NATIONAL: What do U.S. refineries import from Russia…and what if they stop?; Biden admin. gave Putin ‘leverage’ by blocking American pipelines and drilling; Investigate Russia’s covert funding of US anti-fossil fuel groups; INTERNATIONAL: USA and EU look at Russian oil ban; Hitting Putin where it hurts by sanctioning Russia’s oil exports; Oil traders bet prices will pass $200 in March.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Mar 7, 2022”
One week ago MDN told you about the fast track for West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 694, a bill that will, after nearly a decade, provide for forced pooling for shale wells in the state (see New WV Forced Pooling Bill Moves Rapidly, Up for Full Senate Vote). Over the past week, the bill passed a vote by the full WV Senate, went to the House Judiciary Committee (where it passed), and is likely due for a vote by the full House next week. This one looks, by all accounts, like a done deal.
Read More “WV Forced Pooling Bill Passes Senate, House Votes Next Week”
An interesting conversation was held on Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the budget for PA in 2022. Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) Cindy Dunn was there to talk about her agency’s financial needs in the coming year. Also there was PA Sen. Gene Yaw and PA Sen. Joe Pittman, both Republicans. Yaw and Pittman asked Dunn why her agency doesn’t lease another 22,000 acres of state land for natural gas drilling as a form of “self help” to help fund DCNR’s budget. Great question…
Read More “PA Senators Ask DCNR to Lease Extra 22K Ac. State Land for Drilling”
While being polite and cordial, as U.S. Senators typically are, Sen. Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, unloaded on the five commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) yesterday during a hearing before the committee he chairs, the Senate Energy Committee. Specifically, Manchin took FERC to task for overstepping its bounds with new regulations that use global warming as a consideration when approving new pipeline projects. Manchin told the FERC commissioners their actions contribute to a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ of the fossil fuels that are critical to American energy reliability, security and independence. Well said, Senator!
Read More “U.S. Sen. Manchin Rips FERC Commissioners Over Climate Policies”
According to S&P Global, shale gas producers behaved themselves during the fourth quarter of 2021 and didn’t, even as the price of gas went sky high, do anything more than maintain current production. Gas drillers kept spending in check, didn’t do any more drilling than was necessary to maintain production, and plowed free cash flow back into dividends and stock buybacks. The result? Investors loved it and share prices soared.
Read More “M-U Drillers’ Stock Prices Soared in 4Q21 Thx to High NatGas Price”
In Sept. 2021 Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel Gas Company, announced it would certify as responsibly sourced gas (RSG) about 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of its production–roughly one-third of all Seneca production (see Seneca Resources Jumps on “Responsibly Sourced Gas” Bandwagon). The deed is now done.
Read More “Seneca Resources Gets Project Canary Cert for 1/3rd of Wells”
Yet another Marcellus driller is enrolling in Project Canary’s TrustWell™ responsible gas certification program–BKV, otherwise known as Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company and an investor/operator drilling shale wells in both the Marcellus and (now) in the Barnett Shale of Texas. Project Canary will fit BKV’s wells with continuous methane emissions monitoring units that will regularly monitor nearly 100 BKV pad locations in the Barnett and Marcellus. In fact, BKV has already begun installing continuous monitoring units at pad locations in their Marcellus.
Read More “BKV/Banpu Signs Up with Project Canary to Certify Gas Responsible”
Yesterday our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2022.” One of the main findings of this latest look forward is that the use of oil and natural gas will grow steadily and gradually from now until 2050–over the next 30 years. Renewables (solar and wind) will grow too, but fossil energy will remain completely dominant for the next generation (and likely longer). Surprised? We’re not.
Read More “EIA Annual Report Says U.S. O&G Use Will Grow Each Year Thru 2050”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: RGGI still divides Pennsylvania; Utica Shale Academy beneficiary of $75K donation; NATIONAL: US weekly LNG exports climb by six LNGCs; Blackrock says Russia-Ukraine war will ‘accelerate’ green energy transition; INTERNATIONAL: How high could oil go?; JPMorgan says $185 oil is in view; Russia’s Yamal-Europe westbound gas pipeline flows stopped on Friday; Sweden proposes a ban on extraction of coal, oil and natural gas.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Fri, Mar 4, 2022”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat from West Virginia, is in a grumpy mood. The cause? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Manchin is meeting with FERC commissioners tomorrow and he plans to take them to the proverbial woodshed for a good thrashing. Two things are on Manchin’s mind: FERC’s new rules that use global warming as a standard for reviewing pipeline projects, and ongoing delays with finishing the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project.
Read More “Sen. Manchin Taking FERC to Woodshed, Wants Answers on Policies, MVP”
Summit Midstream Partners, formed in 2009 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, operates natural gas, crude oil, and produced water gathering (pipeline) systems in several unconventional shale plays, including the Marcellus and Utica. Last week Summit issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 update. The company’s Marcellus/Utica segment (now called Northeast) continued to be the star performer. Flows through the company’s pipeline system are down for both 4Q and 2021 versus the prior year. Revenues were down from the same period a year ago as well.
Read More “Summit Midstream 2021 in Review – Volumes Down, Revenue Down”
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Canadian energy company Enerplus Corp, which currently owns some 32,700 acres of Marcellus Shale leases in northeastern Pennsylvania. The company doesn’t drill any wells in the region but it does participate by funding the drilling programs of others. Last week Enerplus issued its 4Q and full-year 2021 update, which shows the company’s Marcellus production averaged 161 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in 4Q21, up 5% from 3Q21.
Read More “Enerplus 2021 in Review – Still Owns Assets in NEPA Marcellus”
The CEO of Teren, an AI (artificial intelligence) machine learning software and content company focused on delivering rapid analysis of complex remotely sensed geospatial data, is making a rather bold claim: Literally *all* of pipeline infrastructure–as well as roads, electric transmission, and other assets–in the Appalachia region is at risk due to geohazards. What is a geohazard? Landslides and erosion, mostly. The CEO says his data shows 7,000 geohazards across 9,685 miles of pipeline in 26 counties in the Marcellus/Utica region.
Read More “All Pipeline Infrastructure in Appalachia at Risk of “Geohazards””
According to Rystad Energy’s senior oil market analyst, market panic is officially here. Because of the ongoing war of invasion, with Russia invading and attempting to annex Ukraine, world oil markets are unhinged. After the market closed yesterday, Brent crude surpassed $115/barrel to touch its highest level since 2008. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed yesterday at $110.60/barrel. The war and its associated chaos and uncertainty is affecting other commodities too, like natural gas (NYMEX up 4% yesterday), agriculture, and precious metals. Supply disruptions are expected. Everyone is hitting the panic button.
Read More “World Hits the Panic Button – Oil at 13-Year High, NatGas High Too”
We love a good contrarian point of view. We brought you news today of the market in a panic with the price of oil and natural gas heading higher based on fears over the Russian invasion and war against Ukraine. But right on cue, we spotted an article/analysis on the Seeking Alpha investors’ website that makes the case that natural gas prices will soon head much lower–back down to the $3/MMBtu range. At least here in the U.S. Why?
Read More “Research Analyst Predicts U.S. Natural Gas Headed Down to $3/MMBtu”
Elsevier, a Dutch company founded in 1880, is a huge publishing and data company. Elsevier publishes over 2,000 scientific journals and thousands of science and engineering books. BIG company. Important company. Among Elsevier’s published journals are titles for climate cultists, including Lancet and Global Environmental Change. Elsevier also publishes journals for the fossil fuel industry, like Upstream Oil and Gas Technology and Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources. Climate cultists are having a hard time with the fact Elsevier is an actual business that wants to make money and doesn’t care if its journals benefit the crazies or benefit fossil energy. So the cultists are now attempting to pressure Elsevier into dumping their journals and books that “promote” or somehow “benefit” fossil energy. It’s the Attack of the Climate Clones…
Read More “Cancel Culture Targets Free Speech for Publishers re Fossil Fuels”