Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is trying to slip through yet another unnecessary change to regulations–this time regs that will create big new hoops to jump through and higher fees to pay for Marcellus gas-fired electric plants.
Read More “PA DEP Proposes New Overstrict Regs on Gas-Fired Power Plants”
We’ve always found Diversified Gas & Oil (DGO) a fascinating company (see our DGO stories here). DGO’s strategy is to seek out wells in “the long tail.” That is, wells already along the decline curve. In the first two years after a shale well is drilled, it produces something like 75% (rough numbers) of all the oil and gas it will ever produce. As time goes on, production greatly tapers off.
Read More “The Origins of Diversified Gas & Oil – From 1 to 60,000 Wells”
Last week MDN brought you the news of another Pennsylvania Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE) grant being issued–this one in Luzerne County, near Wilkes-Barre (see New PIPE Grant to Fund Gas for Homes, Biz Near Scranton Airport). We jumped the gun. That Luzerne PIPE grant, for $1.5 million, was part of six such new grants issued by PA to fund pipeline projects in five counties.
Read More “PA Awards $3.3M in PIPE Grants to Extend NatGas Serv in 6 Locales”
Wow! What a difference three months can make. In January Moody’s Investors Service downgraded EQT Corporation’s bonds to “junk” status (see Moody’s Downgrades EQT Debt to Junk Status Following Write-Down). A few weeks later Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings downgraded the credit rating for six of the biggest Marcellus/Utica drillers, including EQT (see S&P Downgrades Credit Rating for Six Big Marcellus/Utica Drillers). Once thought risky and speculative, investors seem to have changed their minds about investing in M-U debt. They’re taking a second look.
Read More “M-U Drillers See New Interest from Bond (Debt) Investors”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Largest Wyoming gas producer, taxpayer files for bankruptcy; DTE may switch to natural gas at four coal-fired plants; NATIONAL: EIA expects lower natural gas production in 2020; Natural gas prices could double next year; Liberal-leaning states target EPA in new lawsuit; Why U.S. oil and natural gas demand will rebound from COVID-19; Why predictions for the demise of U.S. shale are “premature”.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, May 18, 2020”
Just when it seemed everything was going great to get all 10 mini-trains up and running at the Elba Island, Georgia LNG export facility (owned and operated by Kinder Morgan), a compressor fire earlier this week has caused the shutdown of three functioning units along with a fourth unit in the process of commissioning.
Read More “Compressor Fire Shuts Down Three Elba Island LNG Export Units”
Midstreamer Equitrans, the former EQT Midstream (before EQT split itself into two companies) posted its first-quarter 2020 update yesterday and held a conference call with analysts. Of primary concern and focus for us, and most observers was an update on the company’s 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, which is 90% built and in the ground. The remaining portions of MVP are held up by various court cases and regulatory actions. According to officials on the call, there is a “narrow path” to completing the project by the end of this year at a cost of $5.4 billion. If the timeline slips, the cost goes up.
Read More “Equitrans: Narrow Path to Finish MVP in 2020; Hammerhead Ready 2Q”
The crash in the drilling rig count continued last week for the ninth straight week, although the decline slowed for a third week in a row. U.S. oil and gas rigs for land-based operations fell another 29 last week, to a total of 369 active rigs. Most of the decrease comes from oil-focused rigs. However, we’ve noticed a disturbing trend in the Marcellus rig count.
Read More “US Land Rig Count Falls to 369 – Marcellus Loses Another 2 Rigs”
Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (or PIPE) grants cover part of the cost for building new natural gas pipelines to connect homes and businesses typically in rural parts of the state to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many of the more-than-a-dozen (so far) PIPE grant projects in the past (see our PIPE stories here). Another PIPE grant has just been awarded–this one in the Wilkes-Barre area.
Read More “New PIPE Grant to Fund Gas for Homes, Biz Near Scranton Airport”
Virginia’s radially left Attorney General, Mark Herring (Democrat), was among 11 other radically left Democrat AGs who recently sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting the agency just stop doing its job in approving pipeline projects until the COVID-19 pandemic is over (see 11 Democrat AGs Ask FERC to Stop Approving Pipes During Pandemic). FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee just responded to Herring with his own letter (copy below).
Read More “FERC Tells Va. AG to Kiss-off on Request to Stop Pipe Approvals”
Virginia Natural Gas (VNG), a company that serves customers in northeastern Virginia, wants to build new natural gas infrastructure in Prince William and Fauquier counties. VNG is seeking state approval to build 24 miles of new pipeline and two new compressor stations (expanding a third compressor), connecting to the mighty Williams Transco pipeline system to flow Marcellus/Utica gas to the region. The Header Improvement Project will deliver natural gas to two new gas-fired power plants. A group of 12 Virginia state legislators, every one of them a Democrat, is trying to sink the project.
Read More “12 Va. Lawmakers, All Dems, Seek to Deny NatGas for Power Plants”
Not everyone in Canada is a liberal loon just like not everyone in New York State is a liberal loon. Case in point: the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), an independent public policy think tank, has just published a report pointing out the fallacy of Quebec believing it can electrify all of its energy supplies without using natural gas. In particular, the paper says Quebec’s Utica Shale layer can and should play a key role in Quebec’s so-called all-electric future.
Read More “New Report Says Canadian Utica Shale Key to Lower Emissions Future”
NATIONAL: EIA forecasts U.S. crude oil production to fall in 2020 and 2021; Could plugging orphan wells keep the suffering oil industry afloat?; INTERNATIONAL: Oil not alone as natural gas demand set for largest decline on record in 2020, IEA says; Asian LNG prices spike 20% as demand returns; Coronavirus and climate change: a tale of two hysterias.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, May 15, 2020”
Shell continues to ramp back up work being done at its mighty ethane cracker construction site in Beaver County, PA following a shutdown of activity due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has announced plans to add 300 employees back each week until they are back up to full compliment.
Read More “Shell Adding Back 300 Workers a Week at Cracker Construction Site”
We have some exclusive news to share about a northeast PA LNG plant project. In August 2018, New Fortress Energy announced plans to build at least one LNG liquefying plant in Wyalusing, PA (see Big News! Marcellus LNG Export Plant Coming to Landlocked NEPA). The plant will cost $800 million to build and use some 500 workers to build it. Work began last year to clear the site in preparation for construction (see Work Continues to Clear Site for NEPA Landlocked LNG Export Plant). The big news is…
Read More “Work on New Fortress LNG Export Plant in Wyalusing Heats Up”
Earlier this week the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) held a promised hearing to consider its previous decision to approve a request by New Fortress Energy to build a $96 million 1,600-foot-long pier/dock on the Delaware River. The dock will be used for docking and loading two ships at a time with LNG. The only parties allowed to speak were DRBC, New Fortress, and THE Delaware Riverkeeper, the arrogant Big Green group trying to stop the dock and the LNG facility in northeast PA that would feed it.
Read More “DRBC, New Fortress Crush Antis’ Arguments Against LNG Export Dock”