On Tuesday Toby and Derek Rice published a presentation to EQT investors in connection with EQT’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders on July 10 that “takes no prisoners” (our words), condemning EQT’s current management and most of its board members (see Rice Brothers Publish Scalding EQT Investor Presentation). We said in our post that if the allegations (or spin, or whatever word you want to use) are true, EQT would need to respond, strongly, to refute it. Yesterday EQT issued its response by publishing a newly updated investor presentation. Read More “EQT Fires Back at Rice Bros. with New Investor Presentation”
If you haven’t already, it’s probably time to get out of New York State. The State is about to implode economically and people will be leaving in even larger numbers than they already are, due to obscene taxes and (now) electric rates that will rival and surpass those in New England to become the highest rates in the Lower 48. NY’s fascist Democrats in the NY “legislature” (i.e. Politburo) are about to pass a law that will be signed by Dictator-in-Chief Andrew Cuomo, a law killing most electric generation from fossil fuels by 2045 (in 25 years). Which means no new natgas-fired power plants will get built in the state from this day forward, and some (most?) of NY’s gas-fired plants in operation will have to close.
Read More “New York Pulls the Trigger, Commits Energy Suicide with New Law”
A number of Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects are stuck at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Projects that builders are waiting on for a final go-ahead from FERC. What’s the holdup? Leftist Democrat members of FERC insist that unless FERC considers mythical man-made global warming when approving pipeline projects, those projects should not be approved. It almost appears as if Democrat FERC members, including Dick Glick and Cheryl LaFleur are colluding with Big Green groups who have filed a flood of lawsuits insisting on the same thing. The end result is to slow, sometimes stop, progress on approving new projects.
Read More “List of M-U Pipeline Projects Waiting for FERC Approval”
Slowly but surely, more and more union members are beginning to vote Republican. They see their own Democrat Party denying them jobs by rejecting important, big construction projects (pipelines) because of an irrational fear of fossil fuels. This week union members have been picketing a NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) office in Buffalo (exclusive pictures below) to protest the DEC’s rejection of National Fuel Gas Company’s proposed Northern Access Pipeline project.
Read More “Trade Unions Picket New York State DEC Office for Rejecting Pipeline”
A month ago Columbia Gas Transmission was forced to haul the State of Maryland into court over the state’s refusal to grant an easement to drill a tiny 3.5-mile pipeline under the Potomac River (see Columbia Gas Sues Maryland to Allow Pipeline Under Potomac). Earlier this week Maryland’s anti-fossil fuel Attorney General, Brian Frosh, asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Read More “Maryland Asks Fed Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Questioning Pipe Rejection”
A “first of its kind” coal-to-liquids plant has been planned for Mason County, WV. The $1.2 billion project will create “ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, gasoline and other liquids.” The main two ingredients in the process are coal and (you guessed it), natural gas. Which is why we’re interested in this project.
Read More “Proposed WV Coal-to-Liquids Plant Uses Natural Gas”
LOLA Energy was birthed near the end of 2015, by former EQT executives using private equity money from Denham Capital (see New Marcellus/Utica Drilling Company is Born – LOLA Energy). In July 2017, Rice Energy (later sold to EQT) bought the assets of LOLA Energy for $180 million, over the objections of LOLA CEO Jim Crockard (see Rice Energy Paid $180M for LOLA Energy; CEO Didn’t Want to Sell). Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, LOLA Energy and Jim Crockard are back. The company has scooped up leases that EQT inadvertently let expire, potentially blocking EQT from drilling some already-planned-and-in-the-works wells–until EQT pays LOLA.
Read More “LOLA Energy is Back! Scoops Up Rice Acreage EQT Let Expire”
Yesterday Toby and Derek Rice delivered a presentation to EQT investors in connection with EQT’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders on July 10 (full copy below). The presentation and the accompanying press release take direct aim at EQT’s second quarter preliminary results and postulates that instead of a “free cash flow generating machine,” the final numbers for 2Q19 will show EQT actually lost money during the quarter.
Read More “Rice Brothers Publish Scalding EQT Investor Presentation”
A group of enviro-Nazis has sunk to a new low in their holy mission to block Marcellus Shale drilling. A group of colluding Big Green groups along with sympathetic (and sycophantic) “reporters” (i.e propagandists) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are exploiting the pain and suffering of southwestern PA families of children who have cancer in their attempt to stop shale drilling. It’s disgusting and sick.
Read More “Antis Continue Attempt to Tie Childhood Cancer to SWPA Fracking”
NJ Transit is planning to build a 140-megawatt natural gas-fired electric plant in Kearny, NJ to power a microgrid that in turn would power rail lines during weather emergencies and power outages. The state is using federal money allocated to improve reliability and resilience of mass transportation during weather events to fund the project.
Read More “NJ Transit Plans to Build Small Gas-Powered Electric Plant”
Two oilfield service (OFS) companies, C&J Energy Services and Keane Group, have announced a “merger of equals” in which the two will combine into one with using an all-stock merger. Both C&J and Keane have operations in the Marcellus/Utica region. Both companies previously merged with or bought out other companies. This certainly seems to be a trend with OFS companies.
Read More “Oilfield Service Companies Keane and C&J Energy Merging”
Speaking of oilfield services (OFS) companies that are the result of mergers and acquisitions, for a number of years MDN tracked the monthly rig count for Patterson-UTI Energy as a proxy for rig count health in general and rig count health in the Marcellus/Utica in particular. Patterson operates many rigs in the M-U region. In April 2017, Patterson bought out and merged in Seventy Seven Energy, which was the spun-off former Chesapeake Oilfield Operating company (see Patterson-UTI Energy Completes Merger with Seventy Seven Energy). Because of a slow-down in drilling, Patterson is now looking to sell off its pressure pumping (i.e. fracking) business.
Read More “Patterson-UTI Looking to Sell Off its Fracking Division”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Shale Network hosts eighth annual workshop; High school climate indoctrination using AP environment textbooks; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: California Delusion (video); NATIONAL: Small-scale LNG, virtual pipelines expanding to match demand in hard-to-reach areas; Pipeline project developers press FERC for project decisions.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jun 19, 2019”
Got a well drilled and ready to produce with no prospects of connecting it to a pipeline system any time soon? No problem! We have exciting, breaking news to share. Edge Gathering Virtual Pipelines 2 LLC (EDGE) earlier today announced in May they deployed a special LNG unit to a remote Marcellus well in PA, converting gas from the well into LNG. The LNG was then loaded into a special unit and trucked to a gas utility some 300 miles away in New England. A new “virtual pipeline” is born!
Read More “Stranded PA Marcellus Gas Converted to LNG, Trucked to New England”
Although the second quarter isn’t over yet, EQT has just released “preliminary” 2Q19 financial and operational results in a bid to fend off a takeover attempt. EQT’s current management and board of directors is in a tough fight to retain control of the company. Toby and Derek Rice, formerly of Rice Energy (which was sold to EQT in 2017) are making a play to replace the board of directors and all of EQT’s top management.
Read More “EQT Releases Positive 2Q19 Results in Attempt to Block Rice Bid”
MDN editor Jim Willis is attending the Northeast Petrochemical Exhibition and Conference in Pittsburgh, so we’re taking the day off from posting new stories. Stay tuned next week for some great news from the conference!