NATIONAL: The Henry Hub natural gas spot price declined 41% in January; INTERNATIONAL: Natural gas futures contracts suggest Europe’s energy crisis isn’t over; Moscow’s decades-old gas ties with Europe lie in ruins.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Feb 16, 2023”
We suppose you can file this story under the category of “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” We’re referring to hedging–the practice of locking in prices to sell gas you will produce in the future for a specific price now. Last year natural gas producers, including most (if not all) of Marcellus/Utica producers, were caught flat-footed when the price of natgas skyrocketed and their hedges were locked in for much lower prices. So as the hedges “rolled off,” many producers either elected not to hedge again, or hedged very little of their future production. And now prices have crashed again, meaning those producers are not protected and must sell most (if not all) of their production at very low market prices.
Read More “M-U Drillers Signal 4Q Financial Losses Due to Lack of Hedging”
A financial analyst writing on the Seeking Alpha investors’ website wrote a detailed post outlining his thesis on why the price of natural gas is likely at the bottom now and will only go higher. He says that since natural gas prices are at or below breakeven levels for drillers, they are reducing their drilling rate. A negative shift in weather, falling rig counts, and the potential boost from Freeport exports may push natural gas back into a shortage over the coming months.
Read More “Experts Say NatGas Oversold and Price Now Likely at Bottom”
We renew our call for a full investigation into Patrick McDonnell and his tenure as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). McDonnell led the DEP from May 2016 until he left the department in July 2022. He oversaw the regulation of the shale energy industry in the state, among other duties. What is obvious now is that the entire time he helmed the DEP, McDonnell was a radical anti-fossil fueler. After leaving the DEP, he became the head of the ultra-radical anti-fossil fuel group PennFuture (see Former PA DEP Sec. Pat McDonnell New CEO of Anti-Shale Group). McDonnell’s new role raises all sorts of questions about whether he was compromised and used (abused) his position to restrict shale drilling in the state.
Read More “Former PA DEP Secretary Attacks O&G Industry He Oversaw Last Year”
This post is kind of “in the weeds” with respect to reducing methane emissions from drilling, pipelines, and transportation. But we ask that you stick with us. As we have covered for more than a year, there are three main certification standards now in use by Marcellus/Utica (and other shale play) producers that want to prove the gas they produce is responsible, with low methane emissions. The three are: (1) Project Canary’s TrustWell Certification, (2) Equitable Origin’s EO100, and (3) The MiQ Standard (see Who Certifies Responsibly Sourced Gas (RSG) & How Does it Work?). Last December, we noticed another new initiative on the part of several M-U companies (see Williams, Coterra, Dominion Partner on Certified Low-Emission Gas). That new initiative is built on an open-source set of protocols by GTI Energy. Yesterday GTI officially published and launched those protocols, called the Veritas Protocols, now available for anyone to use.
Read More “GTI Officially Launches Protocols to Measure Methane Reductions”
The Biden EPA plans to allow private citizens to police oil wells and pipelines for methane leaks. Most of the time, that means Big Green groups will do the “policing.” And here’s how it will work: A radicalized group like the Sierra Club or Earthworks or NRDC or some other odious bad actor will set up equipment near oil and gas well sites or pipeline operations to report suspected “super emitter” leaks of at least 100 kilograms per hour. Once reported (likely a false report), the company involved would be required to perform a root-cause analysis within five days and take corrective actions within 10 days. All based on an accusation by an anti-fossil fueler. Methane snitches.
Read More “Biden EPA Program Empowers Anti Groups to be Methane Snitches”
Some VERY disturbing news to share. Yet another Bidenista, the dunderheaded Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, met privately with the leader of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the group that funded a recent study used to justify calls for a gas stove ban. Let’s connect a few dots. Granholm, as Secretary of DOE, met with the CEO of RMI in June 2021. The RMI published a sham study (that they later admitted doesn’t prove a darned thing) earlier this year. And recently, the DOE has taken up the effort to ban gas stoves nationwide using a proposed new regulation.
Read More “Biden DOE Sec Met with China-Backed Group Pushing Gas Stove Bans”
In a blow-the-doors-off expose, Kevin Mooney, an investigative reporter with both the PA Commonwealth Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, is on the trail of collusion between Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Allison Clements and her former employers at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). There’s lots of smoke, indicating there’s fire. FERC is refusing to honor Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about communications between Clements and the NRDC. It looks bad for Clements.
Read More “FERC Commissioner Clements Suspected of Being Compromised by NRDC”
The most recent day of active trading was Tue., Feb. 14, 2023. The numbers below reflect yesterday’s closing numbers.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Natural gas remains today’s energy solution; NATIONAL: Freeport activity, cold snap give boost to natural gas futures; INTERNATIONAL: Oil supplies a bigger issue than demand for 2024; Oil and gas industry earned $4 trillion last year, says IEA chief; European LNG at 18-month low on Freeport reopening.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Feb 15, 2023”
Yesterday we reported the surprising news that a load of LNG had left the Freeport facility, even though the facility has not been fully blessed to restart operations (see Surprise! Freeport LNG Exports 1st Cargo Since June 2022 Explosion). As we told you, it appears the load was LNG that had been liquefied and stored before the facility was shut down in June 2022 following an explosion. In an even bigger surprise, it appears another (second) ship left Freeport last night, loaded with LNG, headed for South Korea.
Read More “Another Surprise! 2nd LNG Cargo Departs Freeport Facility”
Evolution Well Services, headquartered in Houston with a regional office in Pittsburgh, specializes in “electric” fracking–using natural gas from the well pad (instead of diesel fuel) to power turbines to create electricity that drives fracking pumps. In September 2020, three former Evolution employees who worked at remote sites in the Marcellus/Utica filed a lawsuit against the company claiming Evolution failed to pay them for their commute to and from job sites. The lawsuit was turned into a class action in February of last year (see Class Action Certified Against Evolution Well for Commuter Wages). Both sides met with a mediator in September and settled the lawsuit for $2.55 million. A federal judge has just blessed that deal.
Read More “Class Action Against Evolution Well in PA & OH Settled for $2.55M”
It hasn’t been a problem-free startup for the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA, now called the Shell Polymers Monaca facility. We’ve noted some of the more prominent issues as we’ve spotted them in the news. Things like the plant exceeding allowed air emissions (see PA DEP Issues Violation to Shell Cracker for Exceeding Air Emissions) and flaring at the plant causing the sky to turn orange at night (see Shell Cracker Plant has Flaring Episode – Skyline Turns Orange). There’s a good chance the sky was orange again last night.
Read More “Shell Cracker Plant Forced to Flare Again Following “Malfunction””
The Marcellus/Utica continues to produce about the same amount of natural gas that was produced in 2022–essentially capped at no more than 35.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its latest monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) yesterday, and the report shows that, once again, M-U production (called “Appalachia” in the report) is still capped–at 35.0 Bcf/d in February. EIA predicts it will increase to 35.1 Bcf/d (adding a piddly 80 MMcf/d) in March 2023.
Read More “EIA Feb. DPR: M-U Production Hits Ceiling, Haynesville Surges”
Anti-drillers, with the assistance of biased “news” publications like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, continually make false accusations against the shale industry in the southwestern Pennsylvania area, alleging that fracking is the cause of rare forms of cancer in children (see More Reckless Accusations that Shale Causes Cancer in SWPA Kids). In order to quell these false accusations, Range Resources commissioned and paid for two independent air monitoring studies. We told you about one of the studies, set up in Cecil Township (Washington County), back in June 2020 (see Range Resources Begins New Air Monitoring Test at SWPA Well Site). The results from that study are now in. According to third-party findings, the Cecil study showed no elevated concentration of air pollution in the area.
Read More “Multi-Year Test of Range Well in SWPA Proves No Air Pollution”
As we previously reported, West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 188 is aimed at making WV more competitive with its neighbors–Pennsylvania and Ohio–with respect to siting more gas-fired power plants in the state. The only problem is that the coal industry isn’t thrilled with some of the language in the bill (see WV Senate Bill to Promote Gas-Fired Power Rankles Coal Lobby). Even though Big Coal is not happy with it, SB 188 appears to be on a fast track to passing. The Senate passed the bill, and it’s now headed for a full House vote.
Read More “WV Bill Promoting New Gas-Fired Power Plants Nears Final Vote”
