Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia
2 “Protesters” Locked to Car Block Road to MVP Construction Site
Once again, Big Green is attempting to illegally block the final bits of construction of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline as it travels through Roanoke County, VA. Yesterday, two “protesters” chained or otherwise attached themselves to an old (junk) car, a car made entirely from and with fossil fuels, blocking a road that leads to an MVP construction site. We grow tired of reporting these incidents and debated on whether or not to report this one. However, MDN readers deserve to know how the lawless left behaves. Plus, one of the so-called protesters looks like he (or she) is…well, you can fill in the blank.
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Chesapeake Energy is embarking on a unique strategy to remain ready to ramp up production at a moment’s notice. It may be a strategy that others have used, but this is the first time we’ve read or heard about it. You’ve read here on MDN that a number of large Marcellus/Utica drillers are scaling back (curtailing) production and spending on new drilling in 2024 until the price of natural gas goes higher. Just yesterday, EQT announced it is scaling back production by a full billion cubic feet per day (see 
A new poll released by Axis Research and Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance (PEIA) shows 58% of Pennsylvania voters disagree with Joe Biden’s infamous “pause” on approving new LNG export permits. Here’s the astounding part: 57% of poll respondents were Democrat and Independent voters! Yes, a majority of Democrats and Independents in PA disagree with old Joe. But that’s not all. After learning more about Biden’s LNG pause, 41% of those surveyed said they were less likely to vote for Biden because of his LNG pause. Joementia is in trouble in PA.
In January, Freeport LNG said that one of its three liquefaction trains was offline and would remain offline for “about a month” due to a “technical issue” following a recent Arctic freeze that reached all the way to the Gulf Coast (see 
You can’t read about energy in mainstream media these days without seeing multiple stories about geothermal energy and the big push to force-convert homes and businesses to use geothermal as a way of saving the planet from nasty/evil fossil fuels. Yet geothermal uses the same identical drilling rigs, drills the same holes in the ground, and even uses the same fracking technology as that used to drill shale oil and gas wells. But drilling and fracking for geothermal is righteous and clean and pure as wind-driven snow, while drilling and fracking for oil and gas is evil, Satanic, and destroying the environment. How does that work?
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Tellurian plans to make FID on two LNG trains in 2024; NATIONAL: China barred from buying USA oil reserves in funding bill; Antis hit with felony charges for defacing US Constitution’s display case; Biden took checks from climate activists who pressured him re LNG exports; INTERNATIONAL: Hamas-sheltering Qatar cashes in on Biden LNG pause; Burning wood considered “green” in Europe.
The country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh and solely focused on drilling in the Marcellus/Utica, announced this morning it had sliced 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of its production because of the ongoing low price of natgas. Other companies have announced similar reductions, including a 25% reduction by Chesapeake Energy (see 
In early January, Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy, two companies with major assets in the country’s two leading gas plays — the Marcellus/Utica and the Haynesville — announced an agreement to merge into one company (see 
The 295-mile Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) spans New England from the Canadian border to pipeline connections in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. The system began operations in 1999 and is located between three major pipeline networks originating in Canada and the Southern U.S. TC Energy owns 61.7% of PNGTS. The remaining 38.3 percent is owned by Northern New England Investment Company. The system includes 107 miles of facilities jointly owned by PNGTS and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. PNGTS owns 32% of those facilities. TC Energy announced today it is selling PMGTS to the evil BlackRock (run by CEO Larry Fink, a known anti-fossil fueler) for US$1.14 billion.
In January, MDN brought you the good news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see 
Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told Bloomberg reporters the Biden administration’s recent pause in LNG export licenses should be “limited in time.” Shapiro stopped short of outright criticizing Biden’s pause, something that could undermine job creation in a state that’s relying on energy to drive growth. Shapiro couldn’t even stand up Joementia, what a wimp! What Shapiro said amounts to a tiny love tap. It’s completely meaningless. Shapiro is standing by while Biden DESTROYS Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State.
Last week, the Baker Hughes rig count gained three rigs after losing two rigs the week before. The count went from 626 active rigs two weeks ago to 629 last week. It is the highest total rig count in the U.S. since September 22, 2023! The national count had consistently stayed between 620 and 625 (or one or two above or below that range) since last October, but now appears to be breaking out of that pattern and moving higher. The Marcellus/Utica regained the one rig it had lost two weeks ago. Pennsylvania remained at 24 rigs (the most since last June). Ohio stayed at 12 rigs. West Virginia regained a rig it had lost in the prior week and now operates 8 rigs. The M-U combined is running 44 rigs.
There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Feb. 19 – 25, up from 13 permits issued the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 8 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits (after issuing none the week before). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. Encino Energy took the prize for the most permits issued with 9 permits, all for Carroll County, OH. Repsol had the second most permits with 5 issued for Bradford County, PA. Everyone else had a single new permit: Beech Resources (Lycoming County, PA), Chesapeake Energy (Bradford County, PA), CNX Resources (Westmoreland County, PA), and HG Energy (Lewis County, WV).
Spanish energy giant Repsol, with around 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties, issued the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update last week. Among the tidbits coming to light is a statement by Repsol management that the company plans to spend €$1 billion (US$1.083 billion) in the Marcellus over the next four years. Repsol loves the Marcellus!