Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Feb 2, 2022
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Tellurian to start building Louisiana liquefied natural gas plant in April; Exxon, Chevron promise Permian Basin shale production boost; NATIONAL: Be grateful for global warming; Analysts expect largest US natural gas storage withdrawal of season; American cities’ climate sacrifices are for nothing; INTERNATIONAL: With fear of $100 oil back, OPEC+ is heading into a tough meeting; Biden designates Qatar as a major non-NATO ally.
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This one doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for us. Late last year utility giant Consolidated Edison (ConEd) colluded with and supported the efforts of radicalized leftists in New York City to vote through a ban on new natural gas hookups starting next year (see 
The world’s (and North America’s) largest oilfield services companies, including Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes, are all saying the same thing: Drillers are getting ready to drill more this year. Some sub-sectors of the drilling market, like completions, are already “sold out” according to Halliburton. Good luck to drillers who want to add more completions crews right now. Prices are going up for fracking fleets and other services offered by OFS companies.
New York State has become aggressively hostile to any business remotely connected to fossil fuels. NY is openly prejudiced and discriminates against oil and natural gas companies. Increasingly the state is rejecting “bitcoin miners” that use natural gas (or God forbid, coal) to produce electricity to power some serious computers (see 
Last Thursday the NYMEX Henry Hub futures contract for natural gas went on a wild ride, closing up $1.99 (46%) from the previous day (see 
Full-scale war in Eastern Europe, with Russia set to invade and annex Ukraine, seems closer now than at any time since the breakup of Yugoslavia and, before that, World War II. One very important key NATO member is resisting calls from Joe Biden to send troops and threaten sanctions against Russia if it invades: Germany. Why? Because Germany sucks on Russia’s oil and natural gas teat for a significant portion of its energy. Is there a connection between the global crisis half a world away and the Marcellus/Utica?
A new study out of Harvard University purports to link fracking with early deaths of senior citizens. It is fake research. Here’s the main finding of the study: Senior citizens who lived closest to fracked shale wells (including seniors in the PA Marcellus) had an early death risk 2.5% higher than people who did not live close to the wells. If it were an opinion poll we would say it’s within the margin of statistical error. In other words, these “researchers” didn’t find a darned thing. And yet the headlines have already begun in fake news media…
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 
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