ECA Marcellus Trust I Gives Investors 13.6 Cents per Unit in 4Q21
ECA Marcellus Trust I, traded over-the-counter on the pink sheets, canceled distributions (dividends) to investors for the first three quarters of 2020 due to the pandemic and the crash in oil and gas prices. The company restarted paying dividends in 4Q20–a grand total of 9/10ths of one penny per unit. In 1Q21 ECA increased its distribution to 3.1 cents per unit. In 2Q21, ECA decreased the payout again, down to 2.8 cents per unit. In 3Q21 ECA hiked the quarterly dividend all the way to 7.6 cents per unit. The company announced yesterday for 4Q21 it will nearly double the payout to 13.6 cents per unit.
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Most of our coverage about pipelines is for large interstate pipelines, or perhaps large regional gathering pipeline systems. Every now and again we’ll bring you news about a “last mile” LDC (local distribution company) pipeline–the pipes utility companies install and maintain to run gas to homes and businesses. We have a story of that sort for you today. Dominion Energy, a huge utility company that used to be in the pipeline business (but sold its pipeline business to Warren Buffett a few years ago) wants to install a new 760-foot pipeline under the Blue Ridge Parkway (managed by the National Park Service) in North Carolina.
On Monday the U.S.-EU Energy Council held a meeting in Washington chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, EU High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles, and European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. There was some talk about natural gas and ensuring sufficient supplies for Europe, especially with Russia’s Vladimir Putin threatening to shut off half of Europe’s supplies over Ukraine. There was plenty of blah blah blah talk about a “clean and just energy transition” to so-called renewables. Whatever. It was a forum held after the official meeting that caught our attention. Duncan Wood, Ph.D., Vice President for Strategy & New Initiatives at the Wilson Center made a statement with great insight about the U.S.’s potential role in supplying natural gas to the world via LNG.
My how the mighty permit count has fallen. Three weeks ago there were 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Southwestern expands RSG well certification to Haynesville; NATIONAL: US gas storage looks to post fourth consecutive draw of more than 200 Bcf; INTERNATIONAL: Biden says no Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine.
Tilden Marcellus LLC, a Canonsburg, Pa.-based oil and gas company, filed for chapter 11 protection last Friday in the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Tilden is a “sister company” to Rockdale Marcellus. You may recall Rockdale went through bankruptcy last year, resulting in the sale of substantially all of its assets (in Pennsylvania) to Repsol for $220 million in cash (see 
Last June, Range Resources announced it had joined the Project Canary TrustWell™ Responsible Gas Program (see 
We’re not quite sure what to think of this. The West Virginia State Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2581 on the last day of the annual WV legislative session in April 2021. HB 2581 required the State Tax Commissioner to develop a revised methodology to value oil and natural gas properties for the purposes of assessing property taxes. The State Tax Department submitted an emergency rule over the summer that was, quite frankly, a mess. The rule created a complex system that is currently mired in controversy with both drillers and landowners confused about how much of a tax bill they will owe this year. The legislature is doing it again.
Pennsylvania has already received the first $25 million payment from the so-called infrastructure bill, a down payment on what will eventually be $330.6 million (see 
According to S&P Global Platts, spot gas prices across the northeast and Appalachia were “trading sharply lower Feb. 7.” It is, says Platts, “a dynamic that could continue into the second week of February, as stronger regional gas production and higher temperature forecasts loosen supply and demand fundamentals.” How much lower are prices trading? The Eastern Gas South trading hub (formerly Dominion South) fell by almost $1/MMBtu yesterday. The Columbia Gas, Appalachia trading hub fell more than $1.
According to numbers published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2020 Pennsylvania generated and sent more electricity to neighboring states than any other state in the union. More than 230 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity was generated in Pennsylvania during 2020, and nearly 78 million MWh of that electricity was delivered to neighboring states. If PA Gov. Wolf’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme is adopted, much of that electric production will disappear. PA’s neighbors should be VERY concerned.
Venture Global LNG expects to load the inaugural cargo at its Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana on or after February 9. This is fantastic news! In addition, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass export facility (a competitor with Calcasieu Pass) received FERC clearance to start commercial production on its sixth processing train. The best part for both bits of news? Marcellus/Utica molecules flow to Sabine Pass and either already do, or will flow to Calcasieu Pass in the future. New markets for our gas!
The Pennsylvania State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has engaged in some questionable activities in the past, but this time they’ve stepped WAY across the line. Last Thursday the PA DEP filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court to force the state to adopt the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a blatant tax on carbon dioxide produced by gas- and coal-fired power plants. Thing is, it’s illegal for the state to adopt RGGI right now while the state legislature still has a window of time to vote on overriding Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a resolution that would have stopped RGGI. Constitutionally, legally, statutorily, the legislature has a certain number of days to attempt an override. The DEP’s Secretary Pat McDonnell, Gov. Wolf’s patsy, is trying to circumvent the law by forcing RGGI through now.