PA Sen. Gene Yaw: Promoting EVs is Promoting Mining by Children
Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw is on fire! His verbal barbs concerning energy production keep coming–and they’re aimed at the right people for the right reasons. Last week the Senate committee Yaw chairs, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, held hearings to consider the new 2021/22 budget request from the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). As we told you last week, Yaw asked some pointed questions of DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn (see Sen. Yaw Tells DCNR to Lease More PA State Land for Gas Drilling). It turns out there was another exchange between them that had escaped our notice, until now.
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The push is on to make the Marcellus/Utica the country’s second petrochemical hub. The U.S. Gulf Coast is the country’s first and primary petchem hub, but in light of multiple hurricanes and even snowstorms this past year (with multiple disruptions), it’s obvious to everyone that the M-U region can and should become a second petchem hub. An entire conference to discuss how to make that happen will be held next week in Wheeling, WV. The 2nd annual 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pa.’s natural gas industry is a target — again; Pennsylvania lawmakers seek to block entry to multi-state climate compact; NATIONAL: U.S. LNG exports edge up in January 2021; Poorest choice ever confirmed as Secretary of Interior; House Republicans pitch nuclear, natural gas as ‘cleaner’ energy future; Natural gas price prediction – prices drop and remain oversold; Wind & solar subsidies (video); INTERNATIONAL: Asia became the main export destination for growing U.S. LNG exports in 2020.
Last August the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) rejected a water permit for Equitrans’ proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project (see 
The good news for Equitrans’ 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last week overruled North Carolina’s Dept. of Environmental Quality in rejecting a water permit for the project (see today’s lead story). However, MVP wasn’t letting last year’s DEQ action slow it down. In January MVP reluctantly filed eminent domain lawsuits against 100 landowners who refuse to reasonably negotiate an easement for the pipeline.
Ohio’s House Bill (HB) 6 is a law granting billions (plural) of dollars to FirstEnergy in an attempt to prop up the company’s economically failing nuclear power plants. FirstEnergy is accused of bribing state legislators to pass, and keep passed, HB 6 by paying out $61 million (see 
Last week MDN brought you news of a new forced pooling bill under consideration in this year’s West Virginia legislative session (see 
Last Saturday Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s office published, via the Pennsylvania Bulletin, a list of agency-by-agency regulations currently in development with an estimated schedule for future actions. In the list is the all-important (to the oil and gas industry) Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). It’s been our observation when the government in general, and DEP in particular, changes a regulation, it typically makes it more onerous (and expensive) to comply with. Some of the upcoming changes to DEP regulations happening this year we’ve already warned you about. Others are new to us.
Ascent Resources, originally founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately-held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update earlier this week. According to Ascent CEO Jeff Fisher, “Ascent has successfully delivered on its operational and financial objectives in 2020.” Ascent reports it shut-in (curtailed) roughly 100 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) of production in 4Q. The company produced 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfe/d) during 4Q, down from 2 Bcfe/d in 3Q.
Here’s a company we’ve not written about since 2016: IOG Capital. Back in 2015 we first told you that IOG Capital had cut a deal with Seneca Resources to fund Seneca’s Marcellus drilling program in Elk, McKean and Cameron counties in northcentral Pennsylvania (see 
Earlier this week MDN brought you the news that the Biden administration, via its Acting Solicitor General, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting PennEast Pipeline’s appealed case to overturn a lower court decision barring the company from using eminent domain to condemn land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey (see 
It’s kind of funny to watch how leftists react when something doesn’t go their way. Tell someone on the left “no” or “wait” or “you’ll have to pay for that” and they melt like snowflakes. Sometimes they pitch the equivalent of a temper tantrum. That was our thought as we read about a leftist Democrat politician from New Jersey, Lisa McCormick, and her reaction to the Biden administration filing a brief that supports the PennEast Pipeline in U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. oil rig count pushed to an 11-month high in the week ended March 10, led by a continued recovery in the Permian basin, according to Enverus. The number of active net oil rigs rose by five over the past week to 371, the highest since the week ended April 15 of last year. However, gas-focused rigs decreased. Bummer. The Marcellus in the dry gas northeastern PA region lost two rigs and the Utica in Ohio lost 1 rig. Another gas-focused play, the Haynesville in Louisiana, lost 1 rig.