Seneca Resources is a major driller/producer in the Pennsylvania Marcellus and Utica Shale. Seneca is the drilling arm of a much larger company, National Fuel Gas Company (NFG). Seneca President John McGinnis is retiring effective May 1 of this year. Seneca senior VP Justin Loweth will replace him. We like to see promotions from within.
Read More “Seneca Resources President John McGinnis Retiring in May”
If there is one tiny sliver of light in an otherwise very dark world with Joe Biden now occupying the White House, it is that in a 50/50 Senate, Joe Manchin, Senator from West Virginia, may possibly be a check on the radical left’s mission to eliminate the use of all fossil fuels. Manchin is the top-ranked Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He will soon become its chairman.
Read More “WV’s Joe Manchin Injects Sanity into an Insane Climate Debate”
NATIONAL: Kinder Morgan beats estimates, flags concerns on spending by shale producers; Biden nixes Keystone XL permit, halts Arctic refuge leasing; From Keystone XL to Paris Agreement, Joe Biden signals a shift away from fossil fuels; TC Energy disappointed with expected Executive Action revoking Keystone XL Presidential Permit; Earth to Joe Biden: canceling Keystone XL Pipeline is a gift to China and Russia; Court decision lets Biden set new emissions rules to meet Paris agreement climate goals.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Thu, Jan 21, 2021”
You can’t say we didn’t warn you about new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Allison Clements, a radical leftist (see U.S. Senate Confirms Radical NRDC Lawyer as FERC Commissioner). Clements joined her fellow radical, Richard “Dick” Glick in voting against a request by Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to change drilling methods to cross creeks and rivers from open-cut trenching to underground horizontal directional drilling. It just became exponentially harder for MVP to finish its 92% completed pipeline project.
Read More “FERC Deadlocks 2-2, Refuses to Let MVP Change Water Crossing Plan”
The KeyState Zero petrochemical plant project that includes natural gas synthesis and carbon storage (coming to Clinton County, PA) just gets more fascinating every time we read or hear about it. We spotted a new article with more details about the project, like the fact LNG is already being produced at the site. In addition to carbon capture, the new petchem plant will produce four products…
Read More “Innovative Clinton County, PA Petchem Plant Gets More Investors”
We’ve noticed a flurry of new “notes” (i.e. bonds) being offered by Marcellus/Utica companies. We call notes/bonds IOUs. Typically a company will issue new notes (a promise to pay in the future, with interest) in order to retire older notes coming due. Notes are a form of self-financing by using debt instead of issuing new shares of stock (diluting existing shares). M-U drillers Range Resources and Antero Resources both quickly sold out of their recent note offerings at higher prices than originally requested. According to S&P analysts, the Range and Antero fast sellout is proof that credit is loosening for drillers in the M-U and in other shale plays.
Read More “Credit Loosens for M-U Drillers – Range, Antero Bonds Sell Out”
Yesterday our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), published our favorite monthly report, the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). The latest DPR, which shows estimates for oil and gas production from the seven largest shale plays in the U.S., shows a drop in shale gas production across all plays (including the Marcellus/Utica) coming in February–except for an increase in gas production in the M-U’s primary competitor, the Haynesville.
Read More “EIA DPR: Feb. NatGas Production Drop Everywhere Except Haynesville”
The Trump administration worked for four long, hard years against the radicalism of leftist Democrats to overturn what was called Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” (CPP)–an odious and misnamed plan that assassinates coal and mortally wounds natural gas power generating plants (see Obama Stabs Natural Gas Electric Plants in Clean Power Plan). The Trump EPA finally published a replacement called the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. Yesterday the swamp judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia gave Trump a parting slap in the face by overturning the ACE.
Read More “DC Circuit Court Strikes Down Trump Power Plant Emissions Reg”
Our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), is forecasting less power generation from natural gas in 2021, largely as a result of rising fuel costs. EIA says electric power generation by gas-fired plants will decrease by 8% this year. The biggest winner in 2021? Coal-fired generation will expand and produce 14% more electricity this year than it did last year.
Read More “EIA Predicts Electric from Gas-Fired Plants to Decrease 8% in 2021”
Two of three M-U drilling states received permits last week. Pennsylvania scored 14 permits to drill new shale wells. Ohio received no new permits for Utica wells. West Virginia received 5 new permits to drill new shale wells.
Read More “Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Jan 11-15”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA House reintroduces bill to limit regs as part of 2021 environmental agenda; NATIONAL: Largest single shipment of ethane heads to China after loading at US export facility; President Biden has limited flexibility in moving against oil industry; Validere and Xpansiv partner to attach ESG attributes to energy products; Fossil fuels’ place in a low-carbon future; INTERNATIONAL: U.S. imposes sanctions on vessel set to work on Nord Stream 2 pipeline; Canada pushes back on Biden plan to cancel Keystone XL.
Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Wed, Jan 20, 2021”
Last August we told you about the politically-motivated prosecution (by the Chester County, PA District Attorney’s office) of two men connected to a security firm providing off-duty constables to protect Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline construction sites (see Chester DA Persecution of Off-Duty Constables Guarding ME2 Pipe). A Chester County judge has just completely tossed the case against one of those men, exonerating and restoring his good name.
Read More “Judge Tosses Chester DA Charges Against ME2 Security Worker”
Every now and again we happen across information we think is kind of cool–things that others miss. This is one of those times. In many areas of shale drilling in Pennsylvania the drillers recycle 100% (or near 100%) of shale wastewater, both flowback (from fracking) and brine (naturally-occurring water from the depths comes out long after fracking is done). The recycled wastewater is then used to drill and frack more wells. We discovered a handy list of at least 27 such wastewater recycling facilities (and their locations in 11 different counties) spread across the Keystone State.
Read More “List of 27 Shale Wastewater Recycling Facilities in 11 PA Counties”
EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the United States, is asking West Virginia officials to remove two judges from hearing cases brought by landowners against the EQT relating to royalty disputes for alleged improper deductions. EQT wants Judges Timothy Sweeney and David W. Hummel Jr. to be disqualified from at least three cases (that we know of).
Read More “EQT Asks 2 WV Judges be Removed from Royalty Cases re Conflicts”
Like 99% of Hail Mary passes, the effort by environmental radicals in southwestern PA to block a forthcoming shale wastewater injection well has failed. As we told you last week, a group of antis, in a desperate final attempt to block an injection well in Plum (Allegheny County), PA, threw a Hail Mary pass by asking Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to assume dictatorial powers and block the project (see Antis Ask Gov. Wolf to Block PA DEP Permit for Plum Injection Well). Wolf declined.
Read More “Gov. Wolf Refuses to Block Plum, PA Wastewater Injection Well”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost continues to hammer FirstEnergy Corporation. In November Yost filed a lawsuit to block the collection of $150 million provided for under House Bill (HB) 6, aimed at propping up FirstEnergy’s unprofitable nuclear power plants in the state (see OH AG Files 2nd Lawsuit to Block FirstEnergy $150M Nuke Payments). Yost has just filed another lawsuit, this time aimed at preventing a rate hike from going into effect on FirstEnergy customers across the state.
Read More “OH AG Asks Judge to Block FirstEnergy Nuke Bailout Rate Increases”