Reuters Predicts LNG Exports to Slow if Gas Price Remains High
A commentator writing for Reuters warns that soaring U.S. natural gas prices and falling global values are squeezing profit margins for American LNG exporters, threatening future exports. The narrowing price gap between U.S. and European markets, driven by high domestic demand and global oversupply, has reached its lowest point since 2021. The prognosticator postulates that while immediate production cuts are unlikely, a surge in new global capacity by 2027 could force reductions in U.S. LNG exports. Furthermore, rising domestic prices pose a political challenge for President Trump, as his promise to lower consumer energy costs conflicts with market tightening driven by increased LNG exports and energy-intensive data centers. Read More “Reuters Predicts LNG Exports to Slow if Gas Price Remains High”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Glenfarne, POSCO finalize strategic Alaska LNG partnership; Macquarie places 20-year order from Texas LNG; Report shows Newsom prioritizes Beijing over Bakersfield; L.A. kicks coal as it fires up the world’s largest green hydrogen power plant; NATIONAL: Natural gas futures extend gains as U.S. grows cold; $5 psychological threshold still a relevant driver for natgas; Natural gas price forecast – $5.09 new high; New tool signals best time to buy business energy; Top journal retracts study predicting catastrophic climate toll; INTERNATIONAL: Crude settles higher despite Saudi price cut; Analysts see ‘5-10 years of decent growth’ for oil demand; There’s no green backlash, EU climate chief insists. 
Yesterday, the NYMEX “front-month” futures price for natural gas closed up 15 cents at $4.995 (call it $5), which is the highest closing price for NYMEX in nearly three years (since Dec. 27, 2022). Intraday trading of the front-month contract floated above $5 at points. Weather forecasts of impending frigid weather were the main reason for the increase. Futures prices are now up more than 60% compared with a year ago. “Forecasts for the coldest December since 2010 may tip storage into a deficit by Christmas,” trading firm EBW Analytics wrote in a note to clients. Fewer molecules with more demand equals higher prices. As for the spot price at trading hubs in the Marcellus/Utica region, averaging all of them together, the price closed yesterday at $4.74, nearly at parity with the Henry Hub spot price of $4.87. That’s unheard of! 
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for July through September 2025 (full copy below). There were 116 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 3Q25, a huge increase of 53 wells (+84%) compared to 3Q24. Natural gas production volume was 1,934 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 3Q25, up 93 Bcf (+5%) from 1,841 Bcf produced in 3Q24. The average Pennsylvania spot hub price was $2.18, an increase of $0.74 (+51%) from the prior year’s $1.44. All in all, it was a great third quarter for the PA Marcellus. The numbers are going in the right direction. 
Wondering how your business can profit from the Marcellus/Utica with production and drilling on the increase once again? A 
Three anti-shale drilling groups—the PA Council of Trout Unlimited, the Keystone Trails Association, and the Responsible Drilling Alliance—have requested the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hold a hearing on the Chapter 105 permit requested for a 3.9-mile shale gas access road and staging area proposed by PA General Energy in Gamble and Cascade Townships, Lycoming County. The aim of their request is not to elicit information or express concerns that can be addressed to achieve a better outcome; rather, it is to flood the hearing with bombastic charges in hopes of blocking the project altogether. 
There have been a number of new reports recently released predicting how new AI data center projects will affect (a) demand for electric power, and (b) demand for natural gas to generate that power. We spotted what at first glance appears to be contradictory predictions in two new reports issued this week. On Monday, BloombergNEF (the research arm of Bloomberg) issued a report predicting data center power demand will hit 106 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, a 36% jump from its previous outlook. Two days later, Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, issued a report that predicts 30 GW of new U.S. data center capacity will be needed over the next five years (by 2030)—significantly below the 50 GW forecasted by major grid operators. One report is wildly optimistic, the other pessimistic. What gives? 
Another story in our Bizarre Files series. So-called climate activists have made a huuuge discovery. They can burn (flare) methane (CH4) coming out of an abandoned coal mine in Colorado, and it turns into carbon dioxide (CO2). Who knew? The activists declare that burning methane is “better” for the environment — that it’s green! Why? Because methane flying into the atmosphere is a bazillion times more “harmful” to Mom Earth than is carbon dioxide flying into the atmosphere. Yet when the oil industry does the same exact thing, flaring methane that comes out of an oil well instead of allowing it to fly into the atmosphere, those same climate activists declare it’s a climate disaster. It’s the end of mankind. Bizarre. 
Pennsylvania and Ohio should be looking over their shoulders regarding new data centers and their decisions on where to locate them. West Virginia is making serious efforts to be THE destination for new AI data centers to locate in the Marcellus/Utica region. The West Virginia Office of Energy’s recent summit highlighted the state’s unique position to power the booming AI and data center sectors through its vast natural gas reserves. Like PA and OH, WV’s homegrown natural gas offers a reliable, cost-effective, and flexible solution for necessary baseload power. What’s beginning to set WV apart from its neighbors is legislation that explicitly targets data centers. 
We suppose it’s no surprise that left-wing Congressional Democrats from North Carolina and Virginia are attacking two natural gas pipeline projects that are close to final approval and the start of construction. One project is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project. Both projects would be built in the same general area, starting at the same point near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Both have customers ready to take their gas. Southgate recently received a favorable environmental assessment (EA) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see 
Oilfield services company (OFS) Mammoth Energy Services, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, operates in the Marcellus/Utica Shale and other major plays like the Permian and SCOOP/STACK. Mammoth announced yesterday that it has completed the sale of its wholly owned engineering subsidiary, Aquawolf LLC, to Qualus, LLC for $30.0 million. The company says the sale advances its “ongoing transformation and portfolio optimization initiatives.” 
New York’s “cap and invest” Climate Act law effectively rations fossil fuels while taxing them heavily. The system limits fuel sales through caps and requires distributors to buy allowances, passing costs on to consumers. With a mandated 30% emissions reduction by 2030, the Climate Act will cause dangerous shortages of essentials such as fuel oil and natural gas for heating and gasoline for transportation. There is a real danger that households will run out of heating fuel during cold winters. Even Gov. Hochul is now criticizing the law as “infeasible.” Capping the state’s main energy sources is an impractical and ruinous strategy that threatens the state’s standard of living. 
Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) have introduced a bill that is critical to correcting a long-standing abuse of our justice system. The Curtailing Litigation Excess and Abuse Reform (CLEAR) Act of 2025 will streamline American energy infrastructure projects. The legislation targets “serial litigation” by activist groups, ensuring that once a court rules on a project, opponents cannot repeatedly delay it through additional legal battles. By limiting these indefinite delays while still preserving environmental protections, the bill aims to restore investor certainty, lower energy costs, and support national goals regarding AI competitiveness and grid reliability. The bill balances accelerated construction with legitimate oversight.