Plum, PA House Explosion that Killed 6 NOT Caused by Local O&G Wells
In mid-August, a house exploded in Plum, PA, causing two neighboring houses to burn to the ground. Plum is located in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh. Five people died in the initial blast and fires. However, a sixth person later died from his injuries. We grieve with the families and friends of those who died or were injured. The incident is under investigation. The house is part of a development built on abandoned mine land surrounded by shallow oil and gas wells, some of which have been abandoned. Two wells still producing gas are about 1000 feet from the home. So, to be thorough, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched its own investigation to see if nearby wells (active or inactive) or the pipelines that connect them could have contributed to the tragedy (Plum, PA House Explosion Investigation Expands to Local O&G Wells). On Friday, the DEP said its investigation has found that “stray gas” from area wells and/or pipelines is NOT the cause of the explosion.
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For the first time since June, the national active U.S. rig count added rigs–a single rig–last week. The new active U.S. rig count is 632, up from 631 the previous week. Unfortunately, the Marcellus/Utica lost yet another rig, sinking to 39 active rigs. Once again, West Virginia was the unlucky state that lost a rig, now running just 8 shale rigs. The rig counts for both Pennsylvania and Ohio stayed the same last week.
On February 14, 2022, Energy Transfer Marketing & Terminals, L.P. (ETMT) applied to expand the company’s ethane chilling capacity at the Marcus Hook Terminal (MHT) from approximately 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) to approximately 85,000 bpd. Because the facility is located in a so-called Environmental Justice (EJ) area, the DEP is conducting an even more painful anal exam (than usual) before issuing a permit for the expansion. Part of that examination will be a public hearing on Sept. 19, 2023, in Boothwyn, PA, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Last week, MDN told you about Gulfport Energy drilling three Utica Shale wells in Ohio (with a fourth underway) that are massive 4-mile wells (see 
Every single week, we read stories in mainstream media (and in the fringe environmental media) that declare so-called renewables, namely solar and wind, are taking the world by storm. They’re replacing fossil fuels. The fat lady is just about ready to sing and bring down the curtain on fossil energy because wind and solar are taking over, baby. Except it’s all a lie! The editor of the Times Observer (in Warren, PA), The Post-Journal (in Jamestown, NY), and the OBSERVER (in Dunkirk, NY) penned a sobering column that points out wind and solar contribute roughly 2% of the electricity flowing to the grid in New York State, and not much more for the grid in Pennsylvania.
Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that will cost on the order of $14.5 billion to build has not made an official final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the FERC-approved project, yet. However, construction began on the project in March 2022 (see 
NATIONAL: U.S. power grids saved by natural gas, again; INTERNATIONAL: Chevron Australia LNG workers begin strike; Shell considers new LNG projects to meet future demand; Elites directing energy transition have no idea what they are doing.
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for April through June 2023 (full copy below). There were 94 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 2Q23, a huge decrease of 39 wells (-29%) compared to 2Q22. Data for July and August 2023 show that new wells spud declined 48% (!) from the same period in 2022. Ouch. However, natural gas production volume was 1,859 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2Q23, up 7 Bcf (+0.3%) from 2Q22. It is the first quarter without a year-over-year production decline since 2Q22. Let’s celebrate the small victories, right?
Equitrans Midstream Corporation, the builder and (soon to be) operator of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, announced the company’s CEO, Thomas Karam, will retire at the end of the year just as MVP is coming online. Diana Charletta, currently president and chief operating officer of Equitrans, will succeed Karam as Equitrans’ newly appointed CEO. There’s no surprise or mystery there–Charletta has been the heir apparent for some time. However, what the official press release doesn’t tell you is that the Equitrans board is showering Karam with a $7.5 million bonus as his reward for dragging MVP across the finish line.
The old Energy Harbor coal-fired power plant in Pleasants County, WV, which had been offline since June 1 and was scheduled to be demolished, recently roared back to life under new ownership (see 
Last November, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania) began to leak. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see 
The swamp gets swampier. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, Chairman of the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is rumored to be pushing a staff member to fill the open Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner slot. There is an open seat for a Democrat after Manchin blocked Richard “Dick” Glick from continuing beyond the end of his second term (see 
Not only are fossil fuels (oil and natural gas) loathsome and evil and racist, not to mention toasting Mom Earth into a cinder, but if the Bidenistas move forward with pushing hydrogen energy as a replacement, hydrogen will be just as loathsome, just as evil, and just as racist–according to 180 so-called environment groups (Communist groups masquerading as environmental groups). The problem is, Biden may be dumb enough to believe them! He’s not the brightest bulb in the pack.
New shale permits issued for Aug 28 – Sep 3 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to decline. There were 13 new permits issued last week, down from 16 issued two weeks ago, and way down from the 27 issued three weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 8 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia (WV has issued no permits in five of the last six weeks). Three drillers tied for the top recipient with a piddly 3 permits each: Chesapeake Energy, Snyder Brothers, and Southwestern Energy.