In a coordinated attack on Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1100, aimed at attracting NEW petrochemical investment to the state, Big Green has launched a letter-writing campaign to newspapers to try and shame PA Senate Republicans into voting against the state’s future economic and jobs bonanza. Fat chance Big Green!
Read More “Big Green Launches Effort to Defeat PA Petchem Investment Bill”
The ticket to getting elected in uber-liberal southeastern Pennsylvania (in the Philadelphia suburbs) is to track left with your politics. Even the few elected Republicans in SEPA are nothing more than Democrat-lite in their philosophy and voting. Two Democrats who unseated PA House Republicans in Chester County in 2018 by running against the Mariner East pipeline project, are now being challenged because of their pipeline positions.
Read More “Anti-Pipeline Dems from Chester County Face Primary Challengers”
The sleaziest of Pennsylvania’s Big Green groups–THE Delaware Riverkeeper and PennFuture–have filed a “friend of the court” (amicus) brief in a federal lawsuit hoping they can help gut the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by denying FERC the only way the agency has of combating these sleazy groups–something called a tolling order.
Read More “PA Big Green Supports Lawsuit to Gut FERC re Pipe Approvals”
Andrew Cuomo makes us puke. Literally. Cuomo, Governor of New York, became a dictator and stripped away the property rights of citizens living in NY in 2015 when he autocratically decided to prohibit shale fracking throughout the state (see It’s Official: Cuomo Bans Economic Opportunity & Prosperity in NY). He knows he won’t be the dictator of NY forever. Someday there will be a Republican governor who can unilaterally lift the frack ban in the same way Cuomo unilaterally imposed it. Yesterday Cuomo, in his so-called State of the State address, said he wants the legislature to pass a law permanently banning fracking in NY. Forever.
Read More “NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wants to Make Frack Ban Permanent”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Ohio Supreme Court to rule whether ODMA supersedes OMTA in severed O&G interests; Dominion Energy donates $1.6 million to nonprofits; M-U rig counts steady this month, down sharply from last year; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Virginia Senate panel OKs offshore drilling, fracking bans; NATIONAL: EIA predicts crude oil prices to fall 1H20, then rise in 2021; Climate serfdom is no future, it’s the road to destruction; Halliburton right sizing North American land business to hold market share; INTERNATIONAL: Trump tries out new climate line of attack; Trump urges Europe to embrace LNG, reject climate ‘pessimism’; A competitive analysis of the European gas market: implications for natural gas producers.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jan 22, 2020”
Dominion Energy’s West Loop Project will flow natural gas from western PA into Ohio to feed a new natural gas-fired electric plant being built there. We first noticed this small (but important) project in June 2019 (see Dominion Pipeline to Feed Western PA NatGas to OH Power Plant). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued final approval for the project in December (see FERC OKs Dominion Pipeline to Feed PA NatGas to OH Power Plant). And now, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued a Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the project.
Read More “PA DEP OKs Dominion Pipeline to Feed PA NatGas to OH Power Plant”
It’s full speed ahead for the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline project in southeastern Pennsylvania. In December the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final approval for the project (see FERC Issues Final OK for Southeast PA Adelphia Gateway Pipeline). Last week Talen Energy sold the actual pipeline to New Jersey Resources so the project can commence (see Talen Energy Sells PA Pipeline to Adelphia Gateway for $155M). NJ Resources/Adelphia has just filed a request with PA for permits to move dirt around at 13 locations. We have the list.
Read More “Adelphia Gateway Pipe Files to Upgrade 13 Sites in Southeast PA”
Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel Gas Company, does most of its exploration and production in central and western Pennsylvania (although it also does some drilling in California). A spokesman for Seneca recently went on the record to talk about the company’s prolific 2019 production, with a forecast for 2020 (production is going UP). However, the company plans to ax one of its three rigs in 2020.
Read More “Seneca Resources: Productive 2019, Reducing Rig Count in 2020”
Electric fracking (or e-fracking) continues to displace traditional fracking in the Marcellus/Utica. What’s the difference between the two? Traditional fracking uses diesel-fueled engines to produce electricity to power pressure pumps for hydraulic fracturing operations. Electric fracking uses natural gas from the well pad to power turbines to create electricity. Electric fracking fleets are roughly half the size of traditional diesel fleets–and a whole lot quieter.
Read More “Another Marcellus Driller Converts to Electric Fracking”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is on a mission to reduce, actually eliminate, the use of natural gas to produce electricity in the state (see New York Pulls the Trigger, Commits Energy Suicide with New Law). Yet a consortium led by Dutch pension fund investor APG has just cut a deal to buy two natural gas-fired electric plants operating in New York City. Go figure.
Read More “Dutch Pension Fund APG Buys 2 NYC Gas-Fired Electric Plants”
Last Friday (and again yesterday) the price of natural gas futures–the NYMEX NGc1 futures price (based on gas selling at the Henry Hub)–went below $2 per MMBtu (or Mcf). It was the lowest price we’ve seen in nearly four years. In fact, as this post is being written, the latest price NGc1 (Tuesday morning) is trading at is $1.93. Is there any hope for prices to increase?
Read More “Price of NatGas Craters – Goes Under $2 First Time in Four Years”
Nearly a year ago a lawsuit brought by greedy lawyers (ab)using a group of 21 children against the United States for not doing enough about mythical man-made global warming began in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (see Global Warming Lawsuit by Brainwashed Kids Begins at 9th Circus). After a number of twists and turns, including a refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, last Friday the judges of the Ninth Circuit tossed out the bogus lawsuit–something that should have been done years ago.
Read More “9th Circuit Throws Out Fossil Fuel Lawsuit by Brainwashed Kids”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Area residents respond to oil, gas documentary about plastic problem; FERC decision this week for PennEast Pipeline; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: San Francisco bans natural gas in new, remodeled municipal buildings; Protests target a ‘carbon bomb’ linking two major pipelines outside Boston; Persistent fog reduces activity at Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG terminal; NATIONAL: EIA expects U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions to decrease annually through 2021; Schlumberger plans U.S. pullback as shale oil drillers struggle; Natural gas 2019 review and what lies ahead in 2020.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Jan 21, 2020”
It’s been a while since we’ve updated our calendar of events page. We just have. The list below includes events related (or of interest) to the Marcellus, Utica and other Appalachian shales happening from now through the end of March. Be sure to check it out!
Read More “Calendar of Marcellus/Utica Events of Interest Jan – Mar 2020”
Two weeks ago the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the largest fine for a single company/project in its history. DEP slapped Energy Transfer (ET) with a $30.6 million fine for the construction and subsequent explosion of the company’s Revolution gathering pipeline in western PA (see ET Allowed to Fix/Restart Revolution Pipe…After Record $30M Fine). As part of the fine, DEP said ET could restart construction to fix Revolution. DEP also said ET could restart construction for another project: Mariner East 2 (ME2). Yesterday the other shoe dropped when DEP announced a new fine related to ME2 work–for $1.95 million.
Read More “PA DEP Slaps Energy Transfer Again – $2M Fine re Mariner East 2”
Dear MDN Reader: