In November Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam abruptly replaced two (of seven) Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board members who were leaning against an approval for a compressor station needed for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project (see Virginia Gov. Northam Replaces Regulators Before Compressor Vote).
Read More “VA Air Pollution Control Bd Delays ACP Compressor Stn Vote, Again”
A company that’s in the business of selling natural gas to homeowners and businesses, Berkshire Gas Co. (in Massachusetts), can’t get more gas supplies nor build a short 14-mile pipeline in order to add new customers to its system, so they have put an ongoing moratorium (we call it a permanent ban) on any new customers from signing up for their gas service (see New England Utility Makes Ban on New Gas Hookups Permanent).
Read More “New England Gas Co. Spending $1M on “Alternatives” to Gas Heat”
The Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) was created by the Canadian Gas Association to “support the funding of cleantech innovation in natural gas.”
Read More “Canadian NGIF Signs Up 7 Drillers to Fund “Cleantech” for Gas”
We’re not intentionally picking a fight, but we can’t ignore a big, glaring issue we’ve noticed for some months. A reporter at the Charleston Gazette-Mail is now funded by Big Green backers, and his reporting has taken a decided and noticeable turn against the shale industry.
Read More “Antis Get a Reporter at the Charleston Gazette-Mail”
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to MDN readers! MDN will now take a break from daily publishing until after the New Year–until Wednesday, Jan. 2.
There are a few events related (or of interest) to the Marcellus and Utica Shale coming up in the next 90 days. Due to other editorial priorities we have not included this list for the past couple of weeks, so we are inserting below. As always, if you know of a worthy event you believe should be included, please send the details and/or a link to our calendar@marcellusdrilling.com email address.
Read More “MDN Off Until Jan. 2, 2019 – Upcoming Events Calendar”
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Dec 21, 2018”
As we previously reported, an explosion and fire last week at the MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plant in Chartiers (Washington County), PA sent four people to the hospital–carried there by helicopter (see MarkWest Plant Explosion in Washington Co. Injures 4; 1 Critical). We are profoundly sad to report that the man who was in critical condition has died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office reported that Jeffery Fisher, 61, of Salem, WV died at 3:38 p.m. Tuesday at UPMC Mercy hospital. Below is an update on the situation, with additional new details.
Read More “Sad Postscript: Man Dies of Injuries from MarkWest SWPA Explosion”
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issued third quarter 2018 production numbers for Utica shale oil and gas production yesterday. And what a report it is! Natural gas production was up an amazing 31% over the same period last year (after being up 42% in 2Q18). Utica natgas production broke another record, hitting a new all-time high of 605 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 3Q18. But perhaps the biggest story was Utica oil production. In 1Q18 Utica oil production was down 3.6%. In 2Q18 Utica oil production was up 11%. But in 3Q18, Utica oil production soared, going up 32%.
Read More “ODNR Releases Ohio Utica O&G Production for 3Q18 – Top 25 Wells”
Two separate cases before U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone (in Pennsylvania) were settled yesterday by EQT. One of class action cases, brought against EQT, alleged the company had intentionally misclassified employees as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime. The settlement awards “more than 100” workers back wages totaling $2.8 million. The other class action case is similar, except it was filed against Rice Energy before Rice was bought out by EQT. Now that Rice is part of EQT, it is EQT paying the bills. In the Rice Energy lawsuit, some 90 workers are being paid $2.9 million for unpaid overtime. Wednesday was an expensive day for EQT.
Read More “EQT Settles 2 Class Action Lawsuits for $5.7M re Employee Issues”
Another abuse of power and bastardization of our judicial system–this time by RINO (Democrat wannabe) Tom Hogan, the District Attorney for Chester County, PA. Hogan has launched a criminal probe into the Mariner East Pipeline projects (1 and 2). The probe smacks not of justice but of politics–as in Hogan seeking higher office. It also smacks of a diversion–attempting to focus attention away from a recent lawsuit filed against Hogan by PA State Troopers because Hogan maintains a blacklist with troopers’ names that he refuses to call to testify in court cases (see Chesco D.A. Hogan sued by state police troopers over ‘do not call’ list). What better way to divert attention away from your own sleazy practices than to focus on someone else’s alleged wrongdoing?
Read More “Chester County DA Goes Rogue, Targets ME2 Pipe w/Criminal Probe”
Remember the Carrington’s from the 1980s prime time soap Dynasty? Or how about the Ewings, as in J.R. and Bobby, from the prime time soap Dallas? No, we’re not talking about the remakes of those shows appearing in recent years. We’re talking about the originals. Both shows revolved around oil families of immense wealth–one in Colorado, the other in Texas. We have a real-life version of Dynasty and Dallas playing out right now–in Pittsburgh–with the Rice brothers and EQT. Not all the sex stuff–get your head straight! We’re talking about the backroom deals and bare-knuckle politics stuff. Last week we told you that Toby and Derek Rice, formerly of Rice Energy, have launched an effort to take over the company they sold Rice Energy to (see Rice Brothers Attempt to Take Over EQT, Install Toby as CEO). Earlier this week we told you that EQT Chairman Jim Rohr and CEO Rob McNally want to “talk” (yell, scream?) some more with the Rice boys (see EQT Chairman Rohr & CEO McNally Ready to “Talk” with Rice Boys). According to an article appearing in the Wall Street Journal, the Rice boys have more backing for their takeover plan, from Elliott Management. The details that leaked say the Rices want to replace Rohr and McNally. This is epic.
Read More “More Rice Bros. vs. EQT Intrigue – Better than Dynasty & Dallas!”
The CORNballs are still at it. Even though NEXUS Pipeline, a $2.6 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that runs from Ohio into Michigan, partially started up in October, and went fully online in November, the Coalition to Reroute NEXUS (CORN), along with the City of Oberlin, Ohio, is asking the D.C. Court of Appeals to reverse the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s original decision to approve the project. Yes, the CORNballs (our name for CORN) want to shut it all down–even though the pipeline is in the ground spreading economic cheer throughout the region, and even though all of the scary nightmare scenarios predicted by CORN and Oberlin with respect to building the pipeline have now been proven false. The CORNballs and Oberlin are sore losers and apparently have endless gobs of money for lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits in federal court. The same two groups tried this stunt in a different court, the Sixth Circuit, where the lawsuit was tossed out last March. They’ve gone court shopping to try it all again.
Read More “CORNballs Return, Ask DC Court to Shut Down NEXUS Pipe”
In October 2017, the radical Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a “report” that makes the preposterous claim that New England customers have overpaid utility bills by $3.6 billion due to collusion between the natural gas and electricity industries (see EDF Accuses New England Gas Utilities of $3.6B Market Manipulation). The report said New England utility companies Eversource and Avangrid intentionally manipulated the flow of gas along the Algonquin natural gas pipeline by placing and later withdrawing orders, in order to spike the cost of gas which then spiked the cost of electricity generated by the resulting higher cost of gas. It is a totally made-up, false report. So said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in February (see FERC Dismisses EDF Claim New England Utilities Manipulated Gas Mkt). And now, so too says the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). They find “no evidence” of collusion to jack up prices.
Read More “Connecticut PURA: EDF Lied About Utilities Manipulating Gas Mkts”
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: New York leads nation in population loss; Rig count stands at 19 in Ohio’s Utica; Holyoke residents speak out against changes to natural gas pipeline; U.S. DOE to ease LNG exports reporting requirements; Exxon Mobil opposes weakening Obama-era emissions rules: letter to EPA; Powering the world: Renewables are still far behind coal and natural gas; Canadian resort town’s climate shakedown blows up in its face; India is losing the natural gas race to China; Poland’s goal of ditching Russian natural gas bolsters American LNG and Trump’s energy agenda; Vietnam to increase electricity production with natural gas imports.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Dec 20, 2018”
Last week the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Eastern States Office ran another oil and gas lease auction for federal land on the eastern side of the country. Up for auction was 2,456 acres in Ohio, Michigan and Mississippi. Only half of the property listed for auction actually brought bids and sold. Of the 2,456 acres offered, a piddly 75 acres, in two parcels, was located in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (WNF)–in Monroe County. That is, 3% of all the acreage in the BLM sale was in the Ohio Utica–and yet that 3% brought in 69% of the revenue from the sale: $15,720 total. However, the amount paid per acre for the WNF parcels seems to be small–just $209 per acre. So who picked up the 75 acres for a song?
Read More “BLM Auctions 75 Acres in OH’s Wayne Natl Forest for $209/Acre”
It seems all of New England hates natural gas pipelines of any kind–whether large interstate pipelines to bring low-cost, clean-burning Marcellus gas into the region, or tiny new extensions of existing local distribution pipelines (the local gas company), especially after the tragedy near Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). But it seems there is at least one exception to the rule of “no new nasty fossil fuel pipelines” in Massachusetts. That exception is if a pipeline is needed to run a co-generation plant at a marijuana farm. Yeah baby! A new gas pipeline is A.O.K. as long as it’s being used to grow pot. Pass the joint this way, would ya?
Read More “Mass. Hates New NatGas Pipelines – Unless it’s for a Pot Farm”