OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Sempra Infra. and Williams announce projects for LNG, gas, pipes; Some Wisconsin frac sand mines see growing demand from oil, natgas; NATIONAL: Race is on to be next big USA supplier of LNG to Europe; Hydrogen-powered locomotives?; INTERNATIONAL: First German port for natural gas imports to go into operation; Spot LNG prices defy history and fall as demand rises.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Nov 16, 2022”
The Marcellus/Utica has been getting its collective butt kicked by both the Haynesville Shale and Permian Basin with respect to adding new quantities of natural gas production, according to recent editions of the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) published monthly by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The latest DPR, published yesterday, shows an improvement for the M-U. Between November and December, EIA predicts the M-U will add another 135 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of new production. However, the Permian will add 125 MMcf/d for the same period, and the Haynesville will add a huge 174 MMcf/d. The Haynesville continues to catch up to M-U production, although we still produce more than twice what the Haynesville produces (35.6 Bcf/d vs. 16.3 Bcf/d, respectively).
Read More “EIA Nov. DPR Shows Healthy Gain for M-U, but Haynesville Roars”
In October, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its Environmental Quality Board (EQB) rammed through (in a rush) a set of regulations to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and by extension methane, for conventional drilling sites throughout the state (see PA EQB Rams Through VOC Reg to Control Conventional Well Emissions). The DEP has had SIX YEARS to get these regulations done and has missed deadline after deadline. With a Dec. 16 deadline approaching to finish up the regs or risk losing half a billion dollars in federal highway funds, the DEP tried to bully the conventional drilling industry into accepting its onerous regulations with no comment period, no feedback, no nothing. Yesterday, the Republicans on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to send a letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) disapproving of the EQB’s final, rushed regulation. Let the blame game begin.
Read More “PA House Environmental Ctte Votes to Disapprove Final VOC Reg”
John Deskins, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at West Virginia University, told members of the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Natural Gas Development at a meeting on Monday that the severance tax on natural gas production in the state is responsible for more than 20% of the state’s record-breaking tax revenue surpluses. Natural gas severance tax collections between July and October accounted for approximately 20% of the $575 million in total general revenue fund surplus tax revenue during that time period.
Read More “West Virginia Severance Tax Revenue Jumps 475% from Last Year”
The Freeport LNG export facility, located in Quintana Island, Texas (near Houston), experienced an explosion and fire in early June (see Explosion Rocks Freeport LNG Export Plant – Offline for 3 Weeks). The plant has been offline since that time. Plant management previously said it expected to resume operations sometime this month, in November. Indeed, with three LNG cargo carriers parked just off the Freeport coast and a fourth on the way, it certainly appeared the facility was getting ready to restart. But not anymore. While nobody from Freeport is talking on the record (yet), Bloomberg is reporting that Freeport has spoken with customers to let them know the facility probably won’t be ready to restart until January.
Read More “Analysts Now Predict Freeport LNG Not Back Online Until January”
The Bidenistas waited until the UN’s 2022 Climate Change Conference, called COP 27, was up and running (in Egypt) before *going to Egypt* to announce their latest attack on the oil and natural gas industry. At COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is “strengthening its proposed standards to cut methane and other harmful air pollution” in the oil and gas industry. In other words, yet another massive power grab in attempting to regulate oil and gas at the federal level, instead allowing O&G to be regulated at the Constitutionally-designated state level.
Read More “Out-of-Control EPA Tries to Regulate All O&G Via Methane Regs”
Last year the Bidenistas initiated a massive power grab to transfer the right of individual states to regulate local natural gas gathering pipelines to the federal government (see Massive Power Grab Proposed by Biden DOT: Regulate Gathering Lines). The oil and gas industry asked Biden to pause the power grab by 3-5 years. In April, the Bidenistas rejected that request (see Biden Admin Attacks NatGas – Refuses to Pause Gathering Pipe Regs). In May, the GPA Midstream Association (later joined by the American Petroleum Institute) sued the Dept. of Transportation and its PHMSA division to block the new regulations. In July, PHMSA settled the lawsuit by agreeing to delay implementing the new regs for most gathering lines until May 2024 (see PHMSA Backs Down, Pauses New Gathering Pipe Reg After Getting Sued). The PHMSA’s proposed regulation is broken into three parts and has been dubbed the “Mega-Rule.”
Read More “Understanding PHMSA’s New Mega-Reg Governing Gathering Pipes”
The left, and many on the right, are banking on hydrogen to be the next BIG THING in energy. Hydrogen fuel cell cars and burning hydrogen to heat your home are just two huge applications people dream will come true in the next 20 years. Of course, they’ve been dreaming about hydrogen for more than 50 years, but the history of hydrogen is for another post. We pay attention to hydrogen because 95% of all hydrogen today is produced by steam cracking natural gas. Ergo, hydrogen has the potential to be a big, important, new customer for our molecules. Everyone and his brother is making predictions about the market for hydrogen over the next 30 years. Norwegian company DNV has its own prediction, the “Hydrogen Forecast to 2050.”
Read More “DNV Hydrogen Forecast to 2050”
NATIONAL: Oil prices down on demand outlook concerns; Joe Biden’s “alternative energy” fantasy; Voters veto big wind in Ohio and Michigan – 375 rejections since 2015.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Tue, Nov 15, 2022”
Yeah, well, that didn’t take long, did it? Pennsylvania Governor-elect Josh Shapiro, just a few days after he won the election, has vowed to further restrict fracking with huge new setback regulations. He’s also promising new regulations for gathering pipelines. In other words, he’s about to screw over the Marcellus industry and pretty much stop new drilling in the state. Still glad you voted for Shapiro?
Read More “Shapiro Promises to Restrict New Fracking, Regulate Gathering Pipes”
Several lawsuits have been filed against the Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf administration in its attempt to force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax program, including a lawsuit by the state legislature. In July, three gas-fired power plant operators–Calpine Corporation, Tenaska Westmoreland Management, and Fairless Energy–filed a lawsuit against the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its Environmental Quality Board (EQB) opposing its attempt (under orders from Wolf) to force the state into RGGI carbon tax auctions. That lawsuit has some rather illuminating charges–like the claim that moving to RGGI will result in HIGHER, not lower, emissions from power plants.
Read More “Lawsuit Says Pa. RGGI Carbon Tax Will RAISE Not Lower Emissions”
On Friday, MDN told you that the state of Pennsylvania has decided to endorse a private industry application (by Shell and Equinor) instead of doing the hard work of submitting its own official application to attract a $1 billion hydrogen hub (see PA Decides to Back Shell/Equinor Application for $1B Hydrogen Hub). The Shell/Equinor project is called DNA H2Hub (Decarbonization Network of Appalachia). Although most applicants vying for one of the 6 to 10 regional hydrogen hubs have released their applications (their “concept papers”), the DNA H2Hub has not. They are keeping it secret–at least for now.
Read More “PA Officials Keep Secret Details of State Hydrogen Hub Application”
Epsilon Energy concentrates most of its effort on developing Marcellus Shale wells in Susquehanna County, PA. Epsilon typically does not do its own drilling. The company joint venture partners with (gives money to) other companies, like Chesapeake Energy, and the other company typically does the drilling. Epsilon issued its third quarter 2022 update last week. The company’s Marcellus net gas production was 2.3 Bcf (billion cubic feet) in total, not per day, during 3Q22. That number is down 12% from 2.6 Bcf in 3Q21. The good news is that the company received a lot more money for its production, given recent high prices, meaning it made a good profit.
Read More “Epsilon 3Q – Production Drops but Profits Soar 586%”
Abarta Energy (aka Abarta Oil & Gas Co.) was a privately-owned company based in Pittsburgh with assets including wells and pipeline systems located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. In November 2021, Abarta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting liabilities of $25.4 million and assets of $4.2 million (see M-U Driller Abarta Energy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Abarta said it wanted to liquidate/sell all of its remaining oil and gas assets. Some of those assets included a non-operated working interest with Repsol in the northeastern Pennsylvania Marcellus. It appears Repsol bought out Abarta’s interest in the joint venture the two companies had. The transaction happened before June 30, 2022.
Read More “Repsol Picks Up Abarta’s Non-Op Working Interest in PA Marcellus”
An interesting episode on Friday illustrates the power of social media and fake news. The NYMEX natural gas futures price for the “front month” December contract plunged as much as 7.4% on Friday morning after someone identifying themselves as a commodities trader posted on Twitter that “cracked pipes” were discovered at the Freeport LNG terminal, potentially delaying the company’s plans to restart exports. Interest in the tweet took off after being shared by another Twitter user that is widely followed by gas traders and analysts.
Read More “Fake Twitter News About Freeport LNG Leads to NYMEX Drop on Friday”
Environmentalist wackos from around the world are meeting in Egypt for the UN’s 2022 Climate Change Conference, called COP 27. Egyptian authorities have confirmed that some 400 private jets have landed (so far) for the event. So much for leading by example, eh? They’re so very concerned about surplus CO2 in the atmosphere, but they can’t be bothered to actually practice what they preach. Anywho…Some of the jet setters to arrive and talk at COP27 was a group of Congressional Republicans, there to promote the use of fossil fuels! Yes, Daniel went into the lion’s den of crazy environmentalist wackos.
Read More “Congressional Republicans Defend Fossil Fuels at COP27 Climate Conf”