horrible bill that empowers state regulators to “terminate [natural gas] service to consumers so long as they have access to ‘safe, reliable, and affordable alternatives’” (see Republican Blocks Mass. Democrat Plan to Forcibly Remove NatGas). Sen. Ryan Fattman, from Sutton, used a procedural tactic to delay debate of the bill by one day to allow Senators to read and understand what is contained in this horrible bill. Fattman’s delay pushed the bill back from last Thursday to Friday. On Friday, Fattman was able to do it again, pushing the bill off for debate (and a vote) until at least Tuesday (tomorrow). Will it be enough time to stop Massachusetts from plunging into the energy abyss?
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The U.S. national oil and gas rig count has been in a pattern of free-falling for the past three weeks. The national combined Baker Hughes oil and gas rig count dropped by another two to 588, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica, after losing two rigs three weeks ago, maintained the same count last week — a combined 36. Pennsylvania continued to operate 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. And West Virginia kept five active rigs. At this time last year, WV operated 12 active rigs. The M-U fell down three weeks ago and (so far) hasn’t gotten back up.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Con Edison launches campaign to deflect blame for coming energy disaster; NATIONAL: Biden’s hypocrisy on climate change is painfully obvious; Biden owes us trading partners clarity on LNG pause; INTERNATIONAL: Greenland is not experiencing a climate crisis and neither are we; The new gold rush – hunting down naturally occurring hydrogen; Rare LNG vessel sails through Red Sea amid Houthi attacks.
Three weeks ago, 31 new permits were issued to drill in the entire Marcellus/Utica region. Two weeks ago, the number dropped (dramatically) to just seven new permits. And then last week, the number of permits issued soared once again — all the way up to 46. Bam! We just kicked it up a notch. Seneca Resources took the top spot for new permits, receiving a total of nine permits, all in Tioga County, PA. Chesapeake Energy and Antero Resources tied for second place with seven new permits each, with Chessy’s permits coming in Bradford County, PA, and Antero’s in Doddridge County, WV. Coming in third was Jay-Bee Oil & Gas with six permits issued in Pleasants County, WV. State by state, PA issued 24 new permits, OH issued 9, and WV issued 13 permits.
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 
Yesterday, MDN told you about a very small lease deal on offer for North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, PA (see 
The Dems are all about handing out other people’s money. It keeps them in power (tantamount to bribes). Incidentally, Alexander Fraser Tytler said in the late 1700s: “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.” The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently began soliciting applications to hand out nearly $200 million in grants from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure law to upgrade natural gas pipelines. Spreading around $200 million from the total of $1.2 trillion a rounding error — below two-tenths of a single percent.
We’re always interested in lease signing bonuses and royalty rates. We don’t see as many references today as we did five and ten years ago. Typically, we learn about lease rates when municipal-owned land is leased, as is the case for a small parcel in North Huntingdon, PA (Westmoreland County). Apex Energy is offering North Huntingdon $1,500 per acre in a signing bonus to lease 4.5 acres of town land for a grand total of $6,760. It ain’t much, but it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye, right?
Chesapeake Energy has gone through some major changes over the past four years. In June of 2020, Chessy declared bankruptcy (see 
There’s no way to sugarcoat bad news. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) predicted in January that money raised by the shale impact fee (PA’s version of a severance tax) would plummet this year (see 
As we report in a companion post today, Pennsylvania is currently dishing out close to $180 million in impact fees raised from 2023 shale activity — PA’s version of a severance tax (see PA PUC Distributes 2023 Impact Fee – Revenue Dropped $99M YOY). As the name implies, some 60% of the money raised goes to the counties and municipalities where drilling happens, those “impacted” by shale drilling. The other 40% goes to the black hole of Harrisburg for redistribution to various state agencies and the other counties with no shale drilling. Let’s look at how some counties and towns will spend the money coming their way.
Radicalized environmental groups, including Trout Unlimited and the Mid State Trail Association, have devolved into trying to block gathering and water pipelines in Pennsylvania. Driller Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) wants to install 3.7 miles of a gathering pipeline to connect several wells to the Transco pipeline system, along with two 8-inch water pipelines of about the same length, in Lycoming County. Nearly all of the pipeline projects are located on state-owned land.