PA EQB Votes To Consider Big Green Cap-and-Trade Program
Last November, a variety of Big Green groups including the Clean Air Council, Widener University Environmental Law and Sustainability Center, eco(n)law LLC and 61 others submitted a “rulemaking petition” (407-page plan) to the Pennsylvania Environment Quality Board (EQB) requesting the Board and PA Gov. Tom Wolf establish a cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emission reduction program to eliminate carbon emissions from major sources by 2052. It’s a bizarre plan, meant to eliminate fossil fuel production and use, including Marcellus Shale production. Yesterday the EQB voted to accept and consider this cockamamie plan.
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Our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, published a post yesterday with information that’s sure to make anti-fossil fuelers go nuts. Even with increased use of so-called renewables and a major emphasis on conserving energy, America’s overall energy usage went up 4% in 2018 to a new, all-time high. Not only that, but America’s use of dreaded fossil fuels also went up by 4% last year!
Good old American ingenuity has done it again. A company in Oklahoma called Newpoint Gas has, using existing technology, developed a process to produce clean water, electricity and hydrogen energy from natural gas–and do it with zero emissions. How cool is that?
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Sen. Casey throws supports behind Gov. Wolf’s Restore PA plan; The war on natural gas stunts our economy, crushes the working class; NYC Mayor de Blasio warns of natgas moratorium consequences; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Wildcatter Floyd Wilson launches Falconer Oil and Gas Corp.; Colorado governor signs major overhaul of oil and gas rules; Utility may retire McIntosh Unit 3 in favor of natural gas, solar; Yoga mats debut at Texas industry meeting; NATIONAL: Natural Gas Council urges trump to fill vacancies at FERC; The frac sand revolution – “last mile” logistics; INTERNATIONAL: Anti-fossil fuelers go berserk, turn violent in London.
It’s no secret that upstream companies (drillers) like EQT are trimming head count and reducing annual spending. So it probably won’t come as a surprise that EQT has put 46,000 square feet (out of 250,000 sq. ft.) in its palatial headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh up for sublease. Meanwhile, in a contrasting bit of news, midstream (pipeline) company Williams has just renewed the lease for its big regional Pittsburgh headquarters at Park Place Corporate Center–a 112,481 sq. ft. building.
In a new and important development in New York State’s war against natural gas pipelines, local utility Consolidated Edison says if the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project is delayed or canceled, not only will Westchester suburbanites continue to be subject to Con Ed’s ban on new customers from hooking up to receive natgas, so too will customers who live in New York City itself.
Yesterday our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, issued our favorite monthly report, the Drilling Productivity Report. The DPR is a forecast of oil and gas production in the country’s seven major shale plays for the coming month, made by the expert number crunchers at EIA.
New York State is already doing it, Pennsylvania is actively considering doing it, and now, Ohio has caught the contagion too. The “it” we’re talking about is soaking electric rate payers to pump more money into the coffers of big corporations so they can keep uneconomic and financially failing nuclear electric generating plants operating. Both PA and OH lawmakers have floated plans to soak rate payers in their respective states.
Another truly huge merger/buyout was announced Friday when Chevron said it is buying Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion. When you factor in Chevron assuming Anadarko’s debt, the total deal is valued at $50 billion, a number hard to wrap your brain around. The key question for us is: What does this mean for Chevron’s drilling program in the Marcellus/Utica?
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is grabbing more money that we think belongs to private landowners. This time from leasing land underneath the Youghiogheny River and Little Pine Creek. DCNR has leased 124.2 acres for a signing bonus of $496,800 (or $4,000 per acre). Plus the state’s customary royalty rate of 20% on anything produced. And no, the state does not allow post-production deductions–they get their full 20% royalty.