Other Stories of Interest: Fri, May 26, 2023
NATIONAL: Machine learning has potential to transform oil and gas; INTERNATIONAL: Half of oil and gas workers find their work exhausting.
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Regulation | Shell
Shell Cracker Agrees to $10M Shakedown from PA, Restarting Now
In March, Shell said its Pennsylvania ethane cracker facility had not–using new, more accurate methods of measuring emissions–violated emissions limits at any point during the facility’s somewhat troubled startup (see Shell Claims PA Cracker Plant Did Not Exceed Air Emissions Limits). However, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says it did exceed emissions limits, a number of times. Shell is not going to push the issue. Yesterday, PA Gov. Josh Shapiro announced his government had shaken down Shell and is forcing the company to pay nearly $10 million in fines and bribes“contributions” to benefit local communities. That’s the protection money price to restart the now shutdown plant and to keep it going.
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Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia
New Bill Introduced by PA Congressman Would Finish MVP This Year
Last Thursday, a Congressman from Pennsylvania, John Joyce (a physician from Altoona, PA), introduced House of Representatives Bill (HR) 3500, called the “Mountain Valley Pipeline Completion Act” (copy below). Which we find interesting because Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) does not touch PA, although a PA company, Equitrans, is building it. The 303-mile MVP pipeline starts in Wetzel County, WV, and runs through WV into Virginia, ending in Pittsylvania County, VA. The project has been stalled for years due to repeated lawsuits from foreign-funded Big Green groups. HR 3500, aimed at finishing MVP, was co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and Alex Mooney (R-WV). Here’s what the bill would do…
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PA Supreme Court Justices Split Over RGGI – Carbon Tax or Fee?
Yesterday the six sitting justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (currently one vacancy due to the death of Chief Justice Max Baer last fall) heard oral arguments in a case about the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)–a carbon tax scheme aimed at shutting down coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in the state. As is often the case, this Supreme Court case is about a technicality in the law. A lower court (PA Commonwealth Court) blocked the state’s entrance into RGGI last year until a lawsuit challenging PA’s participation could play out (see PA Judge Reinstates Order Blocking PA’s Entry into RGGI Carbon Tax). The Supremes heard arguments about whether or not the lower court should have temporarily blocked RGGI. However, yesterday’s discussion by the justices kept drifting back to the core issue: Is RGGI a “fee” as it claims, or is it a tax?
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UN Turns Against Carbon Removal Tech as “Unproven” and “Risky”
We have warned you, repeatedly, that environmental leftist wackos will NEVER accept fossil fuel energy under any circumstances. If you were to wave a magic wand and take away all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil energy, they would still reject it. And we have proof of our assertion. The United Nations (UN), a body governed by leftist thugs and tyrants, now says using machines to remove vast amounts of CO2 from the air and sea to fight climate change is “unproven” and contains “unknown” risks. Ergo, we shouldn’t even try it. Ergo, we must eliminate the use of all fossil fuel energy to save the planet from burning to a cinder.
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Carbon Offsets are a Scam – CEO of Largest CO2 Certifier Resigns
We’ve often compared carbon dioxide (CO2) offsets, or carbon credits, as akin to the practice of the Catholic Church selling indulgences in the Middle Ages to absolve you of your sins (see our stories here). But that doesn’t really work, does it? Your sins don’t magically go away if you pay money. It’s the same with carbon offsets or carbon credits. Companies that buy an offset can keep right on “polluting” or emitting CO2. The overall level of CO2 “pollution” doesn’t change. Paying someone to plant a few trees or use a contraption to suck the CO2 back out of the atmosphere is a scam. A lie. And now, the companies formed to traffic in carbon offsets are being exposed as the frauds they are.
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EIA Report Ponders the Effect of LNG Exports on U.S. NatGas Market
In March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (see EIA Annual Outlook Predicts O&G, M-U Still Going Strong in 2050). In AEO2023, the EIA considers long-term energy trends in the U.S. and presents an outlook for energy markets through 2050. The same EIA number crunchers are back with a supplement to AEO2023–a report that looks at the effects of exporting LNG on domestic U.S. natgas markets.
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Dick Glick is Back! DC Consultancy Lobbies Against Fossil Energy
Richard Glick Richard “Dick” Glick, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), stepped down from FERC in early January after Sen. Joe Manchin refused to conduct a hearing on reappointing him (see Willie Phillips Takes Over as Acting FERC Chairman, Dick Glick Gone). Prior to FERC, Glick was a former wind lobbyist (see Dems Pick Wind Lobbyist for FERC Appointment). We can count on one hand the number of new gas pipeline projects Glick voted to approve. Thank God he’s gone. But what’s this? Like a bad penny, Glick has turned up again. And guess what he’s doing…
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MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – May 25, 2023
The most recent day of active trading was Wed., May 24, 2023. The numbers below reflect yesterday’s closing numbers.
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Other Stories of Interest: Thu, May 25, 2023
NATIONAL: The time to expand mining and streamline permitting is now; INTERNATIONAL: Oil extends rally led by Saudi warning; UK windfall tax case study.
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2 New NatGas Peakers Coming to Ontario, Canada – M-U to Feed?
We spotted a story from Windsor, Ontario (Canada) that caught our attention. We discovered a new customer for Marcellus/Utica gas might be coming just across the border. The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) that controls Ontario’s electricity supply has approved a plan by Capital Power to build two more natural gas peaking units at its East Windsor Cogeneration Centre in Windsor’s Ford City. Where is Ford City? Just across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, and close the Dawn Hub–a major natural gas hub that gets some of its gas from the M-U.
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PA Dems Water Down Bill Raising Bonding Rates for Conventional Wells
Last summer Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 2644 was passed into law, becoming Act 96 of 2022 (see New PA Act 96 Helps Boost Plugging Orphan Wells – Left Goes Nuts). Part of the new law keeps the right to raise bonding amounts for conventional wells with the legislature rather than allowing PA’s unelected Democrat bureaucrats in the bowels of the DEP’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) from doing it. The radical Democrats who control the PA House (with a razor-thin, one-seat majority) introduced a bill a few weeks ago attempting to undo HB 2644 (see PIOGA Responds to Bill Raising Bonding Rates for Conventional Wells). That bill, which was going nowhere fast, has been watered down in an attempt to get it to pass.
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H2 Summit in Pittsburgh Highlights M-U Applications for Hydrogen Hub
The second annual Hydrogen Summit was held yesterday in Pittsburgh at the Energy Innovation Center Institute. The summit is a collaboration between Peoples Natural Gas, the Energy Innovation Center Institute, and Bedford Management Partners, with an aim to position the Pittsburgh region to be a leader in global energy innovation. Front and center at yesterday’s confab was talk about two applications from the Marcellus/Utica region hoping to receive money from a $7 billion pot that is part of Biden’s Hunger Games contest, money to be awarded to 6-8 new regional hydrogen hubs.
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SUPER DUG Event – Biden Intent on Destroying O&G; NatGas on Hold
First, there was DUG, the Developing Unconventional Gas industry conference founded and hosted by Hart Energy. Then there were regional editions of DUG, like DUG Permian, DUG Eagle Ford, DUG Bakken, and DUG East (which covered both the Marcellus and Utica). Now, there’s SUPER DUG! Which is the combination of events covering the Permian, Eagle Ford, Midcontinent (SCOOP/STACK), Bakken, and the Rockies (DJ Basin, etc.). SUPER DUG was held yesterday and today in Fort Worth, Texas. There was some interesting news coming from the first day–news about natural gas and about Joe Biden.
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Big Green Report Admits O&G Methane Emissions Fell 28% from 2019-21
Three far-left organizations, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), Ceres, and ERM Group, published their third annual report, “Benchmarking Methane and other GHG Emissions of Oil and Natural Gas Production in the United States” (full copy below), which analyzes the production-based emissions of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S. While the aim of the report is to name-and-shame big oil and gas companies (the worst offenders) with respect to methane and so-called greenhouse gas emissions, the report could not gloss over the elephant in the room: This year’s analysis found that reported methane and greenhouse gas intensity in the oil and gas sector have declined 28% and 30%, respectively, between 2019 and 2021, despite an increase in natural gas and total hydrocarbon production.
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Citizens Against Gov’t Waste Awards NY Gov “Porker of the Month”
Yesterday, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), an independent, nonpartisan group, named New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat) its May 2023 “Porker of the Month” for signing a budget that bans gas stoves and furnaces in new residential buildings. Hochul signed a $229 billion behemoth budget bill that bans new construction from connecting to natural gas pipelines (outlawing new gas stoves and furnaces), as well as forces the shutdown of seven gas-fired peaker power plants (see NY State has Fallen – Gas Stoves & Peaker Plants Banned in Budget). CAGW says the Hocul budget “is devastating for taxpayers, businesses, and consumers”–especially the gas ban.
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