Since 2012, Pennsylvania has collected the equivalent of a severance tax from Marcellus Shale drillers via something called an impact fee. Same concept as a severance tax. You drill a well, gas comes out, you pay a tax. Except with an impact fee you pay whether or not anything comes out of the ground–a more reliable source of tax revenue than a severance tax!
Read More “PA IFO Report Says Record High Impact Tax for 2018 – $247M”
Why do politicians never seem to grasp the obvious? Distressingly, we’re now reading that a West Virginia State Senator, Randy Smith (Republican, Tucker County), wants to add another 1% to the already-high 5% natural gas and oil severance tax, in order to use the money to fix back roads across the Mountain State.
Read More “WV Republican Senator Wants 6% Severance Tax to Fix Roads”
Utility company Consolidated Edison recently announced it will slap a moratorium on hooking up new customers for natural gas in Westchester County (NYC suburb) beginning March 15 (see Moratorium on New NatGas Customers Coming in NYC Area). Realtors and county officials in Westchester are now up-in-arms that Con Ed had the audacity to actually announce it.
Read More “Westchester NatGas Moratorium Begins to Bite NYC/Cuomo on the Butt”
Last year we reported on rumors that President Trump may issue an Executive Order to overrule states like New York, forcing recalcitrant states to allow new pipeline projects as a matter of national security (see Pipeline Relief Coming 2019? Trump Targeting States Like NY). The rumor mill has turned white hot once again on this topic.
Read More “Trump Considers Exec Order to Overrule NY Blocking Pipelines”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: House Democrat Policy Committee hears testimony on oil & gas industry methane leakage; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Colorado property owners claim forced pooling law unconstitutional; NATIONAL: What the Covington story tells us about fractivists; FBI bomb technician says shutdown prevented meeting on pipeline safety; Peak oil theory’s no good terrible very bad week; Shale stumbles: now OPEC can decide what price they want; Shale pioneer Hamm: output growth could fall by 50%; INTERNATIONAL: Electric cars are ALWAYS greener than petrol and diesel vehicles.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jan 25, 2019”
Some 2.31 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica Shale natural gas had been flowing through the Berne Compressor Station in Noble County, OH. Some (most?) of that gas goes to the Gulf Coast. That is, did go to the Gulf Coast–until the Texas Eastern Pipeline (Tetco) exploded earlier this week. That 2.31 Bcf/d coming from Berne has dropped to 0 Bcf/d for the indefinite future.
Read More “Texas Eastern Pipe in Ohio Down Indefinitely Following Blast”
Westmoreland Gas, headquartered in Bridgeport, WV, was founded in August 2018 by two industry veterans, one with close ties to Mountain V Oil & Gas. According to a press release issued two days ago, Westmoreland closed on oil and gas assets in WV on Dec. 31, essentially launching the company.
Read More “Is Westmoreland Gas Really Mountain V Oil & Gas Renamed?”
The Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia (IOGAWV) held its annual winter meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. There was a LOT of talk of WV nabbing the much-talked-about multi-billion dollar NGL storage hub project.
Read More “WV Gov. Justice Meets with Prospective NGL Storage Hub Investor”
What could have been a major threat not only to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), but to all pipeline projects, was averted on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by 13 landowners (backed with Big Green money) challenging the right to use eminent domain for private companies.
Read More “MVP Prevails – Supreme Court Declines Pipeline Eminent Domain Case”
This is one of those offbeat kinds of stories that catches our interest and makes us smile. It seems that because the Marcellus/Utica Shale industry pays so darned well in the northwestern part of WV (where drilling happens), prisons and local jails in that region just can’t compete for qualified candidates–they can’t find new prison guards to work at a MUCH lower pay rate.
Read More “NatGas Boom in WV Leads to Prison Guard Shortage – Who Knew?”
Shame on the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, a group of fuel oil dealers who selfishly want to block the expansion of natural gas pipelines to homes and businesses, just so they can sell more dirty fuel oil.
Read More “Fuel Oil Dealers in Connecticut Lobby to Block New NatGas Pipelines”
Our friends at NGI (Natural Gas Intelligence) have launched yet another helpful online price tracker. The NGI U.S. LNG Export Tracker keeps tabs on the amount of natural gas flowing into, and out of, six different LNG export facilities that either already are, or soon will be, exporting U.S. LNG.
Read More “New NGI App Shows How Much LNG U.S. is Exporting”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: GAIL puts up three Cove Point LNG cargoes for sale; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: EIA’s new interactive New England dashboard tracks energy capacity constraints; NATIONAL: Oilfield services companies face another tough slog; Crude Summit – Repsol sees potential shale demand cap; Full impact of shale revolution not yet seen; Frac water demand in U.S. skyrockets; INTERNATIONAL: It’s cold in China, and environmental central planning has turned off the heat.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Jan 24, 2019”
We are positively bursting with news about EQT today. Yesterday EQT’s existing management issued plans for 2019 and the Rice brothers responded–by launching a proxy war to replace board members and top management. In addition, we unearthed news that the Rice boys held their meeting with EQT’s board on Jan. 15.
Read More “EQT Issues 2019 Plan; Rice Boys Launch Proxy War to Take Over”
Here’s how the District Attorney in Chester County, Pennsylvania–Tom Hogan–spends his days: Attempting to turn off-duty policeman working as security guards for the Mariner East pipeline projects into criminals. Is this guy sick or what?
Read More “Chester County DA: Using Off-Duty Police as ME2 Security a Crime”
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, Scott Perry, told DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council his program is losing $800,000 a month, which he desperately, desperately hopes will be fixed soon by slapping a 250% hike in permit fees on Marcellus drillers.
Read More “PA DEP Official Says Oil & Gas Program Losing $800K per Month”