Rover Pipe Sues FERC Over $20M Fine for Demolishing This Old House
You have GOT to be kidding! In 2015 Energy Transfer’s Rover Pipeline purchased an old house in Ohio that was crumbling and falling down, intending to fix it up and use it for offices. The company later decided to demolish it. The old house was on a list to be considered as a National Historic Place, even though the local fire department considered burning it down as a training exercise it was so dilapidated. Because this particular old house was potentially considered “historic,” Rover went through all sorts of hell and ended up paying a $2.3 million fine. Then Richard “Dick” Glick took over at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and decided to drag that case out yet again, this time fining Rover $20 million for something long ago settled (see FERC’s Dick Glick Shakes Down Rover Pipe for Past Settled Sins)! Rover is now fighting back, taking FERC (and Glick) to court.
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PennEnergy Resources LLC, which according to the Pittsburgh Business Times is the 11th largest shale driller in Pennsylvania (with 405 active shale wells), has achieved responsibly sourced natural gas certification from Project Canary on nearly all of its wells. Project Canary has issued its top “Gold” and “Platinum” ratings on 375 of PennEnergy’s wells.
With the ever-changing landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the shale industry, including here in the Marcellus/Utica, it’s helpful to check in every now and again with a “top 10” list. This time our top 10 list is for the largest shale drillers/operators in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Business Times recently updated its “Book of Lists” for active PA shale drillers, all 47 of them. We have a quick list of the top 10 below.
Last week we brought you the bitterly disappointing news that the clown judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (the 4th Circus) have, for a second time, overturned permits for Mountain Valley Pipeline (94% complete!) to build through 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest (see 
Last week MDN told you about S&P data showing a decrease in production for Marcellus/Utica drillers in January (see 
Last week MDN brought you the news that Chesapeake Energy is buying Marcellus driller Chief Oil & Gas (plus associated non-operated assets from Tug Hill Operating) for $2 billion in cash and approximately 9.44 million common shares (see 
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Yesterday afternoon the price of the NYMEX Henry Hub “front month” February futures contract for natural gas went on a wild ride. The February contract, due to expire at the end of trading, at one point sold for $7.40/MMBtu, up some 72% in a single day! The price finally settled at the end of trading at $6.265/MMBtu, up $1.99 (46%) from the previous day. It was the single biggest spike in the price of the front contract ever, since the contract launched in 1990 and the largest one-day gain on record. What in the world happened? And is this an indicator of higher prices to come?
Yesterday CNX Resources issued its fourth quarter and full-year update for 2021. As it has done over the past few years, CNX did not issue a full update (no narrative), opting to let its official SEC filing do the talking for it. What does the quarterly update show? The company pumped 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas and equivalents during 4Q. CNX averaged 1.6 Bcf/d for the full year. The company swung from losing $873 million in 3Q to making a profit of $630 million in 4Q–a $1.5 billion swing! How many wells did CNX drill in 4Q?
On Wednesday the Pennsylvania State Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 806, a bill aimed at providing clarity in the royalty payment statements landowners receive from oil and gas drillers. Sometimes deductions are posted on royalty statements with very little (if any) description of what those deductions are for. SB 806 will clear up the confusion. PA Senator Gene Yaw is the prime sponsor of the bill.
Powerhouse data analytics firm GlobalData, based in London, recently published a report on the Marcellus/Utica region. Among the findings, GlobalData analysts project M-U natural gas production will increase at the average annual rate of 5.1% from this year through 2025. They forecast natgas production will hit 38.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2025. Are they right?
Diversified Energy (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil), which owns close to 8 million acres of leases with some 67,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells, made 2021 the year to expand–outside the M-U region. The company purchased major assets in the Cotton Valley/Haynesville region of Lousiana, the Barnett play in Texas, and most recently, in the Mid-Continent in Oklahoma. Diversified got its start by buying up old conventional O&G wells in Appalachia. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum…Diversified has begun buying older shale wells too. The company is now the fifth-largest owner of shale wells in the southwestern PA Marcellus.
According to ISO New England, the electric power grid manager for New England, short-term power demand forecasting shows projected peak load reaching 19,250 MW on Jan. 29, because of the coming winter storm. The grid’s expected winter power demand peak, or what they plan for at the maximum, is 19,710 MW. That’s really too close for comfort. Electric power and natural gas prices are currently spiking to insanely high levels because of the coming storm, and because there’s not more capacity to send natural gas to the region.
This is getting interesting. Last week MDN told you that Canadian driller Questerre Energy has found a way to fight back against Quebec, Canada’s insane, irrational plan to outlaw all oil and gas drilling–including drilling in the province’s Utica Shale layer–by forming an alliance with a local Indian tribe to drill on Indian land (see 