20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 15 – 21
There were 20 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 15 – 21, versus 24 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 11 new permits last week. Ohio issued 9 new permits. West Virginia had a big, fat zero new permits last week. Ascent Resources scored the most new permits issued, with 5 permits across two counties, Jefferson and Harrison, in Ohio. Encino Energy (EAP in the list) had the second most new permits issued with 4 permits in Harrison County, OH.
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Yesterday, CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full year 2023 update. The company’s earnings totaled $537.83 million, or $2.89 per share in 4Q23. That compares with $1.17 billion, or $5.68 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter (down 54%). CNX’s revenue for 4Q23 fell 39% to $999.56 million from $1.64 billion last year. On the plus side of the ledger, CNX’s production was 146.9 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in 4Q23 (1.6 Bcfe/d), bringing the full-year total to 560.4 Bcfe of production — approximately 5 Bcfe above the high end of the company’s previously announced full-year guidance range. Production one year ago (in 4Q22) was 140.6 Bcfe — meaning 4Q23 production was about 4.5% higher.
Anti-fossil fuel fanatics in Ohio (and beyond) still can’t accept that they lost a battle to block drilling under (not on) Ohio state-owned land, including some Ohio state parks. In November, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under three state-owned tracts of land: (1) all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, (2) more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and (3) 66 acres of the Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County (see
About one month ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company (see
The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. As we told you in September, Enbridge conducted an open season to gauge interest in expanding Algonquin’s capacity to flow more gas into New England — mainly from the Marcellus/Utica — called Project Maple (see
Amid all the bad news of the constant attacks by the Bidenistas against fossil energy (see today’s lead story about Biden attacking LNG), here is a story to warm your heart on a cold January day. So-called ESG funds set up to invest in companies that proclaim fealty to Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices are crashing and burning at a rapid pace. In the fourth quarter of 2023, U.S. fund clients withdrew a net $5.1 billion from ESG funds.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Rob L. Jones elected board chair of Spire Inc.; NATIONAL: Three dozen climate models have ALL failed in predicting warming; Fossil fuels (not renewables) remain real engine for economic growth; Natural gas production fell unevenly during recent winter freeze; INTERNATIONAL: Energy info has never mattered more, it’s time to reform IEA.
Two weeks ago, MDN warned you that the Bidenistas were conducting a secret “review,” being led by the Department of Energy (DOE), to evaluate whether regulators should consider mythical “climate change” when deciding whether a proposed natural gas export project meets “the national interest” (see
Here’s a story that escaped our radar…until now. Catalyst Energy, Inc., proposes converting an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well. The well would handle up to 30 truckloads of wastewater per day. The prospect of the traffic and location near some homes did not sit well with some local residents. However, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the plan on Jan. 11, although it didn’t publicly announce the approval until Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Here’s a story we haven’t written about in over three years. American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Actually, there are two injection wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS. They were both “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake nobody could feel (see
In June 2019, the New York State legislature passed a horrific “energy” bill that was later signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (see
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is reporting U.S. dry natural gas production in the Lower 48 states reached an all-time monthly high of 105.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in December 2023. In 2023, Lower 48 dry natural gas production increased 3.7% (3.6 Bcf/d) from 2022. Dry natural gas production increased 3.8 Bcf/d in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23) compared with the average for the first three quarters of 2023. The increase was led by production from the Marcellus/Utica region, followed by the Permian.
Yesterday we brought you the latest update on EOG Resources’ oil drilling program in the Utica Shale (see
Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 170, introduced early last year, would increase setback distances for shale wells from 500 feet to 2,500 feet — effectively killing any new shale well drilling anywhere in the state (see