OTHER U.S. REGIONS: New LNG export capacity upends TX/LA natgas fundamentals; NATIONAL: Baker Hughes expects drop in North America drilling spend; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC+ plans to keep oil production cuts unchanged; Germany’s economy crumbling after chasing green dream.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Jan 29, 2024”
The White House has made official what we warned you about yesterday (see Biden Attacks NatGas by Blocking 17 U.S. LNG Export Terminals). This morning, the Biden administration announced it has put “a temporary pause on pending decisions of Liquefied Natural Gas exports.” The reason? The so-called “climate crisis” is “the existential threat of our time.” Which connotes that LNG is, at least in part, causing the climate crisis (a crisis that doesn’t actually exist!). There are 17 multi-billion-dollar LNG export projects with applications before the Dept. of Energy that will now, at a minimum, be delayed. We expect many of them will get canceled. Biden has just declared war on LNG exports.
Read More “White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports”
There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 15 – 21, versus 24 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits. West Virginia had a big, fat zero new permits last week. Ascent Resources scored the most new permits issued, with 5 permits across two counties, Jefferson and Harrison, in Ohio. Encino Energy (EAP in the list) had the second most new permits issued with 4 permits in Harrison County, OH.
Read More “20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 15 – 21”
Yesterday, CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full year 2023 update. The company’s earnings totaled $537.83 million, or $2.89 per share in 4Q23. That compares with $1.17 billion, or $5.68 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter (down 54%). CNX’s revenue for 4Q23 fell 39% to $999.56 million from $1.64 billion last year. On the plus side of the ledger, CNX’s production was 146.9 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in 4Q23 (1.6 Bcfe/d), bringing the full-year total to 560.4 Bcfe of production — approximately 5 Bcfe above the high end of the company’s previously announced full-year guidance range. Production one year ago (in 4Q22) was 140.6 Bcfe — meaning 4Q23 production was about 4.5% higher.
Read More “CNX Drilled Only 4 Wells in 4Q, Rev. Down 39%, Prod. Up 4.5%”
Anti-fossil fuel fanatics in Ohio (and beyond) still can’t accept that they lost a battle to block drilling under (not on) Ohio state-owned land, including some Ohio state parks. In November, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under three state-owned tracts of land: (1) all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, (2) more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and (3) 66 acres of the Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County (see OGLMC Votes to Allow Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park). The vote precipitated a panic attack among the environment left. Earthjustice and the Ohio Environmental Council (disgusting leftwing green groups) filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court appealing the OGLMC’s action (see Big Green Sues to Block Drilling Under (Not On) Ohio State Parks). One teeny, tiny problem for the wackos: The new law that empowers the OGLMC to do the leasing does not contain a provision to appeal their decisions to a court.
Read More “Antis Have No Right to Appeal Decision to Drill Under State Parks”
About one month ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company (see Bumpy Financial Road for BKV – Company Bets on Carbon Capture). The article pulled the curtain back to give us a better view of what happened with the company’s aborted plan to launch an initial public offering in 2023 (see BKV IPO On Hold, M&A Deals Falling Apart Due to Low Gas Prices). In a new exclusive interview with Hart Energy, BKV CEO Chris Kalnin said his company is still very interested in an IPO.
Read More “BKV Still Planning to Launch an IPO – When the Time is Right”
The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. As we told you in September, Enbridge conducted an open season to gauge interest in expanding Algonquin’s capacity to flow more gas into New England — mainly from the Marcellus/Utica — called Project Maple (see Enbridge Open Season to Expand Algonquin Pipe in New England). A coalition of “90 environmental organizations” (many of them one- or two-person operations) sent letters to the governors of the New England states and New York State last week demanding (they always demand) that the governors publicly oppose Project Maple.
Read More “Radicals DEMAND Northeast Governors Oppose Enbridge Pipe Project”
Amid all the bad news of the constant attacks by the Bidenistas against fossil energy (see today’s lead story about Biden attacking LNG), here is a story to warm your heart on a cold January day. So-called ESG funds set up to invest in companies that proclaim fealty to Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices are crashing and burning at a rapid pace. In the fourth quarter of 2023, U.S. fund clients withdrew a net $5.1 billion from ESG funds.
Read More “ESG Investment Funds Crashing & Burning – $5.1B Gone in U.S. 4Q”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Rob L. Jones elected board chair of Spire Inc.; NATIONAL: Three dozen climate models have ALL failed in predicting warming; Fossil fuels (not renewables) remain real engine for economic growth; Natural gas production fell unevenly during recent winter freeze; INTERNATIONAL: Energy info has never mattered more, it’s time to reform IEA.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 26, 2024”
Ever heard of short selling? It’s a trading strategy of speculating on a stock’s decline in price. According to Investopedia, “In short selling, a position is opened by borrowing shares of a stock, bond, or other asset that the investor believes will decrease in value. The investor then sells these borrowed shares to buyers willing to pay the market price. Before the borrowed shares must be returned, the trader is betting that the price will continue to decline and they can purchase the shares at a lower cost.” A so-called activist investor (we call them corporate raiders) in London called Snowcap Research bought (or borrowed) shares of Diversified Energy’s stock and then issued a 39-page screed claiming Diversified won’t be able to plug the wells it owns and will likely cut its dividend within 12 months. The screed is aimed at forcing the price of Diversified’s stock down so Snowcap can make a profit.
Read More “Activist Investor Attacks Diversified, Tries (Fails) to Tank Stock”
Two weeks ago, MDN warned you that the Bidenistas were conducting a secret “review,” being led by the Department of Energy (DOE), to evaluate whether regulators should consider mythical “climate change” when deciding whether a proposed natural gas export project meets “the national interest” (see Bidenistas Look to Block Authorization of New LNG Export Projects). It is a prelude to introducing new guidelines that will block the approval of ANY new LNG export project. It’s now happened. The DOE is about to announce it will delay the approval of Calcasieu Pass 2 while considering so-called global warming considerations. The pattern is: delay, then deny, then defend the denial.
Read More “Biden Attacks NatGas by Blocking 17 U.S. LNG Export Terminals”
Here’s a story that escaped our radar…until now. Catalyst Energy, Inc., proposes converting an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well. The well would handle up to 30 truckloads of wastewater per day. The prospect of the traffic and location near some homes did not sit well with some local residents. However, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the plan on Jan. 11, although it didn’t publicly announce the approval until Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Read More “PA DEP Approves Shale Wastewater Injection Well in McKean County”
Here’s a story we haven’t written about in over three years. American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Actually, there are two injection wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS. They were both “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake nobody could feel (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). ODNR allowed AWMS to reopen one of the injection wells but denied it the right to reopen the second well. AWMS appealed the closure of the second well all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018.
Read More “OH Supremes Revive Lawsuit Against ODNR for Closing Injection Well”
In June 2019, the New York State legislature passed a horrific “energy” bill that was later signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (see New York Pulls the Trigger, Commits Energy Suicide with New Law). The new Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) law limits carbon dioxide emissions to zero (an impossibility) by 2050. The following manufacturing industries in the state are being forced to close or move out of the state because of the law: glass (say goodbye to the entire community of Corning), steel, cement, auto, metal casting, food, pulp and paper, aluminum, plastics, ceramics, and chemicals. Oh! And don’t forget conventional oil and gas drillers who report the CLCPA is making it impossible to drill new wells. Jobs are disappearing from the O&G industry.
Read More “2019 NY Enviro Law is Blocking New Oil & Gas Drilling, as Designed”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is reporting U.S. dry natural gas production in the Lower 48 states reached an all-time monthly high of 105.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in December 2023. In 2023, Lower 48 dry natural gas production increased 3.7% (3.6 Bcf/d) from 2022. Dry natural gas production increased 3.8 Bcf/d in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23) compared with the average for the first three quarters of 2023. The increase was led by production from the Marcellus/Utica region, followed by the Permian.
Read More “US NatGas Production Hit New All-Time High in December Led by M-U”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Impact fees breathe life into county & municipal projects; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas upstream oil employment keeps growing; NATIONAL: Predictive maintenance plays crucial role in oil and gas; Kinder Morgan remains bullish on natural gas demand growth; INTERNATIONAL: EU needs to double powergen by 2040 to meet net zero.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Jan 25, 2024”