WV-DEP Hearing for Gas-Fired Plants Reveals Ammonia Plant was Axed
Last Thursday, MDN informed you about a public hearing scheduled for that day by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV-DEP) for the Adams Fork Energy Project in Mingo County (see WV DEP In-Person Hearing Today for Ammonia/Power Plant Project). We now have coverage of what happened at the event. There were two main bits of news coming from the hearing: (1) The owner of the land where a much-ballyhooed ammonia plant would have been located, a plant that would turn natural gas into ammonia, is “off the table” and won’t get built. (2) Most of the people who attended, nearby residents, don’t want the two gas-fired power plants to be built there. Read More “WV-DEP Hearing for Gas-Fired Plants Reveals Ammonia Plant was Axed”
We chalk this story up to the category, “We’re winning, and here’s more proof.” When, in your wildest dreams, would you ever think the lefty libs at the University of Pittsburgh (who HATE shale energy and fossil fuels) would launch a degree program for undergraduates that combines natural gas, oil, and unreliable renewables? We thought, NEVER! But that’s just what has happened. The school is launching an “all of the above” engineering degree, allowing students to “move seamlessly between industries.” Get them trained in both fossil fuels and so-called green energy for when the day arrives that fossil fuels are finally dead and green energy rules the land. (Which is when hell freezes over.) 
Countless times, we have addressed the issue of the ban on fracking in New York State and how that ban is harming state residents economically. The number one natural gas-producing county in Pennsylvania is Susquehanna County. It shares a border with Broome County in New York, where MDN is located. The gas that sits under Broome and neighboring counties is no doubt just as prolific as that under Susquehanna. Yet we are prevented from accessing it. We spotted a new op-ed comparing PA fracking with the lack of fracking in NY. It’s a great column that makes excellent points. And it’s worth addressing this issue one more time. We also offer our standard reply to the question: Will NY ever see fracking? 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Northeast gas demand dwindles on lower power demand, LNG maintenance; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: From ‘affordability’ to schools, climate lies are Zohran Mamdani’s only answer; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas price extends winning streak; DOE to pull back $13B from clean energy projects; Caturus and Nabors deploy the most powerful onshore drilling rig in U.S.; Oilfield execs dour in Dallas Fed energy survey; Zeldin bars staff from joining climate activists at fancy dinners, events; INTERNATIONAL: Oil swings as NATO and Russian tensions escalate; BP retracts view that oil demand could peak in 2025; India pleads to replace Russian oil with Iranian flows. 
In October 2024, Chesapeake Energy completed its $8.2 billion merger with Southwestern Energy (renaming the combined company Expand Energy), and in the process became the country’s #1 highest producing natural gas company, taking that title away from EQT Corporation (see 
On September 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Sandstone Development, LLC a permit for an oil and gas wastewater injection well in Lafayette Township, in McKean County. The permit authorizes Sandstone to inject up to 10,500 gallons per day of produced fluids from the McKay 7A conventional well to enhance oil and gas recovery in the McKay Lease area. Injection will occur into the Upper Devonian Kane Sandstone Formation at depths between 2,295 and 2,315 feet. A public hearing on the permit application was conducted in May. 
Yesterday, we told you about comments made by several governors from states covered by the PJM electric grid delivered to a bash PJM summit organized by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (see 
Finally, some movement on approving a new gas-fired power plant project in Chesterfield County, VA. Dominion Energy plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
MDN chronicled the rise and fall of Tellurian, founded by Charif Souki (who also founded Cheniere Energy), and Tellurian’s LNG export project, Driftwood. Tellurian’s primary focus was to build Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) facility that would cost $14.5 billion. Construction began on the project in March 2022, even without a final investment decision (see 
The annual 
Not quite a month ago, EQT Corporation, the largest Marcellus/Utica-only natural gas producer (second largest natural gas producer in the country) signed a deal with Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Jefferson County, Texas, to buy (not sell) LNG from the plant to resell it to other countries (see 
We must confess that we’re disappointed in Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (Republican). After such a promising term as governor (term limited to a single, four-year term, ending this year), Youngkin joined a gang of Democrat governors, headed by the biggest bully of them all, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, in bashing PJM at a “bash PJM” event hosted by Shapiro in Philadelphia earlier this week. Youngkin and various Dem governors, including Maryland’s Wes Moore and New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, made threats against PJM via speeches delivered remotely (they couldn’t even be bothered to travel a few hours to Philly to be there in person). We say fine, take your marbles and go home. Leave PJM and see how that works out for you when your residents are sitting in the dark 50% of the time and you’ve ended your political careers overnight. 
This story is funny. At least, we find it amusing. An extremely radical organization (essentially a Communist organization) calling itself New York Communities for Change (NYCC), launched a petition for signers to say that if New York Governor Kathy Hochul approves the plan to build the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project, they pledge to vote against her in the upcoming primary in 2026. The petition “quickly garnered supporters” with over 1,000 signatures. There are 5.9 million registered Democrats in the state, so 0.00017 of the Dems (assuming only registered Dems signed), or seventeen hundred-thousandths of the Dem primary voting population, will vote against her. Which is ZERO percent. But that’s not even the funniest part of this story. The funniest part is that she’s already approved it!