Chinese Study Looks at Heating Shale Rock to Produce More O&G
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.
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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 
Spanish-owed Repsol owns 214,000 net acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale, primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. However, the company’s upstream (drilling) operations extend far beyond the Marcellus–to other plays and even to other countries. EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors, yesterday announced that it has entered into a deal with Repsol to acquire a 25% stake in Repsol’s upstream operations. EIG will pay Repsol $4.8 billion for the privilege. And what will Repsol do with $4.8 billion in cash?
We will continue to update MDN readers throughout the month of September as U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s huge gamble of trading away the future of the country to finish the Mountain Valley Pipeline plays out. We spotted a story that quotes powerful Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives saying they have no allegiance to a deal made in the Senate–even though Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised support. A radical organization called Earthjustice (an adjunct of the Democrat Party) will hold a rally in the D.C. swamp today to oppose Manchin’s “save MVP” bill. You can expect a fierce battle against Manchin’s plan. Even if he wins (we hope he does) and MVP gets done, Manchin still traded away our country’s future to get it done. It’s not a good bargain, in our humble opinion.
The Bidenistas are at it again. The radicals that now occupy the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have denied a request by Cheniere Energy (THE largest LNG exporter) to exempt compressor turbines at its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi facilities from an obscure but onerous new regulation cooked up by the left. Cheniere currently exports 56% of all exported U.S. LNG. The EPA decision means Cheniere and other LNG exporters with large turbines will have to scale back exports to comply with this new reg–which is the intention. Bottom line: Biden is now screwing Europe as our exports will decrease at the very time Europe needs them the most. Go Joe!
Once a month, the analysts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) grab the official Henry Hub pricing dart board and play a quick game to determine what price they will predict for the average Henry Hub spot price for natural gas for the rest of this year, and an average price for all of next year. Last month the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) prediction for Henry Hub natural gas in 2H22 was $7.54 per MMBtu, and for all of next year $5.10, due to an increase in production (see 
The U.S. natural gas NYMEX futures price for the “front month” October contract lost another 3.8% on Tuesday, hitting a four-week low, closing at $7.84/MMBtu. The NYMEX price is down over 13% over the past week. However, gas storage inventories are 11% below their five-year average. So what gives? Why is the price crashing, yet inventories (supplies) are low? It’s back to economics 101–supply and demand. The overall supply (production) of natural gas has gone much higher, according to recent EIA reports. Because of cooler temps (less demand for natgas at power plants), there is less demand overall. More supply with less demand equals lower prices.