NATIONAL: Biden snookers Joe Manchin again; E&Ps’ investment likely to accelerate in 2023 after steady rise through 2022; Pulling America back from the precipice; Senate Democrats look for staffers to probe fossil fuels; Biden touts drained emergency oil reserves as top 2022 accomplishment; INTERNATIONAL: Global natural gas balances to remain tight until 2026.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 6, 2023”
Last September, EQT Corporation announced it is buying privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion). The deal adds 90,000 acres and 800 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of production to EQT’s existing, massive, portfolio. But then the Bidenistas at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved, slowing down the deal (see Bidenistas at FTC Probing EQT Deal to Buy Tug Hill’s WV Assets). Because of the FTC dragging its feet, EQT and Tug Hill recently renegotiated the timeline, adding a full year.
Read More “EQT $5.2B Deal to Buy Tug Hill Extended Additional Year to Close”
Yesterday MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) held a hearing in December to explain new regulations coming from the PUC, based on directives from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), to begin regulating previously unregulated natural gas gathering pipelines (see PA PUC Explains Federal Power Grab in Regulating Gathering Pipes). What we didn’t know yesterday (but do today) is that the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) had filed a petition with the PUC in early December asking the PUC to reconsider its claim that it needs to regulate the smallest gathering pipes.
Read More “PIOGA Petitions PUC to Reconsider Regulating Some Gathering Pipes”
Why would a major oil and gas driller decide to cede control of the future of its company to a group of international leftists hellbent on destroying fossil energy? The answer eludes us, but it has just happened with a second Marcellus/Utica driller: EOG Resources. Yesterday, EOG announced it has joined the UN’s Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0). Support for OGMP 2.0 is growing in the natgas marketplace in the U.S. We previously told you that Cheniere Energy’s LNG export plants are seeking certification under OGMP 2.0 (see Cheniere LNG Makes Huge Mistake Joining UN Emissions Program). We also told you about Pioneer Natural Resources, Devon Energy, and ConocoPhillips joining the program (see U.N. Tries to Control Oil & Gas Worldwide via Emissions Reporting).
Read More “Utica Driller EOG Makes Big Mistake Joining UN Emissions Program”
Yesterday EQT announced it had completed spending $28 million to dump ALL of its natural gas-powered pneumatic devices–almost 9,000 of them. The pneumatic controllers were replaced or retrofitted on all EQT production locations and compressor stations. At EQT, natural gas-powered pneumatic devices were the source of 39% of the company’s 2021 Production segment Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Those stray emissions are now eliminated. So what are pneumatic devices, and why is this a big deal?
Read More “EQT Eliminates ~9,000 Natural Gas-Powered Pneumatic Devices”
S&P Global Commodity Insights published an analysis article speculating on the overall level of natural gas production we can expect to see in the U.S. in 2023. According to S&P’s analysts, weaker prices for the NYMEX Henry Hub futures price expected this year, along with recent weakness in the internal rate of return (IRR) for companies, are combining to lower the amount of growth in natgas production we might otherwise have experienced. S&P isn’t saying we’ll go backward–with less production. It’s saying production won’t grow as much as it could have if not for these negative factors.
Read More “S&P Sees “Headwinds” for Expanded NatGas Production in 2023″
Finally! Richard “Dick” Glick is no longer a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioner. He is also no longer Chairman of this key agency that has the power to block new pipeline projects. We’ve complained about Glick, a former wind lobbyist, for years–pretty much since Donald Trump nominated him to serve at the behest of Chuck Schumer (see Dems Pick Wind Lobbyist for FERC Appointment). We can count on one hand the number of new gas pipeline projects Glick voted to approve. Thank God he’s gone (don’t let the door hit you on the way out). The new Acting Chairman is Biden’s swamp-dweller Willie Phillips (see Senate Confirms D.C. Swamp-Dwelling Democrat Lawyer to FERC).
Read More “Willie Phillips Takes Over as Acting FERC Chairman, Dick Glick Gone”
Kentucky is joining a number of other states, including Texas, West Virginia, and Florida, in putting Big Banks (and Big Investment Firms) on notice that those companies are about to lose the business of the State of Kentucky. On Tuesday, State Treasurer Allison Ball released a list of 11 financial companies that are engaged in energy company boycotts–refusing to invest in, or loan money to, fossil energy companies. The list includes BlackRock, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, among others.
Read More “BlackRock, JPMorgan, Citi About to Lose Kentucky as a Customer”
The most recent day of active trading was Wed., Jan. 4, 2023. The numbers below reflect yesterday’s closing numbers.
This daily post contains a series of charts representing a stock index composed of 10 publicly-traded drilling companies with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. The MDN Upstream Index (MUI) reflects the combined value for one share of stock each for Antero Resources (AR); Chesapeake Energy (CHK); CNX Resources (CNX); Coterra Energy (CTRA); Epsilon Energy (EPSN); EQT Corp (EQT); Gulfport Energy (GPOR); National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG); Range Resources (RRC); and Southwestern Energy (SWN). The chart above shows performance over the past 30 days. Charts for other time periods and a listing for the most recent daily performance of each stock are listed below.
Read More “MDN Upstream Index (MUI) – Jan 5, 2023”
NATIONAL: Chevron CEO defends record profits; Crude oil prices increased in 1H22, declined in 2H22; Things to watch in the House Republican rules package.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Jan 5, 2023”
Here we go again. On Dec. 22, the U.S. Forest Service published a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS, full copy below) that allows the nearly-completed Mountain Valley Pipeline to finish up construction through 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest straddling West Virginia and Virginia. This is the THIRD time the Forest Service has issued this permit. Two previous attempts at the same permit were overturned by the three clown judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (i.e. 4th Circus). The public has until Feb. 6 to file official comments on this latest plan.
Read More “US Forest Service Floats New Plan to Allow MVP Thur Natl Forest”
Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC), otherwise known as a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope is about to add another 13,000 customers to that number. Yesterday, Hope announced it is buying the West Virginia division of Peoples Gas, currently owned by Essential Utilities, for an undisclosed amount.
Read More “Hope Gas Cuts Deal to Buy Peoples Gas of West Virginia”
James Daly, vice president for energy supply at New England’s largest electric utility, Eversource, recently delivered some blunt truth to regulators in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Daly told them if they want to lower the insanely high price of electricity in the region right now, in the short term, they need to import more foreign LNG, which is high-priced too. But not as high as burning oil (see New England Used Mostly Fuel Oil to Generate Electric During Storm). With some of the world’s biggest supplies of natural gas at some of the cheapest prices on the planet located a few hundred miles away (in the Marcellus), how did we get to the point of needing foreign LNG?
An important update was added to this post on 1/5/23. See below.
Read More “Eversource Tells New England to Import Foreign LNG to Lower Elec $”
The NYMEX Henry Hub price for natural gas is once again in freefall. Over the four previous trading sessions, the price has crashed $1.29/MMBtu (down 25%) to settle yesterday at $3.99. We haven’t seen prices this low since February 2022. Weather is the culprit. Baby, it’s warm outside! So, where is the price heading in 2023? Let’s try to answer that question.
Read More “NatGas Price in Freefall Due to Warm Weather – Prospects for 2023”
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has traditionally not regulated nor overseen low-pressure natural gas gathering pipelines in the state because it’s not required to (nor allowed to) by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). That has changed. The PHMSA published new standards that bring gathering pipelines under its regulatory umbrella. The PA PUC held a public hearing in early December and subsequently published material from that hearing in the Pennsylvania Bulletin in late December–material that discusses how the change in PHMSA’s gathering pipeline regulations affects PA.
Read More “PA PUC Explains Federal Power Grab in Regulating Gathering Pipes”
The Freeport LNG export terminal, located in Quintana Island, Texas, has been offline and not producing LNG since June 2022 due to an explosion (see Explosion Rocks Freeport LNG Export Plant – Offline for 3 Weeks). Freeport has changed its estimated restart date multiple times. In early December, Freeport swore up and down that it would begin to return to service by the end of 2022 (see Freeport LNG Changes Restart Date from Mid- to End-December). Yeah, well, that didn’t happen. Two days before Christmas, when everyone was getting ready to head out the door for the holiday, Freeport dropped another announcement…
Read More “Familiar Pattern: Freeport LNG Delays Restart Again, to End Jan.”