EQT CEO Toby Rice Joins “Bipartisan” Policy Center’s Energy Council
As you can probably divine from our headline, we’re not fans of the so-called “Bipartisan” Policy Center–a group founded by leftist Democrats and RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), which is how mainstream/Democrat media defines bipartisanship. As near as we can determine, the BPC is devoid of anyone who calls him or herself a conservative. But, whatever. The big news is that Toby Rice, CEO of EQT Corporation, has joined the BPC’s American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC) where his expertise will be used “to assist in accelerating the mission toward a clean energy economy.” Good luck Toby.
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Epsilon Energy concentrates most of its effort on the Marcellus in Susquehanna County, PA. Epsilon doesn’t typically do its own drilling. The company joint venture partners with (gives money to) other companies, like Chesapeake Energy, and the other company typically does the drilling. Just yesterday our headline story was about Epsilon suing Chesapeake over Chessy’s refusal to honor a jv agreement and allow Epsilon to drill four wells in Susquehanna County, PA (see 
According to S&P Global Platts, natural gas production from the Marcellus/Utica in 1Q21 is up nearly 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), now averaging 33.2 Bcf/d. That’s an increase of 2.8% compared with 1Q20. The problem is the interstate transmission pipelines flowing M-U gas are nearly full and the increase in production means we are beginning to see too much natgas piling up, leading to lower spot prices here in the northeast. However, not all sub-regions in the M-U are seeing an uptick in production.
Republican U.S. Senators (at least a few) have noticed the alarming situation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under new Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Sen. John Barrasso is questioning FERC over its recent decision to reconsider whether or not the Weymouth, Mass. compressor station should have been approved. That’s after the station has been up and running with no problems. It is not right for a new administration to reopen an already-approved (under a different administration) project and threaten to cancel it. It’s not fair nor right in anybody’s book. It’s lawless. Sen. Barrasso tells FERC it has some splainin’ to do. 
In February Chesapeake Energy finally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy shedding $7.8 billion worth of debt (see 
Joe Biden visited Pittsburgh yesterday to make a major policy announcement. Fortunately, he was lucid enough to actually know which city he was in! Biden unveiled a $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan” which raises corporate and individual tax income rates. It is half of his total package (another plan with another $2 trillion is coming in a few weeks). The Jobs Plan is supposed to be a plan to rebuild roads and bridges and other infrastructure. The Jobs Plan is misnamed. Much of the money has nothing to do with infrastructure and jobs. Instead, it’s the Green New Deal under another name, targeting the elimination of fossil energy in the name of saving the planet.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Allegheny County Councilor Hallam introduces bill to ban fracking in most county parks; Rep. Conor Lamb talks goals to reduce methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Texas upstream sector added 2,300 jobs in February, one year after industry ‘bloodbath’; NATIONAL: No U.S. LNG export FIDs predicted in 2021, says Wood Mackenzie; The future of U.S. LNG hangs in the balance; Methane-pyrolysis process leverages natural gas for CO2-free H2 generation; The natural gas flame continues to burn bright; Drill, baby, drill hasn’t died in the U.S. shale patch; INTERNATIONAL: US Energy Sec. Granholm calls Saudi energy minister ahead of OPEC meeting; Drilling activity is set for two consecutive years of growth but will lag pre-pandemic levels.
Shale and conventional oil and gas drillers in West Virginia listen up: If you file for a modification to a previously filed permit request, it’s going to cost you $2,500. Currently, it costs nothing. Two weeks ago we told you about Senate Bill (SB) 404 (see 
Stiff opposition from officials in Marcellus/Utica-producing counties in West Virginia has flared up over House Bill (HB) 2581 (see 
For years PA’s small, independent conventional oil and gas drillers have objected to the one-size-fits-all regulations concocted by the Wolf DEP that applies the same regulations to small conventional drillers as those used for big shale drillers. The two types of drilling are apples and oranges. Making small conventional drillers jump through the same hoops as big shale drillers will bankrupt many of the smaller companies. As in previous years, a bill will soon be introduced to separate the regulations for the two…
In our opinion, we have yet to fully understand the long-term, permanent changes in society that have happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are signs that things have permanently changed. For example, a significant number of people now work from home rather than commute to an office in downtown. Many workers like working from home better! In a signal that COVID long-term changes are impacting the Marcellus/Utica industry, two major M-U companies with office space in the Southpointe business park (Pittsburgh suburb in Washington County) are shopping a collective 213,000 square feet of office space they no longer need because their workers have permanently relocated to home offices.
Elon Musk is like a god to the wacko environmental movement. For those who don’t know, Musk founded PayPal in 1999. He then founded SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003. Tesla manufactures electric-only cars. Musk became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. In January 2021, Musk reportedly surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest man in the world. But some of the bloom is coming off the rose of Elon Musk–at least for woke leftists. You see, Elon has a nasty natural gas habit. The god has fallen…
All three M-U states received permits to drill new shale wells last week. Pennsylvania received a big 21 new permits. Ohio received 7 new permits last week, all of them for Encino Energy (two different well pads). West Virginia received just 2 new permits, both for HG Energy on the same pad in the same county.
Hey, it’s that time of year when thoughts turn to the events of some 2,000 years ago and a Jewish rabbi named Jesus who was raised from the dead. Although nowhere near as world-changing as that event, we have another rise-from-the-dead situation: Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project. We told you in May of last year after the corrupt Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, and Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey refused to grant permits to build NESE, that Williams had walked away form the project (see