Southwestern Completes Acquisition of Indigo, Reboots 2021 Guidance
In early June Southwestern Energy Company announced it would no longer be a pureplay Marcellus/Utica driller. Southwestern said it was buying Indigo Natural Resources, which drills for natural gas in the Louisana Haynesville Shale, for $2.7 billion (see Southwestern No Longer M-U Pure-Play, Buys Haynesville Driller $2.7B). The deed is now done. Southwestern issued an updated version of its guidance for 2021 in light of adding Indigo’s extensive assets to its own.
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August 30 was RINO Neil Chatterjee’s last day at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Virginia’s coming elections to present showdown over renewable energy mandates; NATIONAL: WTI erases loss as US oil inventory report overshadows OPEC+ announcement; How the US became the world’s LNG price setter; US shale producers switch from DUCs to drilling; Progressives launch campaign to exclude gas from Congress’s clean electricity program; INTERNATIONAL: Blue hydrogen backlash ‘has ring of fracking row’: professor defends damning study.
An extensive story running in the Youngstown Business Journal tackles the thorny issue of violated expectations for Ohio landowners who thought they would get rich from Utica Shale wells on their land but didn’t. The article contains some good information and is a cautionary story for landowners. However, we’re concerned the story doesn’t present the full picture–that some landowners DO get significant revenue from royalties and signing bonuses.
Yesterday a group of ~30 protesters rallied at the Historic Courthouse in Chester County, PA, and marched, while chanting, to the County Justice Center. Their protest is against almost completed Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline construction and against a long-completed and flowing Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline. The protesters, some who were left wing nuts, others who were honest folks who have been duped by Big Green and scaremongers in the media, asked county commissioners to file a Petition for Emergency Relief with the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) to stop any further construction of ME2 and shut down the already-operating ME1 pipeline that runs through the county.
The Barack Hussein Obama administration went crazy with over-regulation in many sectors. One of them was to redefine “waters of the United States” (or WOTUS) as everything down to (no exaggeration) mud puddles (see 
According to the experts at RBN Energy, U.S. LNG feedgas demand “has been the single biggest factor behind the soaring natural gas prices and storage shortfall this year.” Feedgas is the gas that feeds LNG export facilities. Two more LNG facilities are due to begin operation in the first half of 2022, both of which have the potential to use Marcellus/Utica molecules. RBN does a deep dive into how LNG export facilities ramp up and when even more feedgas demand will increase.
The Jones Act prevents LNG from being transported from one U.S. port (like Cove Point, Maryland and Elba Island, Georgia) to other U.S. ports (like Boston and New York) because there are no built-in-the-USA LNG carriers, a requirement under the 1920 Jones Act. When New England runs low on natural gas, they must import the gas from Russia (see 
EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young Global Limited, is one of the Big Four accounting firms in the world. The company is also a powerhouse consulting firm. EY published a new study yesterday called “EY US oil and gas reserves, production and ESG benchmarking study” (full copy below). In the study EY tells us what we already knew: That 2020, due to the coronavirus, was a waste of a year in the oil and gas sector. It was bad–really bad. The EY study puts some numbers to just how bad, including the shocking number that capital expenditures (capex) totaled $60.3 billion, 60% lower than 2019. Of the 50 companies studied they collectively drilled 41% and 32% fewer development and exploration wells, respectively, compared with 2019.
Having struck out at the state level, a group of Big Green radicals is now asking dementia Joe to cancel a tiny 6.8-mile natural gas pipeline stretching from Brownsville to North Brooklyn in New York City that’s already pretty much built. Their false claim? That pipeline is RACIST. That’s right folks. We bet you didn’t know a hunk of inanimate steel buried in the ground could be racist. The radicals claim it can be and is, and Uncle Joe should just wave his magic leftist wand and cancel it.
Researchers at Penn State evaluated eight oil and gas wastewaters (i.e. brines), waste soybean oil, and commercial dust suppressants, comparing them to see how well they controlled particle pollution on simulated patches of road. If you believe the headlines about the study, you would believe wastewater is “not usually the best option” for treating dusty roads in PA. If you read the research study itself, you come to the conclusion the study draws no such conclusion.
It may be depressing to see just how radicalized our children have become with the climate lies they are fed day in and day out by the media and their teachers (see today’s companion post, Our Kids Have Been Radicalized with Climate Lies). However, there is something that can be done. Children are influenced by their teachers. And good teachers, when they have objective, compelling evidence presented to them, will in turn present that evidence to their students. Groups like Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) are helping to turn the tide by training teachers about the oil and gas industry.
The constant drumbeat of lies fed to children from the time they are in pre-kindergarten through graduate school that the earth is catastrophically heating due to mankind (a completely false claim) is having an effect. Indeed, it has had a tragic effect–it has radicalized our kids to the point they are now willing to give up their freedoms and they are willing to engage in lawless acts of eco-terrorism, motivated by the belief that everyone on the planet will toast in the next ten years “if we don’t do something now.” It’s sick and it’s child abuse.
Last week both Pennsylvania and West Virginia issued permits to drill new shale wells. Ohio remained skunked for a sixth week in a row. What’s going on in Ohio? Or rather, what isn’t going on there? PA issued 15 new shale permits. Not to be outdone, WV also issued 15 new shale permits.