Does the U.S. Natural Gas Industry Have a Future?
A pair of analysts (authors/economists) have an article on the OilPrice.com website asking this question: Does the Natural Gas Industry Have a Future? They use data to paint a picture of a commodity (natural gas) that is, at best, in trouble. Why? The sales volume of natgas has gone up, but ever-so-slowly. The usage of natural gas by consumers to heat and cook is going down, especially in places that are banning it for those uses (like New York State). The picture painted by the authors appears to be pretty bleak. As usual, we have a different perspective.
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Before heading out the door last Wednesday for the extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend, MDN checked to see if the various state environmental agencies had posted updates for new permits issued to drill shale wells. We found only a single permit issued, in Pennsylvania, for new shale wells among all three Marcellus/Utica states (nothing for Ohio or West Virginia). We figured maybe the worker bees had not yet entered the data, so we held back the report for the week of Nov. 13 – 19 new permits. We checked again yesterday morning, and then again this morning. And it’s still only that single PA permit, which is the lowest number of new permits issued in a single week in our extensive memory of tracking these things. We hope the dearth of permits is because of the holiday and is a fluke and not a new trend.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: A ‘none-of-the-above’ approach to energy is a bad idea; NATIONAL: EVs and hybrids grow to a record-high 18% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales; New NARUC group to focus on natgas-electric harmonization; Kamala Harris slammed for Thanksgiving post featuring gas stove; Federal energy data paint ugly winter picture; INTERNATIONAL: Saudi Arabia seeks OPEC+ oil quota cuts while some members resist.
It’s been a financial roller coaster for oil and gas drillers over the past 15 years. Investors in shale oil and gas companies suffered for years with little or no returns for their invested money. Five of eight large Marcellus/Utica drillers saw their share prices decrease by an astonishing 85% or more from 2008 to 2019 (see 
Last Wednesday, before heading out the door for the Thanksgiving holiday, MDN brought you the sad (but not unsurprising) news that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had decided to appeal a Commonwealth Court decision striking down his predecessor’s attempt to force the state to implement a multi-billion-dollar carbon tax, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (see 
In January 2016, Invenergy announced its intention to build a natural gas-powered electric plant in rural Elizabeth Township, in Allegheny County, PA (see 
Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
The dead cat bounce bounced a little higher last week (i.e., the slight bounce a dead cat makes when it hits the ground). The rig count hit a new low for 2023 three weeks ago (see 
Freeport LNG’s export terminal with three liquefaction “trains” shut down in June 2022 after an explosion and fire (see 
The irrational leftists who inhabit the Biden administration can’t help themselves. They HATE fossil fuels and are doing everything they can to destroy the fossil energy industry using the regulatory power of the Executive Branch. Biden may or may not be aware of the situation (he’s so clueless). Regardless, the Bidenistas have their sites set on damaging fossil fuels with “a battery of rules in the coming months” — at least six significant new regulatory actions to “control” methane emissions.
We’ll say it right up front: We told you so. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced yesterday that he will appeal a decision by the Commonwealth Court that blocks PA’s entrance into the obscene Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. Are you surprised? Shocked? We certainly aren’t. Shapiro has just revived a huge threat to the future of the Marcellus Shale industry in the Keystone State. Still happy you voted for Shapiro? No, we didn’t think so.
In February 2021, Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG), a company that invests in non-operated oil and gas assets (they let others do the drilling), announced it had purchased 64,000 net acres producing ~120 MMcfe/d (million cubic feet equivalent per day) in the Marcellus/Utica from Reliance Industries Limited (see 
Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE) issues grants covering part of the cost of building new natural gas pipelines to connect homes and businesses, typically in rural parts of the state, to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many PIPE grant projects in the past (
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the nonprofit that oversees the state’s electricity system, has warned New York State for YEARS of coming blackouts if peaker plants in New York City are forced to close in 2025 (see 
STV, a New York City-based professional services firm that plans, designs, and manages infrastructure projects across North America, recently announced that it will exit servicing the midstream oil and gas market after signing an agreement with Pennsylvania-based Allied Resources Group (ARG). ARG is acquiring STV’s midstream oil and gas business operations for an undisclosed price, effective November 30, 2023.