In what is at least the second (maybe third or fourth) serious attempt, radical Democrats in the New York State legislature have floated a bill that would force NY’s public employee pension fund to completely divest any stock holdings in fossil fuel companies. Are NY retirees ready to take a $1 TRILLION hit in their wallets if it happens?
Read More “Radical Dems Make Another Run at Forcing NY to Divest Fossil Fuels”
Once upon a time in BSE (before shale era) if you were to chart the price of oil and the price of natural gas together on the same graph, the path/track was almost identical. When the price of oil went up (or down), so too did the price of gas. With the advent of shale in 2008/2009, tracking between the two has changed. It’s gone. The value of natural gas compared to the value of oil is now *much lower* than it was in BSE.
Read More “Oil and NatGas Prices No Longer Linked – Because of Shale”
NATIONAL: Even shale veterans don’t buy the bullish production forecasts; Warm winter weather prompts lower natural gas price forecasts; INTERNATIONAL: Shale novice to head Argentina’s energy portfolio; Chinese firms offer to resell LNG cargoes due to weak demand.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Dec 10, 2019”
As far as we can tell, MDN is exclusively breaking the following news: On December 5 (last Thursday), the PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) granted a special permit to Energy Transport Solutions, LLC (i.e. New Fortress Energy) to transport LNG in DOT-113C120 rail tanker cars between Wyalusing, PA and Gibbstown, NJ. This is huge! There still is not a new regulation/law to allow shipment of LNG by rail across the country, but somehow New Fortress has gotten a special permit to do so anyway. Huge!
Read More “U.S. Gov’t Grants New Fortress Permit to Ship NEPA LNG by Rail!”
This post catches you up on both some old and some new news. In February of this year Chevron signed a lease with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to lease 1,028.4 acres of land *under* the Monongahela River in Greene and Fayette counties (southwestern corner of the state). That’s the old news. The new news is that Chevron has just added another 235.6 acres to the original lease for a grand total of 1,264.3 acres. Chevron is paying DCNR just over $5 million in lease signing bonuses for the entire deal.
Read More “Chevron Leases Land Under Mon River for $4K/Acre, 20% Royalties”
In September, Huntley Energy Exploration (HHEX), a conventional and shale driller headquartered in Southpointe (Washington County), PA that leases land and drills in the Pittsburgh suburbs, changed its name to Olympus Energy (see PA Driller HHEX Renames Itself Olympus Energy). Renaming the company after Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and home of the mythical gods, was a natural and “fits the culture” of the company according to CEO Chris Doyle. In a recent interview, Doyle said his company drilled 11 shale wells this year and plans to drill another 10-11 next year.
Read More “Olympus Energy (former H&H) to Drill 10-11 SWPA Shale Wells 2020”
“Peaker plants” are small electric generating plants that produce electricity for brief periods during high demand. Older peakers were often powered by oil. Newer peakers are powered by natural gas. In early November Dominion Energy floated an RFP (request for proposal) for companies to build a series of peakers (no smaller than 50 megawatts) totaling a combined 1,500 MW to come online beginning 2022 in Virginia. A month later, following criticism from a competitor, Dominion has canceled the RFP…at least for now.
Read More “Dominion Issues RFP to Build Gas-Fired Peaker, Cancels Mo. Later”
Once upon a time Carnegie Mellon University used to conduct real research and publish real scientific studies with respect to the PA Marcellus Shale (see Carnegie Mellon Study: Radon in Marcellus Gas Doesn’t Kill People). That was then, this is now. Nowadays the “researchers” at CMU are “researching” and issuing “studies” on theoreticals and mythology, rather than real, measurable science.
Read More “Carnegie Mellon Junk Science Says Shale Kills via Air Pollution”
Your children are being radicalized in public schools across the country–right under your nose. They are being brainwashed that the planet is going to fry in 10 years because “capitalism” is causing “global warming.” It is sad, and it is scary–because they are the next generation and they are being mis-educated, lied to, and stoked up to embrace eco-fascism. Our children are being turned into enemies of the U.S. Constitution. It’s time to do something to correct this problem.
Read More “Brainwashed/Radicalized Kids Skip School, Call it “Climate Strike””
Some anti fossil-fuel nutters are finally responding to the criticism they don’t eat their own dog food. They don’t practice what they preach. They don’t “walk the walk.” One of the most egregious examples is old, fat Al Gore who jets around the world every other week and maintains a palace he calls a house…and has a carbon footprint (the thing he preaches against) as big as a small city. Now, some “climate scientists” and “researchers” are trying to actually live the low carbon footprint lifestyle they demand the rest of us live–and they’re finding out they don’t much like it.
Read More “Some Anti Fossil Fuel Nuts Try What They Preach & Don’t Like It”
NATIONAL: U.S. oil and gas producers to slash spending for second straight year in 2020; U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for seventh consecutive week; How long-term contracts factor into U.S. LNG cargo destinations; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC left with limited options; Ending the Gulf Crisis: natural gas frames future Gulf relations.
Read More “Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Dec 9, 2019”
Here we go again. In August a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had the right to approve Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project, including the right to use eminent domain to build it before details are finalized over compensation to landowners (see DC Court Upholds FERC Authority in Approving Atlantic Sunrise Pipe). The Sierra Club and other Big Green groups, with endless mountains of money from people like Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, kept pushing and finally convinced the entire DC Circuit (all of the judges, call “en banc”) to rehear and reconsider the case already decided by three of their number.
Read More “DC Court to Rehear Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Eminent Domain Decision”
Last week Equitrans subsidiary EQM Midstream Partners (formerly EQT Midstream) canceled a contract with Texas-based Trinity Energy to build portions of the now-stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. You may recall that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stopped all new construction on MVP in October, until a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit that passes muster with the courts can be issued (see FERC Shuts Down All Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction). We’re not sure what Trinity was doing in the meantime with a shutdown of construction in place, but Trinity reps expressed surprise that their MVP contract has now been canceled.
Read More “Equitrans Cancels Trinity Energy Contract re Mountain Valley Pipe”
Yesterday was the final day of the Hart Energy Marcellus-Utica Midstream Conference being held in Pittsburgh. While the first day’s sessions had “a somewhat downbeat tone” (see M-U Drillers Tell Pipeline Companies to Lower Fees, or Else), the second day’s sessions were more optimistic–especially with respect to our region’s prospects to ship natural gas and NGLs to other regions.
Read More “Slowdown in Texas Permian Will Benefit Marcellus/Utica”
Earlier this week MDN told you the great news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has green lighted construction of a compressor station in Weymouth, Mass., and that Enbridge (the builder) said they will begin construction any day now (see Stop Press! Enbridge to Begin Construction on Weymouth Compressor). Indeed, crews are at the site getting things ready, and that brought out “more than two dozen” (according to a CBS report) anti-fossil fuel protesters. Some of the protesters couldn’t help themselves and tripped over into committing a crime by blocking the entrance to the facility so crews could not come and go with equipment. Typical.
Read More “2 Dozen Antis Protest at Weymouth Compressor Site – 4 Arrested”
Masquerading as a nonpartisan, independent nonprofit, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reportedly “conducts research and analyses on financial and economic issues related to energy and the environment.” The Institute’s stated mission is “to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy.” In other words, they’re anti-fossil fuels. We spotted an article appearing on OilPrice.com that quotes a new “study” issued by IEEFA. The article opens by saying, “drillers in Appalachia are in particularly bad shape.” Is it true? Is the end near? Is it a shalepocalypse?
Read More “IEEFA Report Says Marcellus/Utica Drillers in Financial Trouble”