Biden Treasury Dept. About to Kill ALL Hydrogen Energy Hubs
In early January, MDN told you that a new IRS rule (45V) issued in late December, if it stands, will block construction of the multi-billion-dollar Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), a project that would use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen (see Biden’s Proposed IRA 45V Tax Credit “Kneecaps” ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub). ARCH2 is not the only one of the seven national projects being funded by the Bidenistas that will get blocked under the proposed IRS 45V regulation. In fact, all of them are at risk.
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There were 13 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 12 – 18, versus 19 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued no new permits. West Virginia issued 2 new permits last week. Chesapeake Energy landed the most new permits, with 5 issued in Bradford County, PA. Range Resources had 3 new permits issued in Washington County, PA. Coterra Energy had 2 new permits in Susquehanna County, PA. Southwestern Energy also had 2 new permits issued in Ohio County, WV. And EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the country, had a single new permit issued in Greene County, PA.
According to Reuters, oilfield service companies and drillers have put the brakes on hiring and “further job cuts could loom” as natural gas producers respond to sliding prices by slashing spending on new wells to reduce excess production. We told you yesterday that Chesapeake Energy announced a coming rig and frac crew cut in the Marcellus (see 
Range Resources Corporation, the very first company to drill a shale well targeting the Marcellus Shale layer in Pennsylvania (in 2004), issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday. The company previously released operational details for 4Q23 (see 
Southwestern Energy, with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica and Louisiana Haynesville, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday. You may recall that Southwestern recently agreed to a deal to be acquired by and merged into Chesapeake Energy (see 
While drilling in Chester County, PA, in August 2020 in the Marsh Creek State Park area, Energy Transfer’s (ET) Mariner East 2X pipeline experienced an “inadvertent return” — nontoxic drilling mud coming up out of the ground where it’s not supposed to (see 
Two days ago, MDN told you about the rumor that Occidental Petroleum is considering a sale of its majority share in Western Midstream Partners for $20 billion, looking to work down a big pile of debt (see 
If this doesn’t take the cake. Venture Global has been screwing its contracted customers for more than two years by not officially christening its Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana as officially open for business (denying customers cargoes under contracted prices), yet during that time, Venture Global has exported (on the spot market) more than 250 LNG cargoes! It’s a sham, and everybody knows it! Venture Global got the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the “must officially be open by date” for an extra year last year (expired Feb 21st of this year). And now, unbelievably, Venture Global wants FERC to extend it for ANOTHER year!
Chesapeake Energy issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday, complete with commentary on what’s coming in 2024. And yes, there was some big news coming from that update. Some of the biggest news (that moved the entire market) is that while Chesapeake produced an average of 3.66 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), approximately 95% natural gas and 5% total liquids, in 2023, the company plans to lay down rigs, cut fracking crews, and produce 2.65 – 2.75 Bcfe/d in 2024. Meaning a drop of 25-28% in production this year. That simple announcement was enough to move the NYMEX price of natural gas up $0.20 (11%) in a single day.
Finally, here’s a little good news to write about regarding the price of natural gas! The NYMEX front month futures contract yesterday started the day with a bang based on announcements from the previous evening (in advance of a conference call) from Chesapeake Energy that the company plans to scale back production by roughly 1 Bcfe/d in 2024 from 2023 levels (down 25-28%, see today’s lead story). Chessy’s announcement, along with rumblings from other big drillers about pulling back in 2024, was enough to boost the NYMEX, which closed up $0.20, or 11%, from the previous day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since Thursday, July 7, 2022.
The contours of how and why Equitrans Midstream decided to cut its MVP (Mountain Valley Pipeline) Southgate project in North Carolina are becoming apparent. We told you in January that Equitrans had decided to slice MVP Southgate in more than half (see 
Democrats will never be satisfied until they tax you for breathing and even existing, which was perfectly illustrated by a proposal submitted by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to its so-called Climate Change Advisory Committee on Tuesday. Not satisfied to try and force a Marcellus-killing carbon tax (called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI) on gas- and coal-fired power plants, the DEP now wants to grow RGGI or some facsimile thereof to “all sectors” of the PA economy. Are they TOTALLY INSANE? We have to say the answer to that rhetorical question is YES!
Wow! Where does the time go? In April 2021, CNX Resources Corp. announced instead of just blowing smoke about ESG (environmental, social, governance) with pretty slide shows and hoopla, they would donate $30 million to local, underserved communities and populations in the tri-state region (see