Freeport LNG Signs Agreement w/PHMSA to Restart 2 Bcf/d in October
Here’s some of the best news we’ve heard in a month! Freeport LNG, offline due to an explosion and fire in June, issued an announcement yesterday to say it has signed a deal with the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that will allow the export facility to restart in October–at or near full strength of exporting 2 Bcf/d of natural gas.
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In July 2018, a group of 100+ southwestern Pennsylvania landowners sued EQT for failure to pay them rental fees for storing natural gas under their properties (see 
Two days ago, MDN mused over the issue of whether or not there will EVER be fracking in New York State (see 
According to Wikipedia, Elizabeth, PA is a borough in Allegheny County, on the east bank of the Monongahela River, where Pennsylvania Route 51 crosses, 15 miles upstream (south) of Pittsburgh and close to the county line. The population was 1,493 at the 2010 census. Very rural. Olympus Energy wants to drill a well in the township. The pad would sit about 1,700 feet (one-third of a mile) away from Elizabeth Forward High School. Some of the parents of students, and some of the administration, are pushing back against Olympus’ drilling plan, using the kiddies as an excuse.
What makes an oil and gas company (specifically a driller) a “bad actor”? Anti-fossil fuel zealots believe they’ve found a clever way of smearing Marcellus drillers and painting them as “bad actors” by citing how many notices of violation (NOVs) the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued to a driller. The problem is, those notices are highly inconsistent and many times are for relatively minor (quickly fixable) “infractions” against regulations. Citing a high number of NOVs sounds impressive and scares people, which is the important thing for antis.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA state lawmakers, antis collude on anti-fracking action plan; NATIONAL: Oil falls on slowing us demand concerns; Fitch Solutions unveils latest oil price forecast; Can the carbon-capture industry grow as quickly as it needs to?; Manchin-Schumer energy deal proves the power of the swamp; INTERNATIONAL: LNG vessel transit through Panama drops.
As we previously stated and continue to state: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s sellout of the entire country (and the entire fossil energy industry) in return for a vote on separate legislation that supposedly will ensure Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) gets completed (no guarantee a vote will be taken), is not worth the price. Unsurprisingly, Equitrans Midstream, the company building MVP, is delighted to learn of Manchin’s plan to sacrifice the country in return for completing its pipeline. Extremely short-sighted.
New Jersey Resources’ Adelphia Gateway project converts an old oil pipeline stretching from Northampton County, PA through Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, terminating in Delaware County at Marcus Hook, into a natural gas pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued final approval for the project in December 2019 (see 
In addition to issuing its second quarter update yesterday, Williams made a second announcement of interest. The company has invested an unspecified amount of money in Aurora Hydrogen, a company developing technology that converts natural gas to hydrogen with zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Several other companies, including Chevron and Shell, invested too.
In June 2017, MDN reported that EmberClear, based in Houston, TX, wants to build a $1 billion, 1,100 megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired plant about 15 miles from Springfield, Illinois, in Pawnee (see 
One of the criticisms MDN has levied against the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, is that each state is attempting to “go it alone” with respect to attracting a $2 billion investment from the federal government for a hydrogen and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) hub in our region (see 
It finally seems as if economic activity is picking up once again in the Marcellus/Utica. And we don’t mean just shale drillers and pipeline companies. The companies that supply those companies–the supply chain–is seeing an uptick in business, according to an article appearing in the Pittsburgh Business Times. Companies like U.S. Steel, MSA, and Steel Nation are reporting strong increases in sales in 2022.