Tom Wolf will go down as the worst governor in Pennsylvania history. Yesterday the Democrat, along with a number of Senate and House Democrats (and a few Philadelphia RINOs, just so they can claim “bipartisanship”), announced updated changes to the state’s so-called “climate” plan (full copy below), changes that will doom the state economically.
Read More “PA Gov. Wolf, Dem Legislators Release Even Worse “Climate” Plan”
Last week we brought you the news that President Trump is considering a waiver to the 1920 Jones Act for LNG to be shipped from port to port in the U.S., even if the ships used are foreign flagged (see Trump Considers Waiving Jones Act to Allow Domestic LNG Shipments). We like the idea because it means we may be able to move more of our Marcellus/Utica gas to New England without using pipelines. However, MDN friend Garland Thompson, a talented reporter and magazine writer, has a different take on the Jones Act and potential waivers to it.
Read More “An Opposing View on Waiving the Jones Act for US LNG Shipments”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Correcting the record about the severance tax; New York State bans offshore oil and gas drilling; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Anadarko’s weak performance in U.S. Permian made it a takeover target; Natural gas prices down to zero at Waha Hub; NATIONAL: Increased natural gas production, interregional flows mitigate withdrawals from storage during winter 2018-19; SEC freezes assets over suspected insider trading in Anadarko; INTERNATIONAL: Panama Canal expansion allows more transits of propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids; WorleyParsons changes name after £2.4bn acquisition of Jacobs ECR.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Apr 30, 2019”
Fair or not, anything and everything that happens at EQT right now, which is under extreme pressure by the Rice brothers and several other large shareholders (see Rice Brothers Attempt to Take Over EQT, Install Toby as CEO), is under a magnifying glass. So when the company’s top driller, the person in charge of production, ups and hands in her two week notice (leaving this Friday) after getting the job just six months ago, well, that’s big news.
Read More “Turmoil Inside EQT – Company’s Top Driller Leaving This Week”
The money-making Marcellus machine known as Cabot Oil & Gas continues to crank out the hits. On Friday Cabot held a conference call to discuss the company’s first quarter 2019 performance. And wow! What a performance! The company made $308 million in net income/profit (up 141% from $128 million in 1Q18), and produced 2.3 billion cubic feet per day equivalent (Bcfe/d) of mostly Marcellus (little bit of Haynesville) gas, up 21% from 1Q18.
Read More “Cabot O&G 1Q19: Production Skyrockets 21%, $308M Free Cash Flow”
Southwestern Energy, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus with 480,000 acres under lease, turned in their first quarter 2019 update last week. It was the company’s first update since becoming a pure play operator, totally focused on the Marcellus/Utica region. What did it show? Net income nearly tripled to $594 million (vs. 1Q18’s $205 million). Production averaged 2.0 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d), close to what the prolific Cabot produced in 1Q19.
Read More “Southwestern Energy 1Q19: Drills Longest PA Lateral – 18,683 Feet”
The anti-drilling zealots that populate the levers of power in New Jersey, along with their colluding Big Green compatriots, continue a holy mission to block PennEast Pipeline, a pipeline the majority of which will get built in Pennsylvania. Anti-pipeline nutters are attacking the project on several fronts, including in the courts, and by claiming the pipeline would affect nine “potential” historic sites along its path through NJ. Will federal courts and regulators fall for the ruse?
Read More “NJ Using Courts, “Historic” Sites to Block PennEast Pipeline”
Anti-fossil fuel radicals really know no depths to which they won’t sink. Democrat Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, elected last year, has been embroiled in several controversies that would have driven a Republican out of office long ago. He was pictured in a 1984 yearbook either wearing blackface or a Ku Klux Klan robe–he won’t say which. Yet he’s still in office.
Read More “Radicals Try to Use Weakened Va. Gov. Northam to Defeat Pipeline”
In 2017, a radical Big Green supporter from the Philly area by the name of Caroline Hughes filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission against Yesenia Bane, deputy chief of staff for Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (see Antis Target PA Gov Wolf Aide as Payback, Husband Works for EQT). Bane’s crime? Her husband worked was a lobbyist with shale firm clients (later going to work for EQT), and Bane herself (with abundant knowledge of the industry) was tasked by Wolf to attending industry-sponsored events as his liaison.
Read More “Anti-Gas Witch Hunt of Gov. Wolf Aide Ends – No Ethics Violations”
An interesting development in the bidding war to buy Anadarko Petroleum. Two weeks ago Chevron announced a deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion plus assuming outstanding debt, a deal worth $50 billion (see Permian Love Story: Chevron Buying Anadarko in $50B Megamerger). Paperwork was actually signed. But Occidental Petroleum previously had offered a “better” deal, and went public with their offer last week (see Occidental Petroleum Offers 14% More than Chevron to Buy Anadarko). Now that the Oxy offer is public, Reuters is reporting super secret inside sources say the Anadarko board has decided to drop Chevron and pursue a deal with Oxy instead.
4/30/19 UPDATE: Anadarko officially announces decision to resume negotiations with Occidental. See announcement below.
Read More “Anadarko Decides Occidental Petroleum Deal Better than Chevron’s”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Poll finds Pennsylvanians uninformed about nuke proposal, skeptical when educated; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Trucks playing larger role in LNG deliveries from Texas; NATIONAL: New Nature study affirms the climate benefits of increased natural gas use; Halliburton’s taking its foot off the gas in the shale industry; Schlumberger’s slow revenue growth could cause problems; Dakota Access company bought up dozens of anti-pipeline URLs; SNG (Solidified Natural Gas) technology for gas storage; The many factors influencing LPG export volumes; INTERNATIONAL: UK’s shale gas commissioner quits over ‘de facto’ fracing ban; Saudi Aramco sees shale gas as Kingdom’s next energy bonanza.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Apr 29, 2019”
Two days ago EQT issued its first quarter 2019 update. Yesterday they held a conference call to discuss the company’s performance. EQT performed better in 1Q19 both financially and operationally than it did in 1Q18. What most caught our interest were CEO Rob McNally’s remarks, both his prepared remarks at the beginning of the conference call, and his unscripted remarks during the Q&A. We gained some important insights on where and how much EQT plans to drill for the balance of 2019.
Read More “EQT Announces Good 1Q19, Drills Longest Marcellus Well Ever!”
In addition to EQT’s 1Q19 update yesterday, Toby and Derek Rice filed a lawsuit against EQT, alleging the company is trying to confuse shareholders by requiring some of board candidates the Rice boys are proposing get commingled with EQT’s own slate of candidates. The Rice boys say the lawsuit is aimed at “preventing EQT from manipulating shareholder election.” The Rices want to elect their own board, tossing out the existing board and following that, tossing out EQT’s current senior management.
Read More “Rice Brothers Sue EQT to Prevent Proxy Manipulation”
Our lead story yesterday was the rumor there has been another sinkhole open up in Delaware County, PA near an existing (old) pipeline temporarily being used as part of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) NGL pipeline system (see PUC Investigates ME2 Bypass Pipe in Delaware Co. for New Sinkhole). Indeed there was. Officials report a 12 foot by 12 foot sinkhole in the right-of-way for several Sunoco-owned pipelines. The good news is that no bare pipe was exposed, the hole has already been filled, and ethane/propane continue to flow through ME2.
Read More “Huge Sinkhole Forms Near ME2 Pipe in Delaware County, PA”
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted 5-0 to deny Sunoco Logistics Partners permission to restart construction of Mariner East 2 pipeline in West Whiteland Township in Chester County. Why? Because construction at that location (Shoen Road), along with three other locations, is currently under review in Commonwealth Court. In other words, for the time being (until the court rules), the PUC’s hands are tied.
Read More “PUC Won’t Let ME2 Work Restart in Chester Co. Due to Court Case”
Last we had heard, the official word coming from Equitrans, builder of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), is that the project will be done and online by the end of this year. However, a partner in the project, NextEra Energy, is now saying otherwise.
Read More “Mountain Valley Pipe Partner Says 2019 Startup Now “Unlikely””