Labor Day 2024 – MDN Off for Today
Happy Labor Day to those in the U.S. Labor Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the U.S. It’s also the unofficial end of summertime. Enjoy this day by doing fun things, having picnics, and spending time with family. MDN is off today. We will return tomorrow to catch you up on all the latest happenings in the Marcellus/Utica. – Jim Willis, Editor
For the week of August 19 – 25, a total of 34 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. The Keystone State (PA) had 16 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Chesapeake Energy, with six permits in Bradford County. Coterra Energy was a close second, with five new permits issued in neighboring Susquehanna County. The Buckeye State (OH) received 13 new permits, with Encino Energy (EAP) receiving eight and Ascent Resources five. OH’s permits were spread across Guernsey, Harrison, and Noble counties. Finally, the Mountain State (WV) received five new permits, all of them for Northeast Natural Energy in Monongalia County. 
On May 1, a section of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) ruptured during final pressure testing in Roanoke County, Virginia (see 
Earlier this month
Up/down, up/down, up/down, up/down… We can’t count how many times the Freeport LNG export facility has come online to go offline again, with the cycle repeating (
Venture Global is developing an LNG export facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, approximately 20 miles south of New Orleans. Phase One of the project is currently under construction. Venture Global recently asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to unload a tanker full of LNG to be used for testing the facility. The LNG (from Norway, because the Jones Act prohibits American LNG) will be used to cool down parts of the Plaquemines facility as part of the plant’s testing and commissioning process. Our question: Why is Venture Global allowed to do *anything* with the Plaquemines facility when it continues to screw its contracted customers at its Calcasieu Pass facility?
Whoever would have thought both Facebook and Google would turn to fracking to feed the power beast that they are? Unicorn farts (wind and solar) alone don’t do the trick, it seems. Earlier this week, MDN brought you news about Facebook and Google signing agreements with companies that use a process “similar” to fracking (fracking under a different name) to drill geothermal wells that will help power electric plants to power some of the many (many) computers each company uses (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas sued by climate zealots over anti-ESG law; Gov. Newsom’s Venezuela-like price control proposal on oil industry; NATIONAL: Harris does u-turn on fracking ahead of November election; Kamalism – financial illiteracy with a smiley face; 5 best-performing oil & gas stocks in 2024; Trump’s plan to cut energy costs in half; INTERNATIONAL: Japan ignored climate critics and built global natgas empire; UK govt announces plans for new oil, gas enviro guidance. 
Here’s a lawsuit that flew under our radar — until now. Several landowners in West Virginia sued Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, alleging “improper royalty deductions” were made from royalty checks for post-production work from 2010 to 2023. The landowners (their lawyers) convinced a court to turn the lawsuit into a class action. Jay-Bee denies the claims in the lawsuit but has agreed to settle the dispute to avoid additional litigation by paying $42.6 million into a settlement fund established to disburse payments to participating class members.
In February, MDN told you about Dominion Energy’s filing to build a new 45-mile pipeline to connect Equitrans’ (now EQT’s) MVP Southgate pipeline project with Duke Energy’s planned new natural gas power plants on Hyco Lake’s southern shore (see 
Hats off to Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw, who is floating yet another bill that will benefit the state, electric ratepayers, and the Marcellus industry — all at the same time. Yesterday, Yaw announced his intention to float a new bill that would create the Pennsylvania Baseload Energy Development Fund. What is it? It’s a fund that would set up a revolving loan program at a low interest rate to encourage private companies to build more baseload electric power generation in the state. That is, build more gas-fired power plants.
Yesterday, MDN brought you the news that two dozen states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to place a temporary block on new EPA regulations that will put all coal plants out of business and block most (if not all) new gas-fired power plants from getting built (see 
The International Gas Union (IGU), Snam, and Rystad Energy partnered (as they have in the past) to produce and release the Global Gas Report 2024 (full copy below). The authors are sounding the alarm. According to the study, should gas demand continue to grow as it has in the last four years without additional production development, a 22% global natural gas supply shortfall is expected by 2030. If demand continues to strengthen, the shortfall will be even more pronounced. There is, say the authors, an urgent need to scale up investments. NOW. 
As we often point out when discussing the fugitive methane issue, the number one source of fugitive methane emissions, at 40%, is Mom Earth herself (i.e., “natural”). The number two source, at 24%, is agriculture. The number three source, at 21%, is oil and gas operations. Yet global warming nutjobs ONLY focus on emissions from O&G and ignore the other 79% of sources, including natural. Every now and again the nutters will mention other sources to try to protect their tattered reputations. Even then, they twist the science. Get this latest howler: Burning fossil fuels, which supposedly causes global warming, “may” be causing Mom Earth to emit even more fugitive methane that she otherwise would emit. So, we all must stop using fossil fuels right now or risk obliterating all life on earth. Or something like that. 
We bet you never thought that old idiom about pigs flying was true. In this case, it is! Range Resources operates a temporary above-ground water pipeline in Mount Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA. The pipeline (essentially a giant water hose) flows Ohio River water to Range’s fracking sites. Range sent a PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) down the pipeline, and it got caught. The water pressure built up and exploded the pipe, sending the PIG flying through the air. Yes, Virginia, pigs can fly! OK, OK. After we got done laughing out loud about a flying pig, we settled down to read and better understand the situation. The pipeline explosion resulted in damage to a local farmer’s property, which was no laughing matter for the farmer.