Three weeks ago there were 27 new permits issued in Pennsylvania for shale drilling. Two weeks ago there were only three new PA permits issued. But over the past week, from July 27-31, PA permits issued for drilling new wells jumped to 32! New permits issued in Ohio last week were six, and two new permits were issued in West Virginia.
Read More “Weekly Shale Drilling Permits Issued for PA, OH, WV: July 27-31”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Ohio State students, faculty testify for, against on-campus natural gas plant; Plugged In Podcast: Kathryn Klaber on regulation in Pennsylvania; NATIONAL: More than 100 coal-fired plants have been replaced or converted to natural gas since 2011; US senators aim to ease pipeline permitting after latest Keystone XL setback; Indicator of oil/gas bankruptcy risk falls by half, contrary to negative ratings outlooks.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Aug 6, 2020”
We have some significant news coming out of yesterday’s 2Q update from Equitrans about the company’s Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. Equitrans is seriously considering expanding compression along MVP to flow an extra 500 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas along the pipeline after it’s up and running.
Read More “Equitrans Looks to Expand Capacity on MVP by Extra 0.5 Bcf/d”
Two big pieces of news coming from yesterday’s Range Resources 2Q update: (1) The company is not yet done with asset sales, including active discussions on selling its northeastern Pennsylvania leases/wells in Lycoming County; and (2) drilling costs averaged less than $600 per lateral foot last quarter–the lowest average in the Marcellus/Utica region.
Read More “Range Resources in Talks to Sell Northeast PA Marcellus Assets”
The pipeline business is doing just fine, despite COVID-19. That’s according to Alan Armstrong, CEO of one of the country’s largest pipeline companies–Williams. On a conference call yesterday to discuss the company’s 2Q20 performance, Armstrong said: “[M]any people assume that natural gas demand would be greatly diminished by COVID-19 and a stalled economy. Fortunately, we have not seen that play out at all. In fact, natural gas demand has continued to grow, both broadly across the market and on our systems, in particular.”
Read More “Williams Says Pipeline Biz Doing Great Despite COVID-19”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finally got its butt in gear and issued a favorable environmental assessment (EA) for an amended request by PennEast Pipeline to break the project into two phases–building the pipeline through Pennsylvania in Phase One, and through New Jersey in Phase Two. FERC was supposed to issue its findings on or by July 10. Finally, after two weeks with no report, no explanation, and no communication, PennEast goosed FERC on July 24 (see PennEast Pipe Gooses FERC to Release Updated Enviro Review). The squeaky wheel…
Read More “FERC Finally Approves PennEast Pipe Split into 2 Phases”
On August 1, 2019, Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Pipeline Company (TETCO) pipeline exploded in Lincoln County, Kentucky–killing one and sending six to the hospital (see TETCO Pipe Explodes in Kentucky Killing 1; Southbound M-U Gas Stops). In September we reported that at least two lawsuits had been filed against Enbridge and TETCO–one for wrongful death, the other by a couple severely injured and burned following the incident (see Two Lawsuits Filed Against Enbridge for KY TETCO Pipe Explosion). A third lawsuit, on behalf of 80 people “affected by the blast,” has just been filed by a personal injury lawyer now a year after the accident.
Read More “Third Lawsuit Filed Against Enbridge for KY TETCO Pipe Explosion”
In July Dominion Energy announced it is throwing in the towel and canceling the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project that would have stretched from West Virginia to North Carolina. The company also announced it is selling its pipeline business to Warren Buffett (see Dominion Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipe, Sells Pipe Biz for $9.7B). Landowners along the pipeline’s route who signed leases to allow the pipeline across their property are now asking: What happens now? Are those leases terminated? Can someone else buy the leases and build a different pipeline?
Read More “What Happens to Leased Land for Now-Canceled Atlantic Coast Pipe?”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Pennsylvania is tough. Joe Biden is weak. (video); NATIONAL: U.S. crude oil production in May has a record monthly decrease; Natural gas prices reach ‘turning point,’ with possible rally into 2021, says BofA; Low oil prices will boost consumption; US shale industry seeks same output for less input; Oil donors flock to Trump as Biden hardens climate stance.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Aug 5, 2020”
Range Resources has cut a deal to sell its Haynesville Shale assets (220,000 acres plus the wells they’ve drilled since buying those assets) to Castleton Resources, a privately owned company majority-owned by Tokyo Gas, for $245 million (plus an extra $90 million, maybe, contingent on the price of gas). Range bought those assets in 2016 for $4.4 billion (see Range Resources Buys Louisiana Driller in Deal Worth $4.4B). Yeah, Range just took a bath, selling their Haynesville assets for pennies on the dollar…
Read More “Range Sells Haynesville Assets to Japan for “Pennies on the Dollar””
Yesterday the price of natural gas trading on the NYMEX futures exchange, a price based on the spot price at the Louisana Henry Hub trading point, zoomed up, closing 30 cents higher than the trading day before (up 14%). There does not appear to be a single, specific reason why trading took off like wildfire. Some speculate it rose based on the good news that U.S. LNG exports are once again on the rise. Others say short-term forecasts are now predicting continued hot weather. Whatever the reason, we’ll take it!
Read More “Price of NatGas Up Huge $0.30 in 1 Day as LNG Exports Pick Up”
New Fortress Energy (NFE), which is building an LNG liquefaction facility in northeastern Pennsylvania and a dock on the Delaware River to export their PA LNG, is expanding rapidly. NFE issued its 2Q20 update yesterday. In reading a transcript of a conference call with analysts, the light bulb went off for MDN. NFE has figured out how to deliver (sell) LNG to just about any market on the planet. It’s pure genius. We’ll explain it below.
Read More “New Fortress Cracks the Code to Sell LNG Anywhere in the World”
What is it with Democrats and the urge to tax everything–even things that breathe? They have a particular fascination with taxing carbon dioxide–the building block of life and the substance every living thing breathes out with every breath. The latest Democrat who wants to tax CO2 is Pennsylvania Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, Jr. (from Pittsburgh) who introduced Senate Bill (SB) 15. Costa falsely calls it a “cap and invest” plan. In reality and normal plain English, it’s a tax plan–taxing natural gas-fired power plants.
Read More “PA Senate Democrats Introduce New Carbon Tax Bill”
The experts at RBN Energy have been analyzing pipelines and natural gas flows out of the Marcellus/Utica region and warn of a coming problem this fall. Production in the M-U remains high. Storage is quickly filling up. The gas needs to exit the region in order to fetch better prices. According to RBN, “This fall, the situation could be even worse and may force producers to shut-in gas for a second time this year.” Pipeline constraints are coming, and that spells problems.
Read More “M-U Gas May Have Trouble Getting to Other Markets This Fall”
It’s been a tough past five months in the shale industry. While it’s been tough in the gas-focused plays like the Marcellus/Utica, it’s been tougher in the oil-focused plays like the Permian. Employment in the O&G space has shrunk, by one account, by some 86,000 jobs. We’re now at the same employment level as we were following the downturn in 2014-2016. “But everyone knows this industry is cyclical. It’ll bounce back again, right?” This time it may be different. According to analyst John Kemp, this time some of the jobs (and companies) leaving the industry will be gone for good…
Read More “Oil & Gas Supply Chain Heading for Permanent Downsize”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: EQT donates more than $200,000 to local first responders; National Fuel completes acquisition of Shell’s integrated upstream and midstream assets in Pennsylvania; PA DEP hosting fake webinar August 6 to push Wolf’s carbon tax; Rockwool decides natural gas over coal at Jefferson County plant; Alternative energy, social responsibility in focus for scaled-down Dominion; Governor Cuomo signs legislation regulating oil and gas related waste; Chesapeake Utilities Corporation completes acquisition of Elkton Gas; NATIONAL: Natural gas futures post jaw-dropping 30-cent gain; cash strong too; It’s harder than you think to stop using fossil fuels; The many distortions of the Jones Act; Basis for Biden climate plan challenged by experts; Marathon Petroleum divests Speedway stores.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Aug 4, 2020”