Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Research

Weekly Rig Count Down Big Again – This Time Oil, Not Gas Rigs
May 22, 2023May 22, 2023

Oilfield services company (OFS) Baker Hughes is the keeper of the venerable oil and gas industry rig count, which it has been tabulating since 1944. Last Monday, we reported on the previous Friday’s rig count as a gut punch to the natural gas sector, with some 16 gas-focused rigs being taken out of service (see U.S. Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Craters, Down 10% in One Week). The prevailing theory is that there is a massive pullback on new natgas drilling due to ongoing low prices for gas. We cautioned that one week does not make a trend. Let’s see what happens in future weeks. So, how about the BH rig count from last Friday? What did it show?
Read More “Weekly Rig Count Down Big Again – This Time Oil, Not Gas Rigs”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FERC’s Clements Exposed for Questionable Ethics, Ties to Big Green
May 22, 2023August 24, 2023

FERC Commissioner Allison Clements

A new expose running in RealClearEnergy reveals the tight relationship between Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Allison Clements and several Big Green groups, calling into question her ethics and her right to remain on the commission. In a May 4th Senate hearing featuring the four FERC commissioners, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, questioned Clements about a “closed-door” meeting she had with the funders of a left-leaning grantmaking institution known as the Energy Foundation. Participants in that meeting included the litigious, anti-fossil energy activist groups Sierra Club, EarthJustice, and Natural Resource Defense Council (Clements’ former employer).
Read More “FERC’s Clements Exposed for Questionable Ethics, Ties to Big Green”
MUI

MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – May 22, 2023
May 22, 2023May 22, 2023

The most recent day of active trading was Fri., May 19, 2023. The numbers below reflect Friday’s closing numbers.

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Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Mon, May 22, 2023
May 22, 2023May 22, 2023

NATIONAL: Most of US faces elevated risk of blackouts this summer; ExxonMobil, Shell explode a pair of energy transition myths; Things I truly don’t understand about the “inevitable energy transition”; INTERNATIONAL: Russia reportedly delivering nearly 1.44 bcf of gas a day via Ukraine; Green groups say G7 support for more gas investments “death sentence.”
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, May 22, 2023”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

New Permits to Drill in M-U, Other Gas Plays, Saw Big Drop in April
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

According to analysts at Evercore ISI, natural gas (and oil) permits to drill new shale wells dropped dramatically in April from previous months in both the Marcellus/Utica and other shale plays. Evercore tracks new drilling permits and says Marcellus permits fell by 25%. The M-U’s main competitor, the Haynesville, saw an even bigger 40% drop. We did a bit of analysis ourselves, and while new permits did drop quite a bit in April, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Read More “New Permits to Drill in M-U, Other Gas Plays, Saw Big Drop in April”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Green Radicals Protesting MVP Rush Stage at POLITICO Event
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

The Democrat Party has created a monster. They have brainwashed a considerable portion of their members to believe in the imminent toasting of Mom Earth by burning fossil fuels. Well into the second generation of mind-numbed robots, the issue is that many of these people are miseducated and have no sense of basic God-given (not man-given) human rights–like free speech. Example: The dunderheaded Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy, was giving a talk at a Democrat POLITICO energy summit in the D.C. swamp yesterday. She was asked a question about Mountain Valley Pipeline. She simply mouthed support for it (and it was lukewarm support at best), and a couple of unhinged wackos rushed toward the stage screaming. Did they wet their pants and howl at the moon too?
Read More “Green Radicals Protesting MVP Rush Stage at POLITICO Event”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources | Tioga County (PA)

Antis Try to Block Seneca’s Right to Drill in Tioga State Forest
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

In March, we warned you that a so-called environmental group flying under the name of Tioga County’s Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group (PCHPG) is angling to block a new Seneca Resources well pad on Mt. Nessmuk on the company’s Tioga State Forest Lease #007 (see Enviro Group Objects to Well Pad Location in Tioga State Forest). Seneca has already developed two pads on their legally-purchased leasehold in the Tioga State Forest and wants to add a third.
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Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

NYMEX Gas Price Leaps 9.6% to Close at 2-Month High of $2.59
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

Yesterday the NYMEX Henry Hub futures price of natural gas spiked nearly 10% (9.6%)–in a single day. It closed at $2.592/MMBtu, the highest closing number since March 13, over two months ago. The main reason for the price spike is a new weekly gas storage number issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The new gas added to storage was slightly lower than estimates predicted. The recent decline in the rig count last week (see U.S. Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Craters, Down 10% in One Week), combined with less gas going into storage, prompted traders to bid up the price.
Read More “NYMEX Gas Price Leaps 9.6% to Close at 2-Month High of $2.59”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA Power Plant Rule Destabilizes the Grid, Ends Reliable Electric
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

Last week the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The Wall Street Journal called the new regs a “death sentence for fossil-fuel power plants.” The WSJ is keeping the heat on the Biden EPA. In a new article, the WSJ says the “proposed power-plant emission rule would destabilize the energy grid and end reliable electricity.”
Read More “EPA Power Plant Rule Destabilizes the Grid, Ends Reliable Electric”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | ESG | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues

Exxon Says World Hitting Mythical “Net-Zero” by 2050 is Nonsense
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

Finally, at least one Big Oil company is willing to go on the record countering the mass insanity of the left. The left wants humanity to kill itself in order to achieve mythical “net zero” (no extra carbon emissions) by 2050. Leftist lunatics have tried to brainwash the world that if we don’t hit net zero (which is impossible), that’s it. Lights out. The world toasts, and we burn ourselves to a cinder. There is no hope for the future. Which is complete nonsense. Exxon said as much in an official statement to shareholders in an SEC filing.
Read More “Exxon Says World Hitting Mythical “Net-Zero” by 2050 is Nonsense”
Antero Resources | CNX Resources | Columbiana County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Fayette County | Greene County (PA) | Harrison County | Hilcorp Energy | Marshall County | Noble County | Ohio | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Repsol | Southwestern Energy | Tioga County (PA) | Tug Hill Operating | Weekly Permits | West Virginia | Westmoreland County | Wetzel County

26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 8-14
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

New shale permits issued for May 8-14 in the Marcellus/Utica rose from the prior week. There were 26 new permits issued last week, up from 20 in the prior week (and 18 the week before that). Last week’s tally included 13 new permits for Pennsylvania, 10 new permits for Ohio, and 3 new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was CNX Resources, with 7 permits issued (5 of them in Westmoreland County, PA, and 2 in Greene County, PA). Encino Energy, showing up as EAP Ohio in the report, had the second-highest tally with 5 permits (issued in Harrison County, OH).
Read More “26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 8-14”
MUI

MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – May 19, 2023
May 19, 2023May 19, 2023

The most recent day of active trading was Thu., May 18, 2023. The numbers below reflect yesterday’s closing numbers.

Read More “MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – May 19, 2023”
Best of the Rest

Other Stories of Interest: Fri, May 19, 2023
May 19, 2023May 25, 2023

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Palo Alto bows to celebrity chef in about-face on natural gas ban; NATIONAL: GHG intensity of US oil significantly lower than most regions; Clash over force majeure in natgas master sale & purchase agreement.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, May 19, 2023”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

O&G Contributed $143B, 847K Jobs in PA, OH, WV Economies in 2021
May 18, 2023May 25, 2023

Every so often, the lying left will poke its head up and make the wild claim that the shale industry hasn’t done a darned thing for the jobs or economy in various states–like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (see Heinz Endowments Launches Another Fake ‘Report’ Bashing the M-U). They say, “All those claims of jobs created and economic benefits are just smoke and mirrors.” We say the environmental left is full of (expletive deleted). And we can prove it. Earlier this week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released a massive new report compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the growing economic contributions of America’s natural gas and oil industry in all 50 states, including PA, OH, and WV, in 2021. For those three states (PA, OH, WV) in 2021, the O&G industry (largely shale) collectively contributed over $143 billion to state economies and supported more than 847,000 jobs! Stick that in your bong and smoke it, Big Green.
Read More “O&G Contributed $143B, 847K Jobs in PA, OH, WV Economies in 2021”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

PwC Study: U.S. O&G Provided Nearly $2 Trillion in Benefits in 2021
May 18, 2023May 25, 2023

The American Petroleum Institute (API) earlier this week released a new report on the growing economic contributions of America’s natural gas and oil industry in all 50 states, including investment in America ranging from taxes and workforce wages paid to indirect and induced jobs in retail, manufacturing, agriculture, and other sectors throughout the energy supply chain. The study, commissioned by API and prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), showed that the O&G industry supported 10.8 million jobs and contributed nearly $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2021. We love the fossil fuel industry! And you should, too.
Read More “PwC Study: U.S. O&G Provided Nearly $2 Trillion in Benefits in 2021”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide VA | Virginia

Virginia Utility Cos. Tell State Officials Methane Regs Not Needed
May 18, 2023May 25, 2023

Last year the Virginia legislature passed House Bill (HB) 558 (Senate Bill 565), which expands the definition of energy efficiency and conservation programs in Virginia. Among the provisions in the bill are enhanced leak detection and repair programs for natural gas utilities. Utilities can, among other things, build new infrastructure to capture methane from animal poop and landfills, with the right to pass along the cost to ratepayers (a provision that really rubbed the left wrong). However, it is the following provision in the bill that is now being hotly debated in the state: “The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the feasibility of setting a statewide methane reduction goal and plan.” In other words, craft new state regulations to control methane.
Read More “Virginia Utility Cos. Tell State Officials Methane Regs Not Needed”