Iran-Backed Red Sea Attacks Increase Shipping Times & Freight Rates
We’ve talked plenty in recent months about the problems in the Red Sea with Iran’s puppets, the Houthis, trying to hijack ships, and (lately) lobbing bombs at ships sailing through the region. Those ships include LNG (liquefied natural gas) and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or propane) carriers. The result is predictable: Ships have stopped using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
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MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Senators: Biden’s LNG pause hurting W.Va.; NATIONAL: Senate confirms nominee to lead EPA’s climate & clean air office; Documentary duo strike gold with DC climate trial ‘verbatim podcast’; INTERNATIONAL: Enbridge Gas open season for peak storage bids at Dawn Hub; Oil drops on conflicting reports of war ceasefire; WoodMac, Standard Chartered look at Biden LNG export pause.
Congressional Republicans are turning up the heat WAY up on the Biden administration’s decision to pause natural gas export approvals. Last Friday, Joementia announced he would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while his people fart around pretending to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve a project (see 
Equitrans, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project, is more than just a one-trick (one pipeline) pony. Equitrans owns 940 miles of FERC-regulated, interstate pipelines that have interconnect points to seven interstate pipelines and multiple local distribution companies (LDCs). The transmission and storage system is supported by 43 compressor units, with total throughput capacity of approximately 4.4 Bcf per day and compression of approximately 136,000 horsepower, and 18 natural gas storage reservoirs, which have a peak withdrawal capacity of approximately 820 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day and a working gas capacity of approximately 43 Bcf. Two of Equitrans’ 18 storage reservoirs — Hunters Cave and Swarts, both in Greene County, PA — are getting a makeover.
Actions speak so much louder than words on a page, don’t they? Take Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. When he was Attorney General, he relentlessly threatened and attacked and harassed the companies in the Marcellus industry (
Last Friday, Joementia announced a one-year “pause” on any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while his people pretend to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve a project (see 
Here’s one instance when antis may have a legitimate point. In 2018, Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), proposed to extend MVP (when it’s done) by an extra 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric generation. The 75-mile extension is called MVP Southgate. Last year, Equitrans asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend Southgate’s project timeline an extra three years. FERC agreed in December (see 
Score a (very) minor victory for the radicals of a Little Green Group (funded with money from Big Green groups) called Protect PT. Last October, a lawsuit brought by Protect PT against a second injection well planned for Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, had oral arguments before the state’s Commonwealth Court (see 
Evolution Well Services announced a three-year extension of their current electric fracturing partnership with Encino Energy after achieving operational efficiencies and milestones in 2023. Evolution uses “e-fracking” technology. Traditional fracking uses diesel-fueled engines to produce electricity to power pressure pumps for hydraulic fracturing operations. E-fracking uses natural gas from the well pad (or CNG or LNG) to power turbines to create electricity. E-fracking uses a different type of “engine” and different fuel. E-fracking fleets are roughly half the size of traditional diesel fleets — and a whole lot quieter.
In early 2013, the Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County, PA, signed a deal with CONSOL Energy (now CNX Resources) to lease 9,000 acres surrounding the airport for natural gas drilling (see 
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