WV Property Taxes on Shale Jump 40% from 2018 to 2019
West Virginia shale producers pay a 5% severance tax on all natural gas produced–you knew that, right? And in 2018 WV’s oil and gas producers (mostly shale) paid $138 million in severance taxes (see WV O&G Pays $138M in Severance Tax in ’18, Up 4.3% from ’17). But did you know that producers (i.e. drillers) also pay property taxes, on top of severance taxes? That’s right! And in 2019 WV’s drillers will pay an extra $123 million in property tax on top of the severance tax they pay this year–up 40% from last year.
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The town of East Goshen, in Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia) has a noise ordinance in place from 10 pm to 7 am. Sunoco Logisitics, working on installing a section of the Mariner East 2 pipeline through the township, requested an exemption to allow them to work all night long. Their argument is that once you start pulling pipe through the hole you’ve just drilled, you can’t just stop. Last week the town supervisors voted against granting the exception. Shhh, quiet after 10.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) recently pulled together a report (“findings”) that were circulated to Congress, making the case for a large-scale natural gas liquids (NGL) storage and trading hub in the Marcellus/Utica region. No doubt this report was a response to moves by the radical left to prevent such a hub from receiving any kind of federal loan guarantees.
Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), the electric and natural gas utility that services parts of New York City and to the north of NY, Westchester County, is getting desperate in their bid to locate sites where they can unload CNG (compressed natural gas) trucks into their pipeline network in Westchester County. You may recall Con Ed was the first utility to slap a moratorium on any new natgas customers from hooking up to their supply system in Westchester, back in March (see 
On August 1, Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Pipeline Company (TETCO) pipeline exploded in Lincoln County, Kentucky–killing one and sending six to the hospital (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA Senate committee meets Sept. 24 to move bill to regulate conventional oil & gas wells; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: India’s Petronet makes $7.5 billion investment to ship U.S. shale gas abroad; The University of California divests; NATIONAL: Big Oil’s future may rest on climate debate over natural gas; Save the planet? Try fossil fuels first; Energy and the Democrat primary: no more ‘all of the above’; Michael E Mann, loser; INTERNATIONAL: How will Germany pay for its €50bn climate plan?
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced the winners of Utica Shale mineral rights for 14 parcels of land, adding up to ~655 acres, located in Wayne National Forest (WNF). The 14 properties netted the government $1.326 million and all 14 were purchased by two (possibly more) Utica Shale drillers. Average price per acre paid across the entire lot: $2,024. Who did the leasing? You have to be a subscriber to find out. 🙂
In April, Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Turzai, Speaker of the House, and a group of conservative Republicans, announced a plan for the future of PA (see 
Dominion Energy, a huge utility/powergen/midstream company with one of the most active philanthropic foundations in our industry, has just donated another $1.6 million to 135 organizations across 10 states for environmental and educational projects. We bring you this news for a couple of reasons. One is to toot Dominion’s horn for them, to point out the millions in nonprofit giving they make each year–opposite of the money-grubbing evil corporation picture pained by antis. And two, to encourage nonprofits–from schools to 4H clubs to museums to…just about any nonprofit in the states where Dominion operates, to apply for a grant. This is not a one-off! They do this year after year after year.
New York Gov. Andrew “Don Corleone” Cuomo continues his sleazy vendetta against National Grid, the New York City/Long Island gas utility company that is refusing to connect *new* customers to their natural gas system because Cuomo has denied new sources of natural gas for that system. So far NY media is licking Cuomo’s boots on this issue, publishing sob stories that blame National Grid for the hardships now faced in the region. But residents in NYC and Long Island are not fooled. They see what’s really happening.
Tens of thousands of high school students in cities across the U.S. are skipping classes today to attend so-called Global Climate Strike marches. The brainwashed kids are “calling for immediate action to end climate change.” They will be part of a global joint protest, arranged by Big Green groups, purportedly aimed at adults who they say are ignoring the “destruction of the planet.” We suspect some of the kids will take advantage of the day off to go vape somewhere and maybe get a little nookie. Whoops! Did we say that with our out-loud mouth?