Last Remaining Member of “Old” EQT Exec Team Resigns
During the proxy fight earlier this year to control EQT Corporation’s board–and ultimately its management team–Toby Rice threw some sharp barbs including talk that EQT’s existing management was not up to the task of effectively running the company. The Rice boys said so, their board nominees said so, and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said so. There will be change (i.e. personnel change) at the “operational level” said ISS. Imagine our surprise when, after assuming control, Toby said there would *not* be a wholesale replacement of top management (see Toby Rice, EQT’s New CEO, is NOT Cleaning House re Top Management). We guess it depends on what you mean by “top management,” because as of Dec. 15, the last remaining member of the “old” (former) eight-member senior management team at EQT will be gone. Which sure sounds like wholesale replacement to us.
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The Sierra Club is a radicalized, far left “environmental” group that seems to have endless mountains of cash to finance frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit against any project or company with the moniker “fossil fuel” attached to it. The Clubbers have made trouble for both Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, and now for Equitrans’ Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) by convincing lefty judges in a federal court to overturn previously issued permits from the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Equitrans has had enough of the Clubbers and their interference and recently unloaded on the group in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit corporation that works works on behalf of the state to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio by attracting business, contracts out economic research to Cleveland State University (CSU)–to keep tabs on the Utica Shale industry. Last year CSU researchers found that from 2011-2017 the Utica Shale had attracted an amazing $70 billion in new private sector energy investments (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced yesterday it has awarded grants totaling $1,891,000 for 12 clean energy vehicle projects through its Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants (AFIG) program. What’s striking about the list of winners is just how many of them are for natural gas vehicles/technology, as opposed to electric. The DEP has another $3 million to blow on these grants by the end of the year, with a deadline for applications of Dec. 13. Line up to get yours!
As a country, we’re still struggling to correct the great harm done by the Obama Administration when it comes to fixing messes like the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. What is and what is not a “water” that comes under federal jurisdiction? In the Obama years everything down to mud puddles (we’re not kidding) could be considered WOTUS (see 
It’s been a while since we’ve update 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 this year. Be sure to check it out!
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: New York natural gas utilities facing credit risks because of Cuomo; Single permit for Utica drilling awarded by ODNR; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Governor Newsom adds new oil and natural gas extraction regulations in Cali; In a first for Massachusetts, Brookline votes to ban oil and gas pipes in new buildings; NATIONAL: ExxonMobil lambasts Massachusetts, New York Attorneys General for “unconstitutional conduct”; Oil & gas industry turns to AI for billions in savings; INTERNATIONAL: Russia’s Putin says shale oil technologies are ‘barbaric’.
Yesterday a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania House and Senate members held a press conference in Harrisburg to introduce parallel bills to prevent Gov. Tom Wolf from following through on his insane plan to tax carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants–yet another attempt by Wolf to raise ~$300 million a year for Harrisburg politicians to spread around to voters in an effort to get themselves reelected. The proposed bills will prohibit the state from joining the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) without express permission from the PA legislature.
Anti-fossil fuel nutters who so often turn to criminal activity in the name of “protecting” the planet have struck again–this time at the Cricket Valley Energy Center in Dutchess County, NY. The natural gas-fired power plant is nearing completion and with every rivet punched and bolt that gets turned, it drives the nutters even more insane than they already are. Some 29 protesters, some of them not local, were arrested by Dutchess County sheriff’s deputies on Saturday for blocking the entrance to the facility. Four of them climbed a 275-foot smokestack to hang banners. We have the names and ages of all 29 who broke the law.
As we pointed out in our post yesterday about the U.S. EIA’s latest Drilling Productivity Report, natural gas production in the U.S. is slowing down (see EIA Nov ’19 Drilling Report: Permian Gas Grows More than M-U). No surprise in that bit of news as we’ve been reporting for months about various drillers in the Marcellus/Utica (and other plays) announcing their intent to spend less on drilling both this year and next. Production in the M-U is expected to grow 8-9% this year over last year. But what about next year?
Diversified Gas & Oil owns close to 8 million acres of leases with some 60,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. Their focus has been to acquire quality production and cash flow–regardless of the well or commodity type (gas or oil). They currently have over 400 shale wells in their portfolio. Diversified has just closed on a deal to raise more money via securitization–meaning to issue securities (“notes”) based on the value of their gas wells. It will raise a reported $200 million for the company. The securitization transaction is being called “groundbreaking.”
Shame on Joe Manchin, who once considered leaving the leftist Democrat Party to become a Republican (but didn’t). Now he’s showing his true colors by pushing a far far far left radicalized candidate for an empty seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)–a former “senior attorney” for the odious National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). No way, no how Joe.
Not long ago we highlighted the problem of falling severance tax revenue in West Virginia (see 
Each year the International Energy Agency (IEA) issues a special World Energy Outlook report. The 2019 edition was released last week. In this year’s Stated Policies Scenario, the share of natural gas in global primary energy demand grows to about 25% by 2040, and in the Sustainable Development Scenario, gas retains a critical role by supplying a projected one fifth of the world’s primary energy in 2050. Shale production growth is now slowing as investors lose interest, but IEA says: “the shale race is not yet run; many of the most profound impacts of the shale revolution still lie ahead.” Cool!