NATIONAL: Drivers sue US shale oil producers over alleged price-fixing scheme; John Kerry has a lot to answer for; No end in sight for our gasoline use; Globalists are using ‘green energy’ to destroy OUR way of life; What a second Trump term could mean for US oil and gas; INTERNATIONAL: BP confirms new CEO after Looney scandal; OPEC chief says oil demand will defy predictions of a peak.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Jan 17, 2024”
U.S. natural gas and power prices hit multi-year highs on Friday with the prospect of frigid temps and snow storms in various portions of the country. The extreme cold was expected to bring record gas demand and cut supplies by freezing wells. The spot price of natural gas at various trading hubs from the West Coast to Middle America to the East Coast all jumped. Of particular interest for us, spot gas prices at the Eastern Gas South hub, widely considered the “benchmark” for the Marcellus/Utica, jumped from $2.45 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Thursday to $10.40 on Friday — the highest price at that hub since July 2008.
Read More “NatGas Prices Make Huge Jump on Deep Freeze – Some M-U Prices 4X”
The Bidenistas unveiled a new regulatory proposal targeting natural gas on Friday that would introduce an obscene new tax on the fossil fuel industry, punishing natgas producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions. The Biden EPA, which took point on introducing the new federal methane tax, said it will help “tackle wasteful methane emissions” from the oil and gas sector, encouraging facilities with the highest emissions levels to meet or exceed higher levels of performance. The proposed rules would create a so-called Waste Emissions Charge, which begins at $900 per metric ton of wasteful emissions in 2024, and increases to $1,200 for 2025 and $1,500 for 2026 and beyond. Bonkers!
Read More “Full Attack Mode: Biden EPA Proposes New Punitive Methane Tax”
West Virginia continues to lag behind both Pennsylvania and Ohio with respect to building combined cycle natural gas-fired power plants. PA and OH have a combined 39 such power plants. WV has zero. In March 2023, West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 188, aimed at making WV’s gas-fired power generation more competitive with its neighbors in PA and OH, was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (see WV Bill Promoting New Gas-Fired Power Plants Signed into Law). The new law, dubbed the Grid Stabilization and Security Act of 2023, directs the Dept. of Economic Development secretary to identify and designate sites considered appropriate for natural gas electric generation projects. It also caps the time the state Air Quality Board has to hear appeals of permits for such projects to no more than 60 days.
Read More “WV Still Waiting to Build State’s First Big Gas-Fired Power Plant”
Antero Resources is one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica (with major assets in West Virginia). As good and careful as companies like Antero are when hiring, sometimes there’s a rotten apple found in the barrel. Such was the case with a former employee who headed up the company’s operations in WV — where most of its drilling happens. The former employee took bribes and kickbacks from a vendor over a period of years (2012-2015), steering contracts to that vendor. The vendor’s performance was not as good as other competitors. At the end of years of litigation, Antero was finally awarded compensation from a jury, and a bit extra from a judge, to make up for the actions of their rogue employee (see Antero Prevails Against Corrupt Employee, Wins $12.9M at Trial). However, the employee has hidden the money in offshore companies, and Antero is still trying to collect.
Read More “Antero Trying to Collect $11 Million from Former Employee”
The Baker Hughes rig count lost ground again last week, as it has in four of the last five weeks. The count went from 621 active rigs two weeks ago to 619 last week. The Marcellus/Utica count was steady at 40 active rigs; however, the mix changed. Pennsylvania kept 19 active rigs as in previous weeks, but Ohio picked up one rig for 13 active rigs, while West Virginia lost one rig for 8 active rigs.
Read More “Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count Loses 2 @ 619, M-U Even @ 40”
In what is a laughable defense, Venture Global LNG told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it cannot meet contractual obligations to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to several major customers because its export plant is not yet ready to meet three criteria found in the contracts. Venture Global continues its charade that the Calcasieu Pass export facility is not yet ready for primetime — even though it has shipped over 200 cargoes! Venture Global is using language in the contracts as an excuse to continue profiting from not honoring those contracts and instead selling cargoes at a higher non-contract price. It’s disgusting, and it’s giving American LNG a black eye.
Read More “Venture Global Continues Fiction that Calcasieu Pass LNG Not Ready”
QatarEnergy, the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea, although production continues. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group has, since November, attacked vessels in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12% of the world’s shipping traffic. The terrorists are using Israel’s justified war in Gaza as the excuse to attack ships in the Red Sea. The U.S. and U.K. dropped some bombs on the Houthis in Yemen last week. The Houthis have continued to attack ships in the region, despite it raining bombs. Maybe it’s time for bigger bombs to be dropped?
Read More “Iranian-Backed Terrorists Put a Damper on Red Sea LNG Shipments”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Massive gas outage threatens millions amid arctic storm; NATIONAL: John Kerry bows out as U.S. climate envoy; The immediate danger from global warming is a hoax; Manchin set to torch Biden officials over EV tax credits; Exxon leaves oil lobbying group over climate differences; Evolution Well Services announces the promotion of Nick Ruppelt; SLB, Nabors partner on automated drilling solutions; INTERNATIONAL: A ‘catastrophic’ decline in support for shareholder activism.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Tue, Jan 16, 2024”
There were 18 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the first full week of 2024 (Jan. 1-7), versus 24 permits issued for the final two weeks of last year (Dec. 18-31). Pennsylvania issued 9 new permits last week. Ohio issued just 1 — which was to drill a Marcellus (not a Utica) well! West Virginia issued 8 permits. Antero Resources took the top spot last week with 7 new permits, all of them issued for drilling in Wetzel County, WV.
Read More “18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 1-7”
Even though separately (and together) Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy own MORE assets in the Marcellus/Utica than in the Haynesville shale play, the main driver to do a merger between the two companies is the Haynesville and that play’s close proximity to LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast. That is the conclusion of most analysts based on comments made yesterday by Chesapeake and Southwestern in announcing a $7.4 billion deal to combine the companies (see Deal is Done! Chesapeake & Southwestern Announce $7.4B Merger). So, the big question is, What does that mean for the Marcellus/Utica?
Read More “Haynesville & LNG the Main Driver of Chesapeake/Southwestern Deal”
Somewhat lost in yesterday’s big news of the Chesapeake/Southwestern merger (which sucked up most of the news oxygen) was an announcement by EQT Corporation, the current largest natural gas producer in the U.S. EQT unveiled a new 15-year deal with Glenfarne Energy’s Texas LNG export facility to liquefy 0.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) for EQT, which works out to be roughly 66 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of EQT’s Marcellus/Utica molecules hitching a ride to South Texas.
Read More “EQT Announces Deal to Send 66 MMcf/d to LNG Export Plant in S. Texas”
Hyperion Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy, is seeking a special exception to a Penn Township (Westmoreland County) zoning ordinance so it can build a six-generator compressor station along Wilderness Road over the next four years. Last night, Hyperion representatives and witnesses testified at a township zoning hearing in favor of the plan. Those who spoke said the proposed compressor site would not create a problem for the air and water quality of that area.
Read More “Olympus Makes the Case for 6-Unit Compressor Station in Penn Twp”
On Wednesday, PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. power grid operator, asked (more like begged) Talen Energy to delay retiring several fossil fuel-powered plants in Maryland by three years. Why? PJM is afraid of blackouts due to unreliable “renewables” like wind and solar. Talen notified PJM last October that it intends to retire three oil-burning units and one natural gas-burning power unit at its Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station outside of Baltimore by June 2025.
Read More “PJM Begs Talen to Delay Shutting Down O&G Power Plants in Maryland”
At the end of October, MDN told you about a company called Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, based in Binghamton, NY, sending fliers to landowners in Broome, Tioga, and Chemung counties (along the border with Pennsylvania, where there is no doubt large amounts of Marcellus and Utica gas beneath the ground) inviting landowners to sign up for what appears to be an exciting opportunity to sell gas rights (see Company Seeks to Lease New York Mineral & Pore Rights for Flat $10). In December, we told you that Food & Water Watch (FWW) and other nutball green groups launched an all-out assault on the Southern Tier Solutions plan, organizing a form letter sent to NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democrat-controlled state legislature (see Big Green Pressures NY Democrats to Reject CO2 Fracking in Upstate). Yesterday, FWW went one step further, organizing a small (but loud) protest in front of Gov. Hochul’s Manhattan office to pressure her to ban all forms of “fracking.”
Read More “FWW Organizes Anti-CO2 “Fracking” Protest at NY Gov.’s NYC Office”
Since it is a stock exchange holiday, and to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., MDN is taking today off, Monday, Jan. 15. Full strength MDN will return Tuesday!