Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Mar 3, 2022
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA Republicans call for pipeline expansions following invasion of Ukraine; Metcalfe, House ERE Committee call on Wolf to ban Russian sourced energy; Legislator urges support of hydrogen hub in Pennsylvania; When it comes to natural gas, Russia is Putin us on; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: APA Corporation one of America’s best midsize employers; NATIONAL: Co-powering natural-gas-fired power plants with hydrogen; America’s emerging energy crisis; INTERNATIONAL: European gas prices touch new highs as Russia supply fears grow; Europe remains top destination for U.S. LNG for 3rd consecutive month.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Mar 3, 2022”
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia are all scrambling to form working groups or other alliances in an attempt to be THE state chosen for one of four regional hydrogen hubs funded by the recently passed so-called Biden infrastructure bill. The new law provides $8 billion for four regional hubs. It’s a safe bet one of those hubs will be located in either PA, OH, or WV. The race is now on to attract that investment money. On Friday, WV’s new Hydrogen Hub Working Group held its first meeting to plot a strategy to snag the project. However, PA and OH are in the hunt too, with their own dedicated groups.
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the attorney generals from 20 states that seek to limit the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their misinterpretation of the so-called Clean Air Act in order to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. The justices heard more than two hours of arguments over whether to limit the EPA’s power to regulate CO2 emissions from electric utilities. Based on the questions and comments by the justices, anti-fossil fuel cultists are VERY nervous that they may lose one of their favorite tools to limit oil and gas development.
In June 2020, during the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), published final rules to allow LNG to be safely transported by special rail cars (see 
According to the Toronto Financial Post, the Ukrainian crisis has put East Coast (Canada) LNG export facilities “back on the map.” The article says at least two companies are exploring LNG export options on Canada’s East Coast–to send natural gas to Europe. Our interest has been and remains the fact that if Canada does sanction one or even two LNG export facilities on the country’s East Coast, there is an excellent chance for Marcellus/Utica molecules to help feed it.
A former wind lobbyist and friend of Chuck Schumer, Richard “Dick” Glick, took over as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under Joe Biden. Glick is a radical leftist, a swamp-dwelling D.C. Democrat. Under his oversight, the five-member FERC board (three Democrats, two Republicans) voted 3-2 in February to begin using global warming factors when reviewing new natural gas pipeline projects (see 
Just ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech last night, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released the results of a nationwide survey. The poll results may astonish you. Given the constant drumbeat of Democrat mainstream media that fossil fuels are almost dead and the renewable nirvana future is dawning, the survey finds a completely different take on energy by the American public–both Democrats and Republicans (and Independents). The survey says the vast majority of Americans *want* more oil and gas drilling–right here at home. And that includes a majority in the Democrat Party.
Last September MDN broke the news that Rockdale Marcellus had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (see 
Last August, PTT Global Chemical finally came clean and admitted there will be no final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH, until they secure a partner to help finance the project (see 
Using investment capital from Preferred Capital Securities, WhiteHawk Energy is buying mineral and royalty rights in southwestern Pennsylvania, primarily in Washington and Green counties, for $52.5 million. The assets include production and cash flow from over 950 horizontal Marcellus Shale wells. The wells are operated by EQT, CNX Resources, and Range Resources.
Two Pennsylvania Senators, Gene Yaw (Lycoming County) and John Yudichak (Luzerne County) have sent a letter to the state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) asking the IFO to audit the modeling done by the inept Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) with respect to the price of credits being sold under the RGGI carbon tax scheme. PA Gov. Wolf intends to force the state, against the will of the people (i.e. the legislature that represents the people) to join RGGI, which slaps in insanely high carbon tax on all coal- and Marcellus gas-fired power plants. Yaw and Yudichak believe the DEP fudged the numbers with their original estimates of how much so-called RGGI credits cost. The senators want a neutral, independent third party to analyze the analysis done by the DEP.
Two years ago Yale University sold off its $80 million equity stake in Marcellus/Utica fracker Antero Resources. You know, Antero is an evil fossil fuel company and the woke children attending Yale demanded divestment. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… according to Yale University’s latest 13F form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as of Dec. 31, 2021, the University owns $41 million of Antero Resources stock once again!