Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Oct 25, 2023
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: N.Y. climate goals in jeopardy as renewable projects falter; NATIONAL: Kingswood Capital Mgmt acquires Covenant Testing Tech; Chevron boss says oil has changed life on Earth for better; Analysts see gas storage surplus widening as mild autumn weather persists; INTERNATIONAL: Saudi Aramco inks $2.4B natgas plant deal with Hyundai; USA megadeals show fossil fuels here to stay.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Oct 25, 2023”
This is one of those times where we scratch our heads and say, Huh? Just last week, we brought you the news that American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT), based in Allentown, PA, with its fingers in several different pies, including subsidiaries in drilling, remediation, water, and more, is changing its name to American Environmental Partners, Inc. (see 
In June 2015, MDN told you about a cool plan by a Pennsylvania company to establish a CNG (compressed natural gas) terminal in Lycoming County, PA, as a way to get natural gas to manufacturers, fleets, and businesses where no pipeline infrastructure now exists (see 
A dozen residents from Greene County, PA, filed a lawsuit on Monday against the East Dunkard Water Authority and several private companies, including CNX Resources, claiming (among other things) that wastewater from CNX’s fracking work in the Marcellus Shale “tainted the water supply in Dunkard Creek” and that the tainted water has affected the health of those drinking and using it. Just remember, anyone can sue anyone for anything. That doesn’t mean the party being sued is culpable in any way, nor the lawsuit is legitimate.
A long-running lawsuit filed by Big Green groups using (abusing) a small group of uppity Virginia landowners argues the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had no right to delegate authority to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to use eminent domain to cross land, including the land owned by the small group of uppity landowners in Virginia. Big Green and the uppity landowners filed an emergency request last Tuesday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking that the construction of MVP be stopped while the lawsuit continues to play out (see 
The International Gas Union (IGU), Snam, and Rystad Energy partnered to produce and release the 2023 Global Gas Report (GGR) at last week’s Energy Intelligence Forum in London. The GGR (full copy below) says, rather bluntly, that the unprecedented demand uncertainty and insufficient investment in natural gas, low-carbon, and renewable gases are putting the so-called energy transition at risk, undermining energy affordability, security, and sustainability. The report is meant to be a kick in the seat of the pants, to wake the world up to the fact that we need MORE natural gas, not less.
Not even a full two weeks ago, MDN brought you the news that Exxon Mobil, the #5 oil producer in the Permian Basin, is buying Pioneer Natural Resources, the #1 oil producer in the Permian, in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, plus assuming $5 billion in debt, for a total deal value of $64.5 billion (see 
The Big Green group Save Ohio Parks is trying to block legally permitted and state-encouraged drilling under some of Ohio’s state-owned lands, including shale drilling under (not on) state parks. Save Ohio Parks recently tried to prove shale drilling is a problem in the Buckeye State by using data from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR). In a funny turnabout, the group actually proves the opposite — that shale drilling is super safe and not harming the environment in Ohio.
The U.S. rig count rose last week for the second week in a row, albeit just slightly. The national rig count added a piddly two rigs for 624 active rigs. We remain near the lowest point of active rigs running since February 2022. It feels like a dead cat bounce to us. The count in the Marcellus/Utica, after gaining one rig two weeks ago (in Pennsylvania), remained steady at 39 active rigs last week. The M-U’s biggest competitor, the Haynesville, added three rigs last week and now sports 40 active rigs, one more than the M-U. Darnit!
On Friday, Range Resources Corporation, the very first driller to sink a Marcellus Shale well (in Pennsylvania) back in 2004, announced it had appointed a new member to its Board of Directors — Charles G. Griffie. Mr. Griffie has an extensive background in the oil and gas industry with expertise in managing midstream assets. Among his previous positions, Griffie did a 2.5-year stint as Senior Vice President of Midstream and Marketing for Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration (now called Olympus Energy).
A very small but mouthy group of legislators, doctors and faux “scientists” is pressuring the weak-willed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, just months after Hochul’s controversial move to ban gas stoves, furnaces and propane heating in new residential buildings in the Empire State (see 