Trust in Mainstream Media’s Paid-For Climate Reporting Collapsing
Reporters like to portray themselves as truth-tellers who hold the powerful accountable. In reality, many of them are hired guns who publish propaganda under the guise of doing journalism. For example, did you know that the Associated Press takes in millions of dollars from philanthropies — the Hewlett Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and others — to fund “reporting” (i.e., propaganda) on climate change, such as stories that this summer’s heat wave is due to man-made global warming? The good news is that a growing number of Americans are abandoning legacy media like the AP for better sources of information.
Read More “Trust in Mainstream Media’s Paid-For Climate Reporting Collapsing”
New shale permits issued for Sep 18 – 24 in the Marcellus/Utica were roughly the same as the prior week. There were 21 new permits issued last week, down 1 from permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 11 new permits in Pennsylvania, 4 new permits in Ohio, and 6 new permits in West Virginia. Three companies tied for top permittee last week: PennEnergy Resources with 5 permits in Butler County, PA; CNX Resources with 5 permits in Washington County, PA; and Southwestern Energy with 5 permits spread between Wetzel and Ohio counties in WV.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Why West Virginia really turned on Manchin; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Where does DeSantis stand on the issue of fracking in Florida?; Cummins tests new natural gas engine in California; Jackson Hole’s EV buses poster child for energy transition failure; NATIONAL: Oil is near $100 and shale isn’t coming to the rescue; US natural gas: Hot weather helped, but winter a wildcard; INTERNATIONAL: Aramco to buy $500MM stake in MidOcean, eyeing global LNG; Japan LNG stocks drop to lowest since end-Jan 2021.
According to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, large U.S. shale gas drillers (namely Marcellus/Utica drillers) have hedged (pre-sold at a specific price) an average of 50% of anticipated shale gas production for the second half of 2023. The average price of the hedges is $3.35/Mcf, far above the average NYMEX Henry Hub price that has been bumping along between $2.25 and $2.75. CNX Resources is the top hedger, hedging 80% of its production in 2H23 at $3.04/Mcf.
Natural gas development is fundamental to the health and strength of Pennsylvania’s economy, supporting well over 100,000 family-sustaining careers, boosting state tax revenues, and generating billions in economic benefits, according to a new economic impact analysis (full copy below) commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). The analysis, released at the kickoff of the 
The Enbridge Gas Dawn Parkway System is one of the most robust pipeline systems in North America and provides for the movement of natural gas from Enbridge Gas’s Dawn Hub located near Sarnia, Ontario, to the Greater Toronto Area, where it interconnects with other downstream pipelines serving eastern Canadian and northeast U.S. markets. Marcellus/Utica molecules help feed the Dawn Hub via the Rover and NEXUS pipelines. Enbridge Gas is holding a new capacity open season for an extra 300 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of natural gas along the Dawn Parkway System. Let’s move more M-U molecules!
In November 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed regulatory lawyer Willie Phillips to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), replacing Neil Chatterjee (see 
For traders who buy and sell NYMEX Henry Hub futures (and there is a fair number who read MDN), listen up! CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), announced it is launching Micro Henry Hub futures and options beginning November 6. The standard Henry Hub natural gas futures contract for a single contract trades 10,000 MMBtu of natural gas, equivalent to 10 million cubic feet (MMcf). The new Micro Henry Hub contract is one-tenth that size — 1,000 MMBtu, equivalent to 1 MMcf. The other major difference is that the standard Henry Hub contract costs $10 to execute, whereas the new Micro contract will cost just $1.
According to the International Gas Union’s (IGU) 2023 Global Wholesale Gas Price Survey report (full copy below), 2022 was THE most turbulent year in the history of gas markets, as the global energy crisis intensified and the global price levels reached record highs. Last year saw record price levels, with Europe’s wholesale prices reaching over $30 per MMBtu. The average world price for natural gas reached $9.44 per MMBtu in 2022 — the highest ever — compared to a record low of $3.23 per MMBtu in 2020. Record high prices last year were seen in all regions apart from North America and the Former Soviet Union.
An important decision was recently issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that has the potential to affect landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica. At least, we believe it has broader implications. The case is known as Grissoms et al. v. Antero Resources Corporation. The case revolves around the issue of a “market enhancement” royalty clause (MEC), which is common in many shale leases throughout the M-U. An MEC lease typically prohibits the deduction of any post-production costs incurred in transforming raw gas into a marketable product. The question is, when is the gas marketable? At the wellhead or later on, after it has been cleaned up? The judge in the Grissoms case ruled in favor of the landowner and said the gas is NOT “marketable” in its raw form at the wellhead.
Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC) or a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope Gas recently received approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia to acquire nearly 900 miles of gathering pipelines in northern West Virginia from Equitrans Midstream and add the pipeline to the 2,000 miles of WV gathering pipes it already owns (see 
Yesterday, Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, a regional electric utility, announced its updated 20-year plan to provide reliable, affordable, and resilient energy to its customers. The plan calls for investment in new on-demand energy sources (two new gas-fired power plants) to ensure the long-term stability of the energy grid and accelerated deployment of renewable energy generation. Even though the plan is loaded with all sorts of so-called new renewable electric generation, anti-fossil fuel zealots have latched onto the two new gas-fired power plants and are stroking out. By the way, those two gas-fired plants will get their molecules from the Marcellus/Utica.
Going back at least 10 years, MDN has referred to the way Coterra Energy (then Cabot Oil & Gas) was seemingly able to spin golden profits from the straw of low gas prices in the northeastern PA Marcellus (see