We are Seeing an Energy Expansion, Not an Energy Transition
If we hear the phrase “energy transition to renewables” or that natural gas is a “bridge to renewable energy” one more time, we’ll throw up. We’ve written, a number of times, that fossil energy–natural gas in particular–is the destination, not a bridge to somewhere else. Here’s the truth of the matter: We need ALL forms of energy. We need solar and wind, we need nuclear, we need hydro, and yes, we need oil and natural gas. And we will continue to need all forms of energy for decades–likely a century or more. That’s the simple truth. We spotted an excellent column that says it perfectly: The changes we’re seeing in the energy sector are an energy expansion, not an energy transition. It’s simple, yet profound.
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Hundreds of climate cultists marched on the New Jersey State Capitol last Thursday to demand Gov. Phil Murphy deny permits to any future project that involves the burning of fossil fuels. Here’s what we noticed about the picture of the protesters. Every one of them was wearing clothes made from plastics (fossil fuels), wearing sneakers and shoes made, in part, from plastics (fossil fuels), holding up signs made from plastic (fossil fuels), wearing hats made from plastic fibers (fossil fuels), and holding phones made, in part, from plastics (fossil fuels). Does the average citizen who is not brainwashed by the climate cult see the rank hypocrisy of these people? We sure hope so.
Below is the list of events we are aware of that will be of interest to those with an interest in the Marcellus/Utica shale region for 2022. Some events are in the region (PA, OH, WV). Some are not (TX, OK, CO). Some are virtual/online, but most have returned to in-person. All of them are of potential interest to the MDN audience.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Long-term solutions: Keller calls for improved energy policies; NATIONAL: Biden’s radical, anti-fossil fuel energy policy costs Americans dearly; Democrats created the refinery bottleneck; Five real solutions to Joe Biden’s failures on energy; Why Biden keeps lying about energy; INTERNATIONAL: Oil rises amid G7 talks on capping Russian crude.
The clowns who occupy the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circus) have rejected a request by Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to appoint a new panel of three judges to hear cases involving the 94% completed pipeline (see 
According to James West, a senior managing director at Evercore ISI (investment bank), an era of heavy investment in “all of the above” energy from fossil fuels to renewables to carbon mitigation technologies is now unfolding. The world is short on hydrocarbons and electrons, and energy/power companies are responding. We are, says West, on the cusp of a new era of investing in oil, natural gas, and renewables. This new era of energy investment will be “on a scale never witnessed before.” We like the sound of that!
Coretrax describes itself as a global well integrity and production optimization expert. Last week the company announced it had completed a world record-breaking project in the Utica Basin. Coretrax successfully deployed its ReLineMNS system across three wells and expanded a total of more than 27,000 feet of tubulars (pipelines) across the campaign. With one of the expandable liners reaching 9,000 feet in its expansion, all installations smashed the previously held record of 7,243 feet by at least 1,000 feet.
Last Thursday U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm (not the brightest bulb in the pack) led an in-person meeting with CEOs and executives of seven major U.S. oil companies at the U.S. Dept. of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. Granholm kicked off the meeting by spouting the same lie the rest of the Biden administration repeats ad naseum: Putin is to blame for high gasoline prices. That is a complete fabrication. While Putin’s actions have led to something of an increase in worldwide oil and gasoline prices, the main reason for high prices here at home is Granholm and other Bidenistas who have trashed talked fossil energy from DAY ONE. They are the ones to blame and at fault.
Each quarter the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas conducts an energy survey of exploration and production (E&P) and oilfield services (OFS) firms across the Federal Reserve’s three-state Eleventh District, including Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. The latest survey, for 2Q22, included 85 E&P firms and 52 OFS companies. Respondents said they expect a Henry Hub natural gas price of $7.55/MMBtu and a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price of $108/bbl by the end of 2022. The wisdom of this particular crowd is probably about as reliable a prediction as you can get with respect to O&G prices.
Strap in–the roller coaster ride continues. Yesterday the NYMEX Henry Hub front-month (July) futures contract for natural gas plunged 10%, by $0.62, following news that more gas was stored (“injected”) than previously anticipated by analysts and traders. Storage inventories rose to 2.169 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) for the week ended June 17 following a 74 Bcf (billion cubic feet) injection. Most people thought the injection would be no more than 60 Bcf. No doubt the ongoing outage at Freeport LNG pushing an extra 2 Bcf/d on the domestic market had something to do with the extra storage build. Models predict cooler weather is coming in the next few weeks. Throw it all into the pot–higher storage, Freeport offline, and cooler weather–and traders got spooked.
The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) is a special court set up in PA to hear appeals of decisions made by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). In February 2021, a landowner (three people living at the same address) in Susquehanna County, PA, filed a lawsuit with the EHB against the DEP and Coterra Energy (formerly known as Cabot Oil & Gas) alleging Coterra’s drilling program nearby had led to polluting their water well. As of last week, the case was dismissed and the Pittsburgh attorney for the landowner (for the first time ever) was sanctioned by the EHB.
When drilling for natural gas, other substances come out of the borehole along with methane (CH4). Some wells produce NGLs (natural gas liquids) which are gases with other molecular structures, like ethane (C2H6), butane (C4H10), and propane (C3H8). Sometimes crude oil, condensate, and natural gasoline come out–all of which are liquids. Water from the depths (called brine) also comes out of the hole. When the pressure of natgas coming from the hole is high, as it is in the beginning when a well is first drilled, liquids come out of the hole along with the gas with little or no issue. However, as pressure decreases, the liquids can fall back down the well and begin to accumulate–a condition called liquid loading. Plunger lift is a technology used to solve the issue of liquid loading.
PennEnergy Resources recently reapplied (for a second time) for a permit to draw water from Big Sewickley Creek–but this time the request is cut in half, to just 1.5 million gallons of water a day (see