SEC Looks to Preserve Half a Loaf Regarding Onerous Climate Rule
For almost a year, we’ve sounded the alarm about a coming change at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that will force publicly traded companies to disclose mythical greenhouse gas emissions data (see SEC Votes to Force Public Companies to Disclose Mythical GHG Risks). The end result of the Biden SEC’s proposed new ESG (environmental, social, governance) regulations would be to “kneecap” oil and gas companies (see SEC Reg Requiring Disclosure of Climate Change Risk “Kneecaps” O&G). And that’s the purpose. The Bidenistas and the left are looking to close down fossil fuel companies by using regulatory agencies like the SEC. Many “red” states and pro-fossil fuel groups are pushing back–hard. Those efforts are having an effect. The SEC is reportedly looking to “soften” its proposed new rules, according to sources talking to the Wall Street Journal.
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National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company Empire Pipeline. Last week NFG (and Seneca and Empire) issued its latest quarterly update. NFG operates on a weird fiscal year system. This latest update for NFG is its first quarter 2023 update, which would be everybody else’s fourth quarter update. Don’t get confused. So what did the update (and conference call) reveal about Seneca and Empire? Seneca’s M-U natural gas production was 90.6 Bcfe for the quarter (just shy of 1 Bcf/d), an increase of 9.2 Bcfe, or 11%, higher than the prior year, and 3% higher than fiscal 2022 fourth quarter.
Last Tuesday, Freeport LNG, which has been out of operation since an explosion and fire in June 2022, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to begin re-introducing feedgas back into one of three liquefaction “trains” (units) at the facility. A day later, FERC agreed (see 
The Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) recently released the eighth edition of the organization’s “State of Energy Report” (full copy below). The report gives a detailed analysis of national and state trends in oil and natural gas employment, wages, and other key economic factors for ?the energy industry in 2022. The U.S. oil and gas industry employed 948,943 professionals in 2022, according to the report. That’s down from the all-time high of 1.3 million in 2019 but up 39,721 from 2021. When adding direct and indirect jobs, the oil and gas industry supported more than 19 million (!) jobs last year.
Below is the list of events we are aware of that will be of interest to those with an interest in the Marcellus/Utica shale region for 2023. Some events are in the region (PA, OH, WV). Some are not (TX, OK, CO). Some are virtual/online, but most have now returned to in-person. All of them are of potential interest to the MDN audience.
Here in the northeastern part of the country, we are supposed to be getting clobbered by two days of super-cold, Siberian air–beginning today. The “otherworldly” temps are forecast to be in the minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit region in some places. Wind chill temps even lower. The spot (physically delivered, next day) price for natural gas in some locations in New England traded as high as $225 per MMBtu during the day yesterday. Even so, the national benchmark Henry Hub price (in southern Louisiana) sank another 1.2 cents to settle at $2.46/MMBtu.
New shale permits issued for Jan. 23-29 in the Marcellus/Utica soared! There were 59 new permits issued in total, including 34 (!) new permits for Pennsylvania, 24 (!) new permits for Ohio, and just one measly permit issued in West Virginia. Chesapeake Energy was the runaway winner by grabbing 13 permits, all of them for wells in Bradford County, PA. EOG Resources was the runner-up, receiving eight permits for drilling in Noble County, OH.
Yesterday two radicalized Big Green groups–the Environmental Integrity Project (based in D.C.) and the Clean Air Council (based in Philadelphia)–filed a notice of intent to sue the Shell Polymers Monaca ethane cracker plant near Pittsburgh. The notice, as well as the coming lawsuit, has all the hallmarks of being planned long ago, perhaps years ago, before the cracker plant even came online. The false claim in the notice and coming lawsuit is that the cracker plant is “repeatedly” violating air pollution limits.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Leasing Commission, established in 2011 by a law signed by RINO Gov. John Kasich, is a five-member group designed to oversee drilling and fracking on state-owned land. After Kasich created it, he refused to appoint members, for years, to punish the oil and gas industry for not endorsing his plan to raise the severance tax rate. In 2017, under threat by the Republican legislature, Kasich finally relented and appointed the five members (see 
U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, Republican Congressman from Ohio’s 6th congressional district (in the Utica Shale part of the state), has introduced his first bill of the new session of Congress. The bill is called the Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act. It will allow domestic suppliers of natural gas, including LNG, to export our gas to allies in Europe and Asia after completing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) review process only–cutting out a requirement to have the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) also approve it. The DOE approval takes much longer (years) and has been a choke point. It’s time to end the delays. It’s time to get rid of the weakest link.