MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Josh Shapiro is a ruthless technocrat out for himself; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: West Texas nagas prices go negative for first time in two years; NATIONAL: U.S. natgas gains 5% on technical move, forecast LNG export rise; China’s thirst for U.S. natural gas triggers new fears.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Oct 26, 2022”
Some companies seem to be destined to make fatal marketing errors. The latest example: Schlumberger (pronounced Shlum-Bur-Zhay), which happens to be the world’s largest oilfield services company (OFS). Schlumberger announced yesterday it is caving to the crazies and changing its name to its stock ticker symbol, SLB, in a bid to focus on the “low- and zero-carbon energy” future. The company still plans “to drive innovation, decarbonization and performance for the oil and gas industry,” but you know, oil is yesterday, and zero-carbon is where it’s at now, baby. We predict this change in focus will be a disaster for the company.
Read More “Schlumberger Changes Name to SLB, Hoping to Leave Oil Past Behind”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans from the state legislature are reportedly working on a “massive development package” of tax credits that would, among other things, encourage MORE natural gas development in the Keystone State. Wolf (and the Republicans) are hoping to get something hammered out before the Nov. 8th election. One of the cool things about the bill is that it would expand a bill signed into law in 2020 that provides an incentive to companies to use “fracked methane in manufacturing.” So far, the state has attracted one such project, the Nacero gas-to-liquids plant planned for Luzerne County (see NEPA Huge Deal – $6B Plant to Convert Marcellus Gas to Gasoline). The hope is that by expanding tax incentives, more $6 billion plants will decide to locate in PA.
Read More “PA Lawmakers, Gov Working on $3.6B Tax Credits for Natgas, H2, More”
Today we bring you a guest post from MDN friend Garland Thompson, a gifted reporter/writer who covers energy and technology issues for US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine, the Philadelphia Tribune, and other periodicals. State Sen. Gene Yaw will host a hearing in Philadelphia on Thursday to explore LNG, its role on the world stage, and the potential role Philly can play in providing it. Using the upcoming hearing as a jumping-off point, in this post, Garland connects the dots between proposed House Bill 2458 (see PA Bill Looks to Convert Port of Philly into LNG Export Terminal), Philadelphia, the Panama Canal, LNG, Putin, and second chances. Garland provides us with the history and context to understand how and why LNG exports from Philly fit into the world picture.
Read More “Legislative Bill Lights Up Possibilities for a Philadelphia LNG Port”
Range Resources issued its third quarter financial update yesterday and is holding a conference call today to discuss 3Q results. We will cover Range’s full quarterly update tomorrow (so we can grab excerpts from the conference call). In the meantime, the initial big news coming from Range is that the company is tripling its share buyback program to $1.5 billion using free cash flow. What is a share buyback?
Read More “Rolling in Free Cash Flow, Range Resources Triples Share Buybacks”
Banpu is Thailand’s largest coal mining company. But Banpu is far more than just a coal company. It has multiple subsidiaries in various energy industries scattered around the globe. For example, here in the U.S., Banpu partners with Kalnin Ventures and operates BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American shale drilling arm of Banpu (96% owned by Banpu). Over the past seven years, BKV has become one of the top 20 gas-weighted natural gas producers in the U.S. BKV is now (with recent purchases) the largest natural gas producer in the Barnett Shale. We spotted a story that says Banpu wants to invest in more U.S. natural gas assets. The company is on the prowl again!
Read More “Banpu on the Prowl to Buy More Natural Gas Assets in U.S.”
Expectations play a big role in investing. The financial markets do a lot of anticipating and forecasting and guessing about where a company or entire sector is heading. Such is the game being played right now with expectations for Marcellus/Utica shale gas companies and their forthcoming third quarter financial updates. Given the high price of natural gas during 3Q22, analysts expect shale gas companies to be swimming in free cash flow. The natural follow-on question is, what will they do with all of that extra cash?
Read More “What Wall St. Expects to Hear from M-U Drillers in 3Q Updates”
There are distinct and profound differences in the approach to energy policy between Joe Biden (and the Democrat Party), and Republicans. It is important for you to understand those fundamental differences before you enter the voting booth and pull the metaphorical lever to vote on Nov. 8th. At its core, Democrats want to pick which energy sources you can use. They will make the decision, because (they think) they’re smarter than you. Republicans want the free market to decide which is the best (and lowest cost) option for energy. All other government policies flow from those diametrically opposed philosophies.
Read More “Voters Have a Clear Choice on Energy Policy This November”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: EQT’s TugHill deal top’s 3Q’s shale M&A; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas natural gas drops toward zero as output swamps pipelines; Chesapeake Energy trims workforce ahead of oil properties sale; NATIONAL: We need reasonable energy policies today; Red Queen effect slows shale growth; INTERNATIONAL: U.S. gas exporters looking at fluctuating European market; Oil and gas majors hiring right now; Wave of LNG tankers is overwhelming Europe, hitting natural gas prices.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Tue, Oct 25, 2022”
This is, indeed, a sad day. Last Thursday, Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), which is majority owned by and is operated by Equitrans Midstream Corp., filed a notice to voluntarily dismiss eminent domain proceedings against landowner holdouts in North Carolina for land needed to build an extension of MVP into the state, called MVP Southgate. An Equitrans spokesman said the company hasn’t given up on the Southgate extension. We don’t believe it for a New York minute. We’ve seen this movie before when PennEast Pipeline canceled eminent domain, first in Pennsylvania (see PennEast Stops Eminent Domain Lawsuits in PA – What Does it Mean), then a month later in New Jersey (see Troubling: PennEast Pipeline Withdraws NJ Eminent Domain Lawsuits). In the case of PennEast, canceling eminent domain proceedings was a prelude to canceling the project, which happened a short time later.
Read More “Equitrans Signals Giving Up on MVP Southgate – Pulls Eminent Domain”
What the heck is going on with natural gas prices? Last Friday, the NYMEX futures price (based on the Henry Hub spot price) lost another $0.40 to close at $4.96/MMBtu. NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Average dropped $0.54 to $4.99/MMBtu. The NYMEX lost $1.49 last week, representing a 23% drop in price–in one week! Last week marked the longest losing streak for natural gas prices (9 straight weeks) since the week ending Feb. 8, 1991, when the market fell for 11 straight weeks. Yuck.
Read More “NYMEX and Spot Price Averages Collapse Below $5/MMBtu”
As part of its third quarter 2022 update, Kinder Morgan (KM) CEO Richard Kinder said his company is bullish on U.S. LNG exports. Kinder said he expects (predicts) U.S. LNG exports will more than double, from the current 11 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to 28 Bcf/d by 2030–less than eight years away. KM flows around 50% of all the molecules that get exported as LNG from this country, so Kinder should know a thing or two about the LNG market.
Read More “KM Predicts U.S. LNG Exports to Jump 250% to 28 Bcf/d by 2030”
Last week we told you about a group of brainwashed children at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), who were behaving like spoiled rotten brats, demanding UPenn divest from any company with a whiff of oil or natural gas about it (see Brainwashed Kids Pressure UPenn to Divest All Fossil Energy Cos.). Apparently, the selfish brats weren’t getting enough attention, so they went militant. A group of 75 or so Fossil Free Penn students rushed onto the football field during half-time on Saturday, holding up the restart of the UPenn vs. Yale game (a homecoming game!) by over an hour. The athletes and fans were not amused. People in the bleachers chanted, “Get off the field!” and booed the protesters.
Read More “Brainwashed Kids Go Militant at UPenn Football Game, Demand Divest”
Last Thursday, representatives from manufacturing and the energy sectors delivered their thoughts on the future of the national and local economies at the 2022 Economic Outlook Conference sponsored by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. Front and center at the event was talk about the role of shale energy in revitalizing West Virginia and making it THE go-to place to set up new manufacturing operations. One speaker pointed out: “(West Virginia) is the only place in the world where you can build your manufacturing facility on top of your natural resources, your energy, and your raw materials in the middle of the biggest market in the world.”
Read More “M-U Shale is a Big Reason Why Manufacturers are Locating in WV”
In June, seemingly out of nowhere, a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia made big headlines in Philly (see Philadelphia LNG Export Project Still Very Much Alive & Advancing). Penn LNG, headed by Franc James, a native of Philadelphia, has “quietly lined up support to build a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly.” While acknowledging such a project will face stiff opposition, James said he is planning to pre-file with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by the end of this year and reach a final investment decision (FID) by 2024. The experts at RBN Energy take a close look at Penn LNG to evaluate just how likely (or not) the project (or any LNG project in the northeast) will get built.
Read More “What are the Prospects for a Philadelphia LNG Export Terminal?”
Last year the State of Rhode Island, a small Communist stronghold in the United States, voted to phase out the use of all fossil energy by everyone in the state by 2050–the so-called Act on Climate. It’s more like the Shoot Yourself in the Head Act. Of course, passing a law and then trying to accomplish what the law stipulates are two completely different things, as the Commies in Rhode Island are discovering. They are beginning to flail about looking for solutions to how they can force their citizens to dump fossil energy without completely destroying the state’s economy. (Spoiler alert: They won’t find such a solution.)
Read More “Clueless Rhode Island Flails to Find Way to Shut Off NatGas by 2050”