NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas consumption was lower in 2020 in all sectors except electric power; Senate confirms Michael Regan as EPA chief; Hydrogen slides ‘on deck’ and ready to play; Rule by regulation.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Mar 11, 2021”
In early February MDN told you that it was likely the Biden administration, although anti-drilling and anti-pipeline, would have no choice but to support an active case before the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with eminent domain for the PennEast Pipeline project (see Biden Justice Dept. Likely to Support PennEast in Supreme Crt Case). Indeed we were right. Yesterday Biden’s Acting Solicitor General filed a brief in the case supporting PennEast’s right to use FERC federally-conferred eminent domain to run the pipe across property owned and/or controlled by the State of New Jersey.
Read More “Biden Admin Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting PennEast Pipe”
As sure as the seasons change and our long winter is finally turning into spring with the first crocuses popping up through the soil, you can count on another sign of spring: a forced pooling bill will pop up in the 60-day West Virginia legislative session. And so it has. The WV legislature is currently considering two bills, Senate Bill (SB) 538 and House Bill (HB) 2853, called “unitization bills” which is just another word for forced pooling. This time West Virginia University is providing support for forced pooling in the form of a new study claiming forced pooling will “jump-start” a new era of natural gas development.
Read More “WV Makes a New Push for Forced Pooling Using New WVU Study”
West Virginia House Bill (HB) 2581 is rapidly advancing through various committees. The bill changes how the State Tax Department values producing oil and gas wells for property tax purposes. It also creates a new appeals process for all property taxes in WV. Provisions in the bill allow expenses from “lifting, processing, transportation and other industry activities” to be subtracted from a well’s income. Question: Do these new post-production deductions also apply to royalties?
Read More “WV House Advances Bill to Change How O&G Wells Valued for Taxation”
In early February, Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., a company that invests in non-operated oil and gas assets (they let others do the drilling), announced it had purchased 64,000 net acres producing ~120 MMcfe/d (million cubic feet equivalent per day) in the Marcellus/Utica from Reliance Industries Limited (see Northern O&G Buys 64K Acres of RIL’s Non-Op M-U Assets for $250M). EQT was partners with RIL in that acreage and has exercised a right to buy some of the acreage rather than let it go to Northern. EQT’s action will shave about 2,200 acres off the deal with Northern.
Read More “Northern Says EQT Buying Small Portion of Reliance JV Deal”
Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw has served as Chairman of the PA Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee since 2013. Yesterday during a hearing before the Committee to consider the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) budget for 2021-22, Yaw lectured DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn (former president of the radical PennFuture organization) that the DCNR should lift its moratorium on new leases of state land for shale gas drilling and earn itself $34 million to help offset its voracious budget appetite.
Read More “Sen. Yaw Tells DCNR to Lease More PA State Land for Gas Drilling”
In early February MDN editor Jim Willis had the pleasure of doing a remote video interview with George Stark, Director of External Affairs for Cabot Oil & Gas. Jim has known George (via various industry events) for perhaps the last 10 years. Cabot is the sponsor of a series of in-person and online events called Think About Energy (TAE). George is conducting a series of interviews about good sources of information for the oil and gas industry and he wanted to highlight MDN. Thanks George! In the interview (watch it below), Jim talks about how MDN got started and some of the key issues facing the M-U today. Enjoy!
Read More “Cabot’s ‘Think About Energy’ Interviews MDN Editor Jim Willis”
All three M-U states received permits to drill new shale wells last week. Pennsylvania received 9 new permits, with 5 of those permits going to Cabot Oil & Gas and their drilling program in Susquehanna County. Ohio received 4 new permits, all for the same company (Encino Energy) in the same county (Harrison) on the same well pad. And West Virginia received 3 new permits, all for the same company (Northeast Natural Energy) in the same county (Monongalia) on the same well pad.
Read More “Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Mar 1-5”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: AOC, other NYC Dems call on Cuomo to pull plug on ‘toxic’ gas-fired power plant in Astoria; Ample supply, outflow constraint kept lid on Northeast gas prices in February; NATIONAL: U.S. crude oil production fell by 8% in 2020, the largest annual decrease on record; No roaring USA shale industry to respond to OPEC+; Biden admin launches oil and gas leasing study; America’s energy policy should be “all of the above” not “everything but”; The Biden administration should build, not backtrack, on energy progress; INTERNATIONAL: ‘Drill, baby, drill is gone forever’: Saudis bet against U.S. shale.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Mar 10, 2021”
Chesapeake Energy has screwed over landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania (and elsewhere) for years. Under the provisions of a “settlement” just brokered by PA’s shale-hating Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, Chesapeake will get away with settling the royalty case for pennies on the dollar. The average landowner will get just over $300 from this “settlement.” What a cruel joke. This is all about headlines and showmanship for Shapiro who hopes to run for governor next year. Don’t fall for his “I’m the savior of landowners” schtick. He just sold landowners down the river in return for a headline his campaign can use.
Read More “PA AG Sells Out Landowners in Royalty Settlement with Chesapeake”
Two Democrat federal judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) are second-guessing a long-completed and flowing natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis, MO area–a pipeline that flows Marcellus/Utica gas to residents, businesses, and electric generating plants in the region. Why are we not surprised?
Read More “Democrat Fed Judges Grill FERC on Already-Done Spire Pipeline”
Masquerading as a nonpartisan, independent nonprofit, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reportedly “conducts research and analyses on financial and economic issues related to energy and the environment.” The Institute’s stated mission is “to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy.” In other words, they’re anti-fossil fuel, populated by biased Democrats with a vested interest in seeing Big Oil and Big Gas bankrupted. It’s no surprise the IEEFA just released a “report” saying the financial rationale for building the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) has “evaporated” and, you know, Equitrans (the builder) should just forget about finishing the project and write off the billions already spent.
Read More “Propaganda “Report” by Left-Wing IEEFA Says MVP Not Needed”
Anti-fossil fuel nuts in New Jersey are hoping the recent decision by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to permanently ban fracking within the river basin bodes well for another project they dearly want to ax: an LNG export facility in Gibbstown, NJ. The DRBC is composed of five voting members, including the governors of NY, PA, DE and NJ. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is a left-wing Democrat and like others of his kind, susceptible to undue influence from the more radical elements in his party. Those radical elements now believe they can flip Murphy (and the other DRBC members) into blocking the Gibbstown LNG facility, after they so recently approved it, because of their frack ban decision.
Read More “Antis Use DRBC Frack Ban to Pressure Weak NJ Gov re LNG Exports”
Here’s something you don’t read about every day. A couple of leading Democrats are not only supporting natural gas as the best way to help America “transition” to “clean energy,” they’re saying so in a very public way, attempting to influence the debate about it. In an opinion piece appearing in the Washington, D.C. The Hill (required reading for all political swamp dwellers), two members of the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) tout the benefits and virtue of using natural gas, calling for an end to the silly talk about gas bans.
Read More “Some Dems Say NatGas Plays Key Role in Clean Energy Transition”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 U.S. exports of propane reached record levels, increasing 13% and surpassing distillate fuel oil as the country’s top petroleum product export. U.S. exports of distillate fuel oil fell to its lowest level since 2016. Propane is one of the NGLs produced in (and exported from) the Marcellus/Utica.
Read More “U.S. Exports More Propane than Fuel Oil in 2020”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Manchin prods environmentalists to back oil, gas pipelines; NATIONAL: Not a fracking frenzy: what the new shale oil boom will look like; Cummins introduces heavy-duty natural gas powertrain; Biden sued by 12 states over climate executive order: ‘Enormous expansion of federal regulatory power’; INTERNATIONAL: Japanese companies form carbon-neutral LNG buyers alliance; Shell, Gazprom in Europe’s first carbon-neutral LNG cargo delivery.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Tue, Mar 9, 2021”