• Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Sep 20, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Dominion Energy announces proposal to acquire outstanding Dominion Energy Midstream common units; Pa. anti-fracking group hiring: no fracking knowledge required – must have ability to regurgitate misinformation; NY Comptroller wants to know companies’ greenhouse gas emissions; Blue Ridge Mountain Resources announces new CFO; Potter Township official shares experience for others about crackers; Slew of environmental lawsuits aren’t about climate change, they’re about attacking energy companies; Cuadrilla bags fracturing permit for second shale well in UK; IEA says near-term natural gas export growth to be fueled by US, Australia and Russia; China LNG tariff casts shadow over new U.S. export terminals; Germany blinks first in ongoing European gas war; U.S. to export ‘tremendous’ amount of LNG to Poland.
    Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Sep 20, 2018”

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    Radicals Still Fighting Philly Gas-Fired Plant 80% Finished

    In 2016, Philadelphia’s SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) announced plans to build a Marcellus gas-powered electric plant to provide electricity to SEPTA’s northern Regional Rail lines and a bus garage (see Antis Plan to Shut Down Philly Transit Meeting re NatGas Powergen). Antis, making wild claims of “racism,” oppose the plant because it will burn an evil, nasty, vile “fossil fuel.” When antis weren’t looking, Philadelphia Air Management Services (AMS) went ahead and issued the necessary permit that allows SEPTA to move forward with the proposed project, a project that will get built in Nicetown (see Antis “Shocked” Philly Approved Marcellus Power Plant for SEPTA). Nice. The plant is now 80% complete and due to go online in January. And still wacky antis continue to cry and moan and bleat and blat, trying to agitate to the point they stop the project. Ain’t going to happen. One radical, from 350 Philadelphia, said his group would “take the issue to the EPA” to stop it. Earth to stupid 350 Philly anti: It’s now the Trump EPA. They won’t do anything to stop this project. Here’s what you don’t typically hear in all of the emotion and wild claims: There are 22 other such mini gas-fired plants around Philly! The Nicetown gas plant isn’t even the biggest–not by a long shot. So why isn’t 350 Philly protesting any of those other plants?…
    Read More “Radicals Still Fighting Philly Gas-Fired Plant 80% Finished”

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    Lawsuits Begin re Columbia Gas Boston-area Pipe Explosions

    Last Thursday a major accident occurred 25 miles northwest of Boston when natgas delivery pipelines owned by Columbia Gas (NiSource) in three communities exploded and caught fire at more than 80 locations (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured some 25 others. Local officials ordered some 8,600 residents and businesses in the three communities to evacuate–until Sunday. A major incident. The ramifications of this situation will go on for years. Columbia Gas immediately pledged to replace all of the pipelines feeding homes and businesses in the three communities in the coming weeks and months. We expect it will be months before gas service is back online. In what is a worthy response (as well as good PR), Columbia yesterday pledged to donate $10 million to the the Greater Lawrence Disaster Relief Fund to assist families affected by the blast. Our immediate thought was, “While this is a welcomed first step, don’t for a minute think Columbia is getting off cheap. The lawsuits haven’t even begun. In the end, this episode will cost Columbia, at a minimum, hundreds of millions. Maybe over $1 billion. $10M is chump change.” And by golly, a few minutes later we spotted a story that the first class action lawsuit has just been filed. It’s the first of what likely will be many…
    Read More “Lawsuits Begin re Columbia Gas Boston-area Pipe Explosions”

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    OH Supreme Court Rules Columbus Anti-Utica Ballot Measure Illegal

    The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that yet another ballot measure backed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) in Columbus, OH, a measure meant to ban fracking to send a “you’re not welcome” message to Utica drillers, is in fact illegal and will not appear on the November ballot. In July we told you about a group of anti-fossil fuel nutters, backed by CELDF, making a run at implementing an illegal frack ban in Columbus, OH (see CELDF Finds New Group of Suckers in Columbus for Utica Frack Ban). Columbus, with a population of 2,078,725 people, found 12,134 suckers (1/2 of 1% of the population) to sign a petition to get a so-called Community Bill of Rights measure on the ballot in November. As we previously pointed out, this initiative is illegal. State law specifically reserves the right to regulate oil and gas activity at the state level–local towns, cities, etc. don’t have the staff or expertise to regulate such activities. The Franklin County Board of Elections wisely refused to put the measure on the November ballot, prompting a lawsuit that went all the way to the state Supreme Court. Last week the Ohio Supremes concurred with the Board of Elections, saying they were right to block the anti-Utica measure from the ballot…
    Read More “OH Supreme Court Rules Columbus Anti-Utica Ballot Measure Illegal”

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    WV Shale Industry Pushes Back Against Severance Tax Increase

    What is it about teachers’ unions that makes them so greedy for other people’s money? We’ve told you, for years, about the quest by Pennsylvania’s teachers’ unions (most of them in the Philadelphia area) who want to raid the coffers of Marcellus drillers via a confiscatory severance tax slapped on top of an existing impact tax slapped on top of corporate income taxes. You can never have too many taxes in education-land. That’s the only way they get paid. In West Virginia it’s the same routine. WV already has a severance tax, a nosebleed-high severance tax of 5% (one of the highest in the country). And yet teachers want to increase it–so they can grab that money for moi (see WV Teachers Get Greedy, Want to Boost Already-High Severance Tax). Ever-vigilant, the shale industry is pushing back against the money-grabbers. At a recent “interim meeting” of the WV legislature, Anne Blakenship, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA), told legislators that the oil and gas industry is not asking for a reduction in the severance tax, but they ARE asking that the rate not go up. Phil Reale from the West Virginia Independent Oil and Gas Association (WV IOGA) said, “We certainly don’t want to be taxed more.” Let’s hope lawmakers were listening and not looking at their smart phones…
    Read More “WV Shale Industry Pushes Back Against Severance Tax Increase”

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    “Cracker Effect” – Shell Plant Will Create 7,400 Permanent Jobs

    Ever hear of the “cracker effect”? No, we hadn’t either. Not until we read about a new study by a husband and wife team from Washington & Jefferson College. The pair studied the economic impact of cracker plants on surrounding communities–some 34 ethane crackers in 16 counties around the country. Most of the cracker plants are located along the Gulf Coast. The purpose of the study is to accurately forecast what will happen with Shell’s new $6 billion ethane cracker currently under construction in Beaver County, near Pittsburgh. What might the real, measurable economic effect be from Shell’s cracker? According to the authors, the Shell cracker will generate ~7,400 permanent, long-term jobs. Crackers not only create new jobs, they boost wages in cracker counties by nearly 13% over counties without crackers. But counties without a cracker plant benefit too. Counties bordering counties with a cracker plant see lower unemployment rates. No mystery there. While the authors alluded to some negatives from crackers, we were hard-pressed to find any! It sure looks like everything is coming up roses with the Shell cracker. The numbers prove it…
    Read More ““Cracker Effect” – Shell Plant Will Create 7,400 Permanent Jobs”

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    WV Consumers Saved $4B Over 10 Years Thx to M-U Shale

    Although the push is on to get Marcellus/Utica molecules to new markets where they can fetch higher prices, there is a group who has benefited in a major way from an abundance of cheap, clean-burning shale gas. That would be the residents and businesses located in West Virginia. Industry group Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) has just published a new report that reveals WV residents and businesses have saved a cumulative $4 billion from 2006-2016 as a result of the decreasing price of natural gas in the state. You may recall not long ago CEA published a similar study for Pennsylvania (see PA Consumers Save $30B Over 10 Years Thx to Marcellus Shale). Yes, PA’s numbers were much bigger than WV’s, but PA has more population (12.8 million in PA vs. 1.8 million in WV), therefore more chances for savings. And PA has more natgas in the ground than WV. But still, $4 billion in savings is nothing to sneeze at! That’s $4 billion in money in people’s pockets that didn’t come from other people’s pockets (via taxes) and got spent on goods and services with a beneficial ripple effect throughout the economy. Here’s the CEA report on the great news that West Virginian’s hit the $4 billion lottery in shale…
    Read More “WV Consumers Saved $4B Over 10 Years Thx to M-U Shale”

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    Dartmouth: How Water & Shale Combine to Produce Radioactive Waste

    A pair of newly published research papers from Dartmouth College may shed new light on radioactivity in shale waste water. We previously highlighted research from Dartmouth in 2015 and again in 2016 dealing with Marcellus Shale and water (see Dartmouth Study: Fracking Causes Toxic Metal Wastewater and Dartmouth Study Finds Barium Leaches Directly from Marcellus Shale). We said at the time, “…we don’t detect an agenda on the part of the researchers. This appears to us to be legitimate research that helps us better understand the chemical reactions happening a mile or more below the ground when we shoot water down there.” And so we continue to feel about these latest Dartmouth studies. Reportedly for the first time we now understand how “slick water” (water and chemicals used during fracking) can combine with shale rock, transferring some of the naturally occurring radiation from the rock to the water. That is, we better understand the science of it. Which means we can develop better ways to handle and treat water that may have low levels of radioactivity…
    Read More “Dartmouth: How Water & Shale Combine to Produce Radioactive Waste”

  • Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Sep 19, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: PA DEP to hold public hearing on proposed Allegheny County injection well; Plumbers and pipefitters union “welcomes” Josh Fox to Youngstown; Mineral owners hear ideas about future of natural gas; California’s goal of carbon-free power estimated to cost $100B-plus; Natural gas demand normalizes as utilities restore Hurricane Florence outages; US gas industry risks losing access to massive Chinese market as trade war escalates; Technology and efficiency gains create a ‘new normal’ for U.S. shale; EPA, 25 Attorneys General urge court to keep CPP cases on hold; Best production growth for a decade heralds positive future for oil and gas; Trump admin eyes Fla. PSC chairman for FERC; European natural gas, Asian LNG markets set for ‘tight’ winter: Shell’s Wetselaar; Netherlands to ban natural gas by 2050; Ontario to expand access to natural gas.
    Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Sep 19, 2018”

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    Victory! FERC Lifts Stop Work Order for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    Once again, the forces of good have overcome the forces of evil–evil being the Sierra Club and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and their mission to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) from getting built. Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) lifted a previously issued stop-work order that had idled work along the entire 600+ mile ACP. The stop-work order came in early August after a federal court pulled permits for approximately 100 miles of ACP in response to a lawsuit filed by the anti-American Sierra Club and a few other groups, including the SELC (see Federal Court Stops Works on Some (All?) of Atlantic Coast Pipe). The Clubbers and their cohorts convinced the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn permits granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Park Service, granted to ACP to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway. The court, in rolling back ACP’s permits, told FERC they should shut down work on the entire project until this matter is resolved. A few days later, on August 10, FERC did just that (see FERC Shuts Down ALL Work on Atlantic Coast Pipeline). Work has now been stopped for over a month, but yesterday FERC reversed its decision and told ACP they can resume work because last week both the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service revised and reissued the permits previously overturned by the court. Therefore, we’re all good now. Dominion (the builder) said construction will resume “immediately,” weather permitting…
    Read More “Victory! FERC Lifts Stop Work Order for Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    PBS Implies PA NatGas Pipelines Not Mapped – Fake News

    An article appearing on the Pittsburgh’s PBS station WESA website is, in a phrase, fake news. The article boldly states in its headline (and text) that: “Only 11 Percent Of Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Pipelines Are Mapped For The Public.” The implication, the slight-of-hand intended to mislead lazy readers, is that 89% of natural gas pipelines in PA are not mapped at all. That simply is not true. The second graf of the story says this: “There are three types of natural gas pipelines: large transmission lines, medium-sized gathering pipelines and small distribution lines that go to homes and businesses. Transmission lines are the only ones mapped and disclosed to the public by the federal government, and they make up about 11 percent of total pipelines. There are 89,296 total natural gas pipeline miles in the commonwealth; the vast majority are small distribution lines, but more than 1,105 miles worth are gathering pipelines.” Does that not overtly imply the “vast majority” of PA’s pipelines are not even mapped? Pennsylvania recently went through a major revision of the state’s 811 system. Not only are gathering pipelines to shale wells mapped and included in the 811 system, so too are gathering lines to conventional wells. The only pipelines not part of the 811 system are those that run to “stripper wells”–wells that produce barely a puff of gas and therefore there’s no danger if you do happen to hit one when digging. The state Public Utility Commission wants to include stripper well pipelines in 811 too (see PA PUC Wants to Expand 811 to Include Stripper Wells). Is there an *online* database where *anyone* (i.e. “the public”) can see all of those pipeline maps? Heck no! First, there’s no need. Second, do you want terrorists to know where every pipeline is buried? We didn’t think so. Before you dig, you call 811 and if there’s a pipeline in the area, someone comes out and marks it. Rest assured, almost all natural gas pipelines in PA ARE mapped (except those to stripper wells), illustrating yet again how PBS shades the truth and generates fake news…
    Read More “PBS Implies PA NatGas Pipelines Not Mapped – Fake News”

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    Pressure in Exploded Massachusetts Pipes 12X More than Normal

    Last Thursday a major accident occurred 25 miles northwest of Boston when delivery pipelines owned by Columbia Gas (NiSource) in three communities exploded and caught fire at more than 80 locations (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured some 25 others. Local officials ordered over 8,000 residents and businesses in the three communities to evacuate–until Sunday. A major incident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating. According to an NTSB spokesman, the early indicators are that a pressure sensor is the cause. Here’s what *may have* happened: A pressure sensor that controls how much gas is pumped through local pipelines was attached to a portion of a pipeline that was capped at both ends and closed off. The sensor detected little-to-no pressure, so it signaled the system to keep increasing the pressure, to flow more gas. The pressure eventually reached 12 times what it should have been, and the older cast iron and steel pipelines couldn’t take it, resulting in explosions and fires affecting more than 80 homes and businesses…
    Read More “Pressure in Exploded Massachusetts Pipes 12X More than Normal”

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    EIA Sep ’18 Drilling Report: Shale Output Flies Past 73 Bcf/d

    Each month when we bring you the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) “Drilling Productivity Report” (DPR) we say the same thing: “We shattered another record.” And so it is again this month, with the DPR issued yesterday. The DPR is the EIA’s best guess, based on expert data crunchers, as to how much each of the U.S.’s seven major shale plays will produce for both oil and natural gas in the coming month. The Marcellus/Utica region (called Appalachia in the report) continues to see production go through the roof. For six months in a row Marcellus/Utica production grew at roughly one-third of a billion cubic feet–massive! EIA says in the coming month of October, M-U production will grow another 298 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). Hey, it’s not a full one-third Bcf, but it’s close enough. The big news is that (a) M-U production will hit another new all-time high–of 29.4 Bcf/d of production; and (b) natural gas production for all seven plays will hit another new all-time high–of 73 Bcf/d. Run the numbers and you’ll see that M-U production is 40% of all shale gas production. Let’s not ignore shale oil production, which will go up another 79,000 barrels per day in the coming month across all shale plays to a record-breaking 7.6 million barrels per day. Month after month after month we keep breaking records…
    Read More “EIA Sep ’18 Drilling Report: Shale Output Flies Past 73 Bcf/d”

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    NETL Picks 2nd Morgantown Site for Additional Fracking Research

    MSEEL test site in the Morgantown Industrial Park – click for larger version

    Important research on fracking by West Virginia University (WVU) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, WV continues. Last year we told you that NETL and its Marcellus Shale Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL) program are working on “mastering the subsurface”–learning what happens at the smallest level of fracturing shale, so they can improve recovery rates using new processes and materials (see NETL Morgantown Working on Breakthrough Shale Production Techniques). In addition to improving recovery, they’re also looking for ways to cut down on water use. Since there’s a fair bit of water already trapped in shale, NETL is experimenting with carbon dioxide foam as a way of using less water. They’ve even experimented with using natural gas itself to frack rock. Great work being done by NETL/MSEEL. So far that work has happened at one live, fracked shale gas well near Morgantown, drilled by Northeast Natural Energy. Now comes word that researchers are setting up a second test site, also in the Morgantown vicinity (Blacksville). As before, the aim “is geared toward improving gas recovery from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing at sites throughout the region”…
    Read More “NETL Picks 2nd Morgantown Site for Additional Fracking Research”

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    Is Certification Needed for Shale Producers? IES Says it Helps

    Last week MDN told you that Southwestern Energy is participating in a program to get their gas “certified” (see Southwestern Sells 1st Certified “Responsible Gas” to NJ Resources). What is certified gas? Is that like “certified organic” fruits and vegetables? Actually, it is kind of like that. The Independent Energy Standards Corporation (IES) has launched what they call their TrustWell™ Responsible Gas Program certification program to certify that natural gas bearing that label is “responsibly developed.” Such a designation is meant to imply the company doing the extracting (Southwestern in this case) has followed certain guidelines and procedures to safeguard the environment. Certification is a marketing/public relations tactic to be sure. The question is, is it worth it? How much does it cost to become certified? What do you have to do to become certified? And ultimately, will such certification actually help you sell more of your gas? One thing is for certain, nutty antis won’t care–so if you’re trying to appease them with certification, you can forget it. Won’t work. But, there are others (more reasonable people) who may put stock in such a certification. Is it a trend? The next “big thing?” We don’t know. What we do know (or have) is an interview with Jory Caulkins, CEO of IES, talking about his organization’s new certification and what it can mean for drillers…
    Read More “Is Certification Needed for Shale Producers? IES Says it Helps”

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    Big Green Exposed: List of Liberal Foundations Donating $3.7B

    From 2008 to 2016, liberal foundations forked over $3.7 billion (!) to rabid anti-fossil fuel groups. Much of that money went into suing fossil fuel companies (and the government), attempting to outlaw fracking and the extraction of oil, gas and coal. The money is given to groups like THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club and other odious bottom feeders. The media would have you believe it’s David vs. Goliath–David being these innocent little green groups, Goliath is Big Oil. It’s actually the opposite. We are fighting against a well-organized, well-funded campaign to end the use of fossil fuels. And now, finally, we have a tool to identify who is behind all that money. A new website called Big Green, Inc. lists the donors AND recipients of that $3.7 billion, money aimed at so-called climate change issues. Who’s on the list? All of the groups we’ve already identified, and groups we’ve written about for years, including the William Penn Foundation, Park Foundation, Sea Change Foundation, California billionaire Tom Steyer’s foundation, Google billionaire Eric Schmidt’s foundation, and others…
    Read More “Big Green Exposed: List of Liberal Foundations Donating $3.7B”