PA IRRC Approves Onerous New VOC Regulation for Conventional Drillers
We sometimes ponder (and despair) over this question: Does the truth matter anymore? Do people actually care whether or not they are being lied to–by the government, by the media, by so-called experts? The trigger for our dark reflection on metaphysics comes from the news that the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) yesterday approved, by a vote of 3 to 2, a new regulation controlling volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and by extension, methane emissions, for Pennsylvania’s conventional oil and gas drillers. How is that news event related to truth and lies? We will explain.
UPDATE added below.
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Some 16 so-called “climate activists” (i.e., far-left extremists) were arrested Wednesday at the headquarters of investment giant Vanguard in Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia) for blocking the entrance to the facility. They were there to pressure and bully Vanguard to stop investing in anything remotely connected to fossil energy. Earth Quaker Action Team, a group of “non-violent” Quakers and “people of diverse beliefs” based in Philly, was behind the action.
For years, going back to the time when MDN editor Jim Willis worked in Washington, D.C. during his youth (mid-1980s), the joke circulating around D.C. was, “The most dangerous place to be in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a camera.” And that was back when Chuck was just a lowly Congressman! These days, the most dangerous place to be anywhere in the country is between an anti-fossil fuel zealot and a microphone at a public hearing. Antis DEMAND to have access to microphones anywhere and everywhere in order to spew their fossil fuel hate speech. And God help you if you deny them that “right”! Antis got denied yesterday in Philadelphia, and they are hopping mad about it.
New shale permits issued for Apr. 10-16 in the Marcellus/Utica picked up two from the prior week. There were 20 new permits issued in total last week, up from 18 in the prior week. Last week’s tally included 13 new permits for Pennsylvania, 4 new permits for Ohio, and 3 new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was Coterra Energy, with 6 new permits issued in Susquehanna County, PA. EQT was number two with 5 new permits, all of them issued in Greene County, PA.
Tomorrow is the annual day when environmental wackos demand fealty to Mother Earth. You WILL bow down and worship the creation (instead of the Creator), or risk being excommunicated from polite company. We thumb our noses at Earth Day worshipers and declare our love for the miracle of fossil energy on this Earth Day. We invite you to join us in celebrating the greatest invention of mankind–fossil fuels.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Climate change panel’s secrecy arrogant and unacceptable; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: FERC greenlights 2 Brownsville-area LNG projects; NATIONAL: Liberty Energy says 15 new frac fleets to hit U.S. market this year; INTERNATIONAL: Energy security trumps sustainability; Key oil demand landmark expected this August.
Yesterday EQT Corporation held its annual meeting in Pittsburgh. It was short and sweet. Everything presented in the company’s previously filed (with the SEC) notice about the meeting was approved at the meeting via proxy vote. Among the items approved was the always-ticklish issue of executive (and board) compensation. EQT has five named executive officers, including CEO and President Toby Rice. Toby’s regular annual salary is exactly $1 (not a typo). However, Toby gets bonuses based on the performance of the company. The board voted to grant Toby $780,000 in cash, and $10.8 million in company stock, for a total of $11.6 million in total compensation for 2022. And that’s down from 2021, when he made total compensation of $16.9 million.
One of the world’s largest chemical companies, the Chemours Company (which you used to know as DuPont), along with TC Energy (which you used to know as TransCanada), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the potential development of two electrolysis-based hydrogen production facilities at or near Chemours’ Washington Works and Belle manufacturing sites in West Virginia. Both companies are part of the effort to attract a hydrogen hub to West Virginia called Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). The financial terms of the Chemours/TC Energy deal were not disclosed.
According to data recently compiled and shared by the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA), during 2021 (the most recent year available), the oil and gas industry in Ohio paid a cumulative $57.6 million in ad valorem property taxes to the state. That is separate from a severance tax also paid by drillers in the Buckeye State. The O&G industry not only provides millions in tax revenue, but it also employs “more than 200,000” people in Ohio, and of course, all of those workers pay state income tax too. The economic impact of oil and gas (largely shale) in Ohio is enormous.
Lately, we keep reading predictions that the price of natural gas, while in the basement right now (low $2 range), will soon begin to go higher. And the price will stay higher. So say some experts (see our recent stories, 
Apart from the obvious benefits rural landowners (farmers) receive when leasing their land for shale gas drilling, did you know that modern agriculture, those same farmers, could not exist without natural gas? U.S. agriculture is a MAJOR part of the U.S. economy, creating 17.2 million jobs (5 million direct jobs) and contributing a mind-blowing $1.75 trillion to our country’s GDP (gross domestic product). The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 15% of U.S. commercial and industrial natural gas demand. Key feedstocks like ammonia, which is used to make nitrogenous fertilizer, are produced from natural gas. America’s farms and ranches have been key beneficiaries of the growth in U.S. natural gas production.