Brooke County | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia
Lawsuit to Block West Virginia’s New Forced Pooling Law Tossed Out
Back in March, MDN told you about a bill passed by the West Virginia legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 694, which finally brings forced pooling for shale wells to the Mountain States after eight years of trying (see WV House Passes Forced Pooling Bill, Done Deal When Gov Signs). Shortly after passage, Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill into law. SB 694 went into effect on June 7, some 90 days following passage. However, two farmers from Brooke County sued Gov. Justice to overturn the new law claiming it is unconstitutional (see Landowners Sue to Block West Virginia’s New Forced Pooling Law). The lawsuit was thrown out last Wednesday.
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The so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants aimed at killing off those two sources of energy, held its latest tax auction on Friday. The result was pricing close to an all-time high, although the average price came down just a smidgen from the previous auction. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is trying to force PA to join the RGGI cabal of 11 states (most of them in the northeast), a move endorsed by the man who wants to replace him in November, PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro (see 
Another update on the uphill battle Joe Manchin faces in getting his “side deal” legislation passed that will help Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) get done. Manchin agreed to vote for the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in return for a “permitting reform” bill, to be voted on in September, as the price for his vote. We told you it was a bad deal for many reasons–one of which is that Manchin may never get his vote. On Friday, 72 Democrat members of the House of Representatives signed a letter (copy below) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer opposing the Manchin “side deal” legislation. Yeah, it didn’t but a few weeks for the Dems to welsh on their deal with Manchin. It appears that Manchin got rolled.
What if we gave the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) a $2.5 million grant to study a link between peanut butter and childhood cancer? Researchers could only use the money to study any potential link between peanut butter and kids getting rare cancers. Sounds absurd, right? What if there is NO link between peanut butter and cancer in kids? What if there IS a link to some other environmental factor like, say, an old uranium dumpsite nearby? But the remit is to ONLY research peanut butter. Sound silly? Sound stupid? Substitute “shale drilling” for “peanut butter,” and you can see how absurd it is for Pitt to study a single potential cause for rare childhood cancers in southwestern PA. Yet they are. Pitt is studying a link solely between fracking and cancer in kids. They are now trying to recruit local families to participate in this sham they call science.
In February, three Democrat FERC commissioners voted to adopt onerous new regulations to use global warming considerations when approving (more like disapproving) pipeline projects (see 
This one is a “learn from your enemies” lesson. It has long been known that heating shale rock can free up oil and gas–something called in situ upgrading (ISU). But such a practice has not been economic, at least that was the thinking. A new study published by researchers from (get this) Northeast Petroleum University in China (no way an American university would ever name itself after fossil energy!) looked at the different techniques that can be used to heat shale rock–the most economical ways–and published their findings in a paper for the world to read. It is just Chinese Communist propaganda? We don’t think so. The Chicoms know the West is so thoroughly brainwashed against using fossil energy that our own scientists and citizens won’t even pay attention to this important new study that discusses how to get more mileage from existing shale deposits.
NATIONAL: Biden team weighs new oil release among steps to rein in prices; INTERNATIONAL: Ineos renews shale gas offer; Italy ends opposition to ruble-denominated payments for Russian gas; Europe’s reaction to the energy crisis is turning into a ‘Ponzi scheme’; European manufacturers reel from Russian gas shutoff.
In April 2021, MDN brought you the news that Chesapeake Energy, after buying Eagle Ford oil assets in 2018 for $4 billion (during the reign of Doug Lawler), was looking to unload those assets for around $2 billion (see 
One step forward and two steps back. That country tune went through our head as we read about the progress being made by Williams with its Regional Energy Access Expansion Pipeline project in Pennsylvania. The project, aimed at competing with the now-dead PennEast Pipeline project by flowing gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton, NJ area, will get a virtual public hearing by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection on Wednesday, October 5.
In early August, the attorneys general from 19 states, headed by Arizona AG Mark Brnovich and Texas AG Ken Paxton, sent a letter to the world’s largest investment firm, BlackRock, to say the company’s pressure on investors to divest from fossil energy companies based on so-called ESG (environmental, social, governance) criteria may, in fact, be illegal (see 
The Enverus rig count, as of Wednesday, stood at 871, up by three from the week before. We are now 33 rigs ABOVE the pre-pandemic high of 838 rigs. Finally! Last week the Marcellus operated 46 rigs (up by one), and the Utica operated 11 rigs (also up by one), for a total of 57 active rigs in the M-U. Rigs chasing oil declined by four leaving 662, while natural gas-prone rigs gained seven for a total 209. The Haynesville, which is the chief competitor to the Marcellus/Utica, had 75 active rigs operating last week. The Haynesville continues to beat the pants off the M-U with respect to rigs and drilling new wells.
Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 40 new drilling permits, way up from the 19 permits issued the week before. But there was a shocker. PA only issued nine new permits, while OH issued 14 new permits and WV issued a record high 17 new permits.
Yesterday MDN brought you the news that EQT Corporation is buying the West Virginia assets of Tug Hill Operating–the company’s THQ Appalachia operation–for $5.2 billion (see