Earthworks Accuses PA DEP of Ignoring Complaints Due to COVID-19
The radical organization Earthworks has been exposed for making a false accusation against the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), claiming the DEP ignored complaints of potential environmental violations in the shale patch due to distractions over the coronavirus pandemic. Earthworks claimed a frack wastewater treatment plant in Potter County is leaking onto the ground. DEP said it did investigate and no, there is no leak.
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One year ago MDN told about a Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC (NGPL) project that carries Marcellus/Utica gas from the Midwest all the way to the Gulf Coast to feed just about any of the existing or under construction LNG export plants in the region (see 
Both Patterson-UTI Energy and TechnipFMC are big oilfield services (OFS) companies–drilling, fracking, completions, etc. Both have operations in the Marcellus/Utica region, as well as operations in other shale plays (TechnipFMC has ops in other countries). Both companies run in the same pack with much larger (but similar) companies like Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes. Because of their presence in the M-U, it caught our attention that both Patterson and TechnipFMC announced major cuts to their capital expenditure budgets for the balance of 2020. Patterson is axing more money from an already axed budget–now 60% lower than what they spent in 2019. TechnipFMC is trimming 30% from their budget this year over last.
Last week we told you about the biggest rig count drop in four years with a loss of 47 rigs in a single week (see 
It’s pretty amazing what a single tweet can do. It can move the price of oil up by $5/barrel! Yesterday President Trump tweeted: “Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!” The markets reacted quickly bidding up the price of oil to $25.32/barrel for WTI. Let’s hope it continues.
NATIONAL: Cheniere Energy’s Jack Fusco on the future of LNG; Surviving the coronavirus? Thank fossil fuels.; Oil and gas M&A deals crash along with prices; INTERNATIONAL: As oil sinks, some companies float idea of ‘zero clause’ in trades; Barclays aiming for net zero emissions by 2050, portfolio realignment starts with energy sector; Global natgas prices for 2020 expected even lower, set to feel COVID-19 symptoms for years; Chinese buyers snap up U.S. oil purchases at widest discounts ever.
Last week MDN told you about a flurry of oil and gas bills passed by the West Virginia legislature signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (see 
Attention all small- and medium-sized businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees): Beginning tomorrow (Friday) you can sign up for the 
Is relief on the horizon for Marcellus/Utica drillers in the form of higher prices for natural gas? According to several analysts, due to several factors coming later this year and next year (a rebound in the economy, lower natgas production), we will see “significantly higher prices next year” for natgas. How much higher? “We expect an average Henry Hub price of $3.50[/MMBtu] for next year and anticipate gas reaching the $4 threshold in [the fourth quarter of 2021].” Between now and then it’s a game of Survivor…until higher prices get here.
During the week of March 24 (Tuesday) to March 30 (Monday) exports of natural gas from the Lower 48 States to other countries averaged more than 15 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)–the highest weekly average for natgas exports EVER. Most of that amazing number comes from exports via LNG facilities–some 9.5 Bcf/d. The rest are exports via pipeline into Mexico–averaging 5.5 Bcf/d.
Although we have a deep respect for the work done by the American Petroleum Institute (API) in self-governance and raising standards for the entire industry, today we write to disagree with one of API’s initiatives. API along with two other big oil and gas associations–the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP)–collaborate to produce a document called the “Sustainability Reporting Guidance for the Oil and Gas Industry.” It’s a tool to help companies shape the structure and content of their so-called sustainability reporting. In our opinion, it’s a capitulation to the notion that we must transition to an all-renewable energy future. We categorically reject that losing premise.