U.S. Natural Gas Production in Lower 48 Hits 100 Bcf/d!
A major psychological milestone was hit this month for the first time. Natural gas production in the Lower 48 States passed 100 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). According to RBN Energy, Lower 48 dry gas production hit a record 100.1 Bcf/d on September 6. The experts at RBN delve into why this is such a remarkable event, and what it means. The short version is that demand for natural gas *here at home* (in the U.S.) is at record highs and shows no signs of diminishing.
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Two New York City Councilmembers recently introduced a resolution to block the construction of gas vaporizer expansions in National Grid’s Greenpoint Newtown Creek facility. The resolution calls on the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny a permit, and for the state Public Service Commission to deny allowing National Grid to fund it. National Grid is desperately trying not to run out of natural gas for its customers in Brooklyn and Queens (on Long Island). Antis are trying to force National Grid to do just that–run out of natural gas, leaving citizens in the cold in the dead of winter.
Finally, a little honesty from the editorial pages of the New York Times. Yes, the Times still publishes fake news on a regular basis (their news operation cannot be trusted). However, one of their leftist opinion writers, Thomas L. Friedman, recently published a real eye-opener. Friedman says Putin believes he has found a cold war he can win–a war on energy. And the West will not win that war unless “the U.S. and its Western allies stop living in a green fantasy world that says we can go from dirty fossil fuels to clean renewable energy by just flipping a switch.” Whoa! And then Friedman attacks the left’s attack on fossil energy, indicating it will be decades, at a minimum, before we are close to transitioning to energy sources that are not fossil-based.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pennsylvania sees decline in natural gas rigs; OOGEEP has awarded $599,000 in scholarships to Ohio students; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Judge confirms ‘sue & settle’ agreement; NATIONAL: As farmers split from the GOP on climate change, they’re getting billions to fight it; Rich John Kerry cautions impoverished African nations against natural gas projects; INTERNATIONAL: Russia could find new markets for half the oil shunned by the EU; Putin says ‘push the button’ on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to get more natural gas.
According to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. natural gas producers are operating more drilling rigs now than they did when the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Before the pandemic, the number of rigs operating in the United States had generally been declining. In Jan. 2020, the gas-focused rig count stood at 112. That number took a nose dive and hit a low of 68 rigs on July 24, 2020 (the lowest since 1987). But as of Sept. 9 of this year, Baker Hughes reports that 166 natural gas-focused rigs were operating in the U.S.
EnergyNet
The Catholic nuns of Lancaster County’s Adorers of the Blood of Christ are still, all these years later, trying to shake down Williams for more money because of a pipeline that runs underneath a cornfield owned by the sisters (hence our nickname for them). Using lawyers from Big Green groups, the nuns are arguing their “religious beliefs” were offended by the pipeline because it flows a nasty, filthy fossil fuel that causes global warming. Even though the sisters own and operate a home heated by natural gas at the same location! Williams should be suing the nuns, not the other way around.
While mainstream media is trying to convince you that the Democrats have a real chance of holding onto the House and Senate in the November election, don’t believe it. It’s not true. What you can expect to see and hear in news reports in the coming weeks are stories about “what if” the Republicans do win back majorities in both chambers–because they can’t afford to be so obviously wrong when there’s a Republican landslide. Expect to see stories asking, What will happen next? What about how a Republican sweep impacts the recently passed (misnamed) Infrastructure Reduction Act? And how does Republican control impact the so-called Infrastructure bill passed last year? S&P Global tackles those questions, saying Republicans have options to slow down, counter, and mute those idiotic bills. We pray to God it happens.
Yesterday MDN brought you the news that on Wednesday, the NYMEX price of natural gas soared 10% in a single day, due largely to the threat of a nationwide rail strike that would limit coal shipments to electric generating plants, causing huge demand for natural gas (see 
In June, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Germany buying LNG from Canada (see 
Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 30 new drilling permits, down from the 40 permits issued the week before. PA roared back to life by issuing 21 of the 30 permits, with OH issuing just three and WV issuing six.
Here we go again. Just a few days ago, the benchmark NYMEX price for natural gas (the “front month” contract for October) was trading below $8/MMBtu. Yesterday the price spiked up 10% in a single day–up 83 cents to $9.11. This was the 11th time this year the NYMEX price has either spiked or fallen by 10% or more, which hasn’t happened since 2001, when it spiked or fell 10% or more for 14 days. The watchword is volatility. Wild swings. The question is, Why did the price spike yesterday in particular? We have an answer.
Pennsylvania is stubbornly continuing to pursue a $2 billion hydrogen hub (part of the Biden infrastructure bill) on its own, without partnering with other Marcellus/Utica states. As we continue to point out, doing the application process alone jeopardizes attracting the project to our region. Yesterday the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a public hearing on hydrogen’s potential as an energy source. The opening presenter, Richard DiClaudio, president and CEO of the Energy Innovation Center Institute in Pittsburgh, made the case that hydrogen and the hydrogen hub is important to the future of southwestern PA.