Researchers Close to Storing & Using Natural Gas in Solid Form
More than two years ago, MDN brought you the exciting news about researchers at the National University of Singapore developing a new low-toxicity (very safe) mixture that converts natural gas into a solid, non-explosive form of ice, making it easy to transport and store (see SNG: Researchers Convert NatGas to a Solid for Storage, Shipping). That was our first introduction to solidified natural gas (SNG), a process that traps natural gas in ice crystals known as gas hydrates or “combustible ice.” Those same researchers are still on the case and have published a new study updating their research, getting us closer to storing natgas as a solid for easy (and safe) transportation and use.
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The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issues an update on Utica (and Marcellus) oil and natural gas production each quarter. ODNR no longer issues a press release to summarize the results as they once did, which means the quarterly updates fell off our radar. Now and again something jogs our memory to revisit and share with you the production reports from the ODNR, to bring you the top 25 wells by production for both natural gas and oil production. Today we look back at all of 2022. ODNR publishes a detailed spreadsheet of all active wells showing oil and gas production by well. We make a copy of that spreadsheet, enhance it to make it more usable, and link to it. Below are the results.
We have an update to a project we first told you about in June of last year called the Southside Reliability Enhancement Project (see 
Adelphia Gateway is a project converting an old oil pipeline into a natural gas pipeline. The project stretches from Northampton County, PA, through Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, terminating in Delaware County at Marcus Hook. The project converted 50 miles of an existing 84-mile pipeline from oil to natural gas. The northern 34 miles of the pipeline were previously converted to deliver natural gas in 1996. Portions of the final section began to flow Marcellus gas in April 2022 (see 
Last year natural gas consumption in the United States set new record highs in nine of 12 months. In fact, the U.S. used more natural gas in 2022 than it ever has–a new annual record. Natural gas consumption increased in all sectors last year, but the electric power sector consumed more natural gas than any other U.S. end-use sector, accounting for 38% of U.S. natural gas consumption. Which shows the critical importance of the powergen sector to the natural gas sector. The two are joined at the hip.
Last year demand for ethane in the U.S. increased by 9%, which equates to an increase of 200,000 barrels per day (bbl/d). U.S. ethane consumption averaged just under 2.0 million bbl/d in 2022, reaching a peak of almost 2.2 million bbl/d in July. Why the increase? Largely due to two new ethane cracker plants coming online, one in Texas and one in Pennsylvania. The PA Shell cracker and the TX Port Arthur cracker, together, can consume 156,000 bbl/d of ethane.
NOW we understand why antis have restarted their attacks on the various components of New Fortress Energy’s Wyalusing LNG liquefaction plant–a project that has been dead as a doornail for three years. Yesterday we told you we were somewhat mystified by the actions of antis in the Delaware River Basin in opposing LNG-by-rail transportation and a permit for the seemingly dead project in land-locked Bradford County, PA (see 
Yesterday at a Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting, Kurt Klapkowski, Acting Deputy for Oil and Gas Management (part of the Dept. of Environmental Protection), told board members the DEP is about to file a letter of intent as early as this week to apply for “primacy” to regulate underground injection wells in the state. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary regulator of PA injection wells–including oil and gas injection wells. In some states with the necessary structure in place, the EPA delegates its authority to oversee and regulate such wells. PA wants to be one of those states. Me before you.