Europe Gas Crisis has Dialed Back ‘Responsible’ LNG in U.S.
Once upon a time, a few years ago, Europe turned its nose up to American “fracked” gas as filthy and vile, preferring to buy its gas from Vladimir Putin instead. American companies fell all over themselves to win the love of arrogant Europeans for our natural gas–primarily by “proving” our gas (turned into LNG) is “responsible.” Responsible gas certification programs appeared overnight and have been adopted by most (if not all) of the major drillers in the Marcellus/Utica (see 60% of Certified NatGas Will Come from M-U by End of 2022). Then Russia invaded Ukraine and Putin began to throttle gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for Europe sanctioning Russia. Now Europe can’t get enough of American “fracked” gas–and they don’t particularly care if the gas has a “responsible” label on it or not!
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We spotted a must-read article from Scott Tinker, the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. In his column, Tinker points out the failure of Europe’s energy policies for the past quarter century–policies that shut down energy options like nuclear, coal, and natural gas, believing that wind and solar would take their place. It hasn’t worked. The brilliance of Tinker’s column is in comparing what’s happening in states like California and New York to what happened in Europe. Those two states (among others) are following in the footsteps of Europe, doing the same things–eliminating energy choice before alternatives can handle the load. And we are seeing the same identical results in CA and NY that we see in Europe–energy scarcity and skyrocketing energy prices.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: ‘Intro To Natural Gas’ popular among Tech students; INTERNATIONAL: EU ramps up Russian LNG purchases by 50% this year; Video shows massive hole in Nord Stream natural gas pipeline.
As happens at the beginning of most winters (at least in recent years), we are beginning to see articles with warnings from the electric grid operator in New England, ISO New England Inc., that if the region experiences “an extremely cold winter,” it’s a pretty safe bet there will be electric blackouts. The region relies almost exclusively on natural gas to generate electricity. The reason there will be blackouts is due to Maura Healey. Healey is the Attorney General of Massachusetts. During her tenure as AG, Healey has blocked two different natgas pipeline projects–because she irrationally hates (yet still uses) fossil energy. Healey is now running for governor of MA and is likely to win. You know what? Massachusetts residents will get the blackouts they deserve if they elect Healey.
U.S. natural gas production is projected to increase a big 4% this winter, but lower-than-average storage along with an estimated 2% increase in demand will combine to place upward pressure on natural gas prices compared to last winter. So says the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) in its 22nd annual Winter Outlook forecast of the wholesale winter natural gas market (an executive summary of the NGSA report is embedded below).
Researchers at the West Virginia University (WVU) Energy Institute presented an update on their latest work to reporters yesterday on the Evansdale campus in Morgantown. According to Sam Taylor, assistant director for the WVU Energy Institute, the university is leading the way in research of technologies that can help move the state to a cleaner environment while still using the natural gas produced in the state. WVU professed its love for natgas, but it loves loves loves hydrogen.
In December 2020, Dan Rice IV, former CEO of Rice Energy and a member of the EQT board of directors, launched a “blank check” acquisition firm, called Rice Acquisition Corp., to invest in various energy ventures. Dan found his something-to-invest-in just a few months later in the form of acquiring and merging together Archaea Energy and Aria Energy into a single company focused on providing renewable natural gas (RNG) and “green” hydrogen (see 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently published its Winter Fuels Outlook for 2022-2023. Major media outlets are picking up on this statistic: The U.S. average household that heats with natural gas will pay $931 this winter, up 28% (or $206) from what that same household paid last winter. Although production (supplies) of natural gas is increasing, demand is going up even more. Yes, LNG exports play a role in that, but so too does an increase in demand from domestic power generators, industrial users, etc. But here’s what we want to point out about this news, some context that’s missing in the stories we see: Other Western democracies, like Germany, are paying far more for natural gas than we are. FAR more.
Each year Michael Cembalest, the Chief Investment Officer at J.P. Morgan asset management, publishes a report on the state of the global energy space. It is a comprehensive assessment of the state of play in the world of energy, chock full of charts and data related to every industry segment. This year’s 2022 Annual Energy Paper, subtitled, “The Elephants in the Room” (full copy below), begins with a summary of the energy landscape, including the energy crisis in Europe, the recovery in the oil and gas sector, and a warning label on industrial electrification and carbon sequestration forecasts.
Here’s the latest ingenious way radicalized anti-fossil fuelers are attempting to cut off and strangle the Marcellus and Utica shale industry: Deny drillers any kind of means to dispose of the brine (naturally occurring water from the depths) that comes out of the borehole for years after a well is drilled. One of the best, most environmentally safe ways to dispose of brine is via injection wells. Antis are trying to strip Ohio’s right to regulate injection wells in the Buckeye State, hoping if the feds take over, many of those wells would get shut down.
The second-largest LNG export terminal in the U.S., Freeport LNG, located near Galveston, Texas, experienced an explosion and fire in early June (see 
More states are looking to divest state pension funds from BlackRock and other woke ESG investment banks that push anti-fossil fuel agendas. BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world with some $10 trillion under management, is hemorrhaging customers. Last week we told you that South Carolina had joined Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, and Florida in announcing it is divesting its state pension funds from BlackRock (see