Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia
MVP Restoration Work in Jefferson National Forest Begins
A major effort by the radical left to block the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from crossing a piddly 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest (JNF) failed. But not for lack of trying. Big Green paid protesters to sit in trees, chain themselves to cars, and all manner of illegal tactics to try and slow or stop progress on building the pipeline through JNF (see our MVP in JNJ stories here). The pipeline itself is now completed, and restoration work is underway in some locations like JNF. In the case of JNF, MVP is removing construction debris and replanting native vegetation.
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The price of natural gas traded at the Henry Hub (HH) in Southern Louisiana is THE benchmark price used for the entire industry in the U.S. All other prices are compared to the HH. The HH serves as the official delivery location for futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The hub is owned by Sabine Pipe Line LLC and has access to many of the major gas markets in the United States, hence its use as the benchmark. A major trading hub in the Marcellus/Utica, Columbia Gas, tended to follow the HH, rising when HH went up and falling when HH lost value. It’s never a one-to-one correlation, but it’s close. That is, until the past year, when, according to analysts with Argus Media, the Columbia Gas trading hub became “untethered” from the HH.
Last Thursday, MDN brought you the news that U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (from West Virginia) and Congressman Troy Balderson (from Ohio) introduced a resolution to block the EPA’s latest attack against the natural gas industry (see 
Well, the bottom dropped out of the rig count last week once again. The national combined oil and gas rig count dropped by six to 594, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica did not go unscathed either, losing two rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now operates 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. However, West Virginia lost another rig and now only has five active rigs. One year ago this week, WV operated 13 active rigs. Yuck.
We’ve been tracking the up down up down up down situation at Freeport LNG since it came online in 2019. Freeport was mostly offline this year following an episode of cold temps in January (see 
NATIONAL: Oil paychecks set a record even as shale industry consolidates; US Democrats escalate oil price fixing crackdown to DOJ; Growth in U.S. oil and gas output slows down; Will heatwave propel natgas prices above $3.00?; US weekly LNG exports reach 26 shipments; Behind closed doors, Biden shows signs of slipping; $2-4 trillion cost to build nationwide electric vehicle charging infrastructure; INTERNATIONAL: Oil posts weekly loss as OPEC plan triggers selloff; New catalyst efficiently converts CO2 to natural gas; OPEC’s strategy to outlast the shale boom; Oil is power, CO2 is food – globalists want control of both.
Two weeks ago, 18 new permits were issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica region. Last week, May 27 – June 2, the number increased dramatically by 72% to 31 new permits. Most of the new permits came from two drillers. Range Resources scored the most with 11 new permits spread over two pads in Washington County, PA. EQT received nine new permits for a single pad in Wetzel County, WV. Chesapeake Energy received five new permits, all in Bradford County, PA. In fact, the rest of the new permits were all in PA, which handed out 22 new permits last week — a huge increase over the typical numbers for PA over the past few months.
We have been tracking and reporting on the drama surrounding Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, located close to the Ohio River, since the Ohio Attorney General lodged charges against the company back in March (
Cecil Township in Washington County, PA, has seen a fair bit of Marcellus shale drilling over the years. The Board of Supervisors adopted a shale drilling ordinance back in 2011. They are considering an update. Unfortunately, the update they are considering is akin to jumping off a cliff. The town follows state guidelines that new shale wells must be drilled at least 500 feet from homes and 2,500 feet from schools and hospitals. The supervisors are seriously considering an amendment to raise the setback to 2,500 feet (half a mile!) from all structures. In other words, it would ban new drilling in 99% of the town.
The merger of EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream into a single company took one giant leap forward in May when the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Act waiting period expired and the federal government (by not objecting) blessed the re-union (see 
Patience is a rare commodity these days. We live in a day and age of instant gratification. Our food is made and delivered in minutes. The latest gizmo we want can be on our doorstep the next day (or, in some cases, the same day) from Amazon and any number of other retailers. Entertainment and distractions are everywhere! Just lift your eyes from your own phone and observe everyone else around you staring at their phones. So perhaps it is no surprise that some people feel lied to because the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, hasn’t instantly delivered the promised thousands of extra jobs and dozens of relocated companies.
Last August, MDN told you about a new Cambridge University study published in the journal Science exposing the sale of carbon credits as a scam (see 
While oil-focused and large diversified drillers in the U.S. made healthy profits during the first quarter of this year (January through March), such was not the case for natural gas-focused drillers. RBN Energy tracks 43 exploration and production (E&P) companies that are publicly traded and reports of those 43 that the 16 oil-focused and 15 diversified E&Ps were solidly profitable in 1Q24, earning $20.65/boe (barrels of oil equivalent) and $18.49/boe, respectively. However, the 12 gas-focused E&Ps were “under siege,” posting a loss of $1.65/boe.
Last November, CNX Resources CEO Nick Deiuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see