FERC’s Chatterjee to Actor James Cromwell: ‘Come at me bro!’
We continue to be really impressed with the current Acting Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Neil Chatterjee, and his willingness to take the fight right back to radical antis. Chatterjee is not unlike President Trump, who appointed him to the post. Frankly, it’s a surprise for us, since Chatterjee has worked for years for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (a swamp dweller). We figured Chatterjee was a swamp dweller too–but perhaps we misjudged him. Chatterjee recently turned up the heat with Facebook posts aimed at nutty Hollywood actor James Cromwell (he of Babe and Star Trek: First Contact fame). Cromwell recently attended a FERC meeting chaired by Chaterjee and proceed to make a king-sized @$$ of himself in the meeting room, requiring security to escort him from the room (see Old Hippie/Actor James Cromwell “Escorted Out” of FERC Meeting). Chatterjee fired off some choice words at Cromwell, including a comment that invites Cromwell to “Come at me bro!” What’s obvious when you read Chatterjee’s comments is that it’s done in a lighthearted way–not mean or nasty. He’s tweaking Cromwell and other antis, using humor to do it. And they are a humorless bunch. Chatterjee’s lighthearted humor in tweaking Cromwell went right over the heads of mainstream media and the inside-the-Beltway swamp dwellers, who are all aghast, criticizing Chatterjee as not acting like a regulator should act. We wish more government officials acted like Chatterjee–and Trump…
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We spotted an article that intrigued us with the headline, “A radical startup has invented the world’s first zero-emissions fossil-fuel power plant.” Most of the article–the first two-thirds of it–is obsequious genuflecting before the man-causes-global-warming gods. Whatever. Believe in fairy stories if you want to. The final one-third of the article is the real meat, which we highlight below. It seems a group of smart people at a company called Net Power, located in Texas, have figured out a way to capture all, as in 100%, of the carbon dioxide that comes from burning natural gas to produce heat to turn a turbine. There are no CO2 emissions that escape into the atmosphere. We bring you details of this new technology because it’s neat and may one day change how electricity is generated in this country. What if (gasp!) natural gas became as “green” as solar or wind? That just doesn’t fit the narrow worldview of radical environmentalists…
Researchers at Tufts University say they have found a better, cheaper way to convert methane (i.e. natural gas) directly into methanol. “The direct oxidation of methane—found in natural gas—into methanol at low temperatures has long been a holy grail,” so says the Tufts announcement. A group of chemical engineers say they have found a way to do it. What’s the big deal about methanol? Methanol plants convert natural gas into methanol, used as a chemical feedstock (or raw material) to create other things, like gasoline, antifreeze, plastic bottles–even LED and LCD screens. In August 2016 MDN was the first to share the news that US Methanol is building at least two, rumored up to five, methanol plants in West Virginia (see 
A quick note about the Marcellus Drilling News website. Two months ago I began a journey of updating the MDN website. The site has not had a major redesign since it began in 2009 (shame on me!). Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? The technologies that power the internet have profoundly changed since MDN was launched. It’s time to keep up with the changes. So in early October I launched a new “look and feel” for the website. The feedback was positive–thank you! However, the changes are not yet done. One such change is being forced by Google…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Appalachian Basin produces more natgas than any OPEC country!; Utica rig count falls to 21; PA judge doubles fracking workers’ award in overtime case; Texas looks to overhaul port to keep pace with oil & gas exports; the magic number for oil is $60/barrel; two natgas charts to start winter; new energy source–on Saturn moon; and more!
Dominion announced yesterday it has introduced “feed gas” into it’s new $4 billion LNG export plant in Cove Point, Maryland. Feed gas is used for testing purposes and is the final step before the plant goes online into full production later this month. Dominion said the feed gas will come from Shell, and Shell will take delivery of the LNG that results. Following the test, Marcellus/Utica gas will begin flowing to the plant and the LNG produced will begin shipping to Japan and India. We are on the cusp of something we’ve waited for, cheered for, and agonized over for more than three years. Think of the Shell’s feed gas as the dress rehearsal the night before a play opens…
Over the past year and a half Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s largest coal producer, in cooperation with American-based partner Kalnin Ventures, has snapped up some 55,000 acres and 355 shale wells–in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus (
A bald eagle’s nest built in a pine tree near where a tiny 7.8 mile pipeline is supposed to pass in Orange County, NY is the latest wrinkle that threatens to stop the pipeline in the ongoing soap opera that is corrupt New York State. The pipeline is a short spur, an offshoot, from the nearby Millennium Pipeline. It will feed the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) gas-fired electric generation plant currently under construction in Wawayanda. The CPV plant is due to be completed early next year. According to Millennium, if they don’t start construction (tree clearing) TODAY, Dec. 6, there is no way to get the pipeline done in time to feed the plant–and that may well drive CPV’s project into bankruptcy. The eagle’s nest is being used as an excuse by New York (and rabid antis) to try and block the pipeline from getting built. Here’s the latest episode in this ongoing soap opera…
THE Delaware Riverkeeper herself is back with more of her overlord’s money to file yet another frivolous lawsuit against a pipeline project in New York State. In August 2016, Millennium filed an application for what it calls its Eastern System Upgrade (see 
Invenergy is currently building a state-of-the-art, combined cycle 1,480 megawatt Marcellus-fired electric generating plant in Jessup, PA, just outside Scranton. Construction on the plant–called the Lackawanna Energy Center–has been under way for well over a year now. Some 1,200 people are currently working at the site. MDN previously reported that Cabot Oil & Gas with their prolific Susquehanna County production will feed the plant (see 
A Harrison County, OH landowner signed a lease back in 2006 granting a driller “broad rights” to extract oil and gas on and beyond his property. The lease was signed for $1 plus royalty payments. Obviously the landowner (frankly, nobody) at the time had any idea the Utica Shale miracle would happen just a few years later. The lease signed by the landowner was, in retrospect, a bad one. But that doesn’t excuse the landowner from living up to the obligations under that lease, which the landowner has learned the hard way. The lease was sold to Eclipse Resources and Eclipse wanted to, under the terms of the lease, drill new wells which would not only drain that landowner’s property (136 acres), but also drill under neighboring properties where Eclipse also owned the lease rights. That is, the well would be located on the landowner’s property but access gas under other properties–yielding royalties to others but not the landowner. The landowner objected to new wells on his property without a new lease (can’t blame him). However, first a district court and now the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided for Eclipse against the landowner. Below is a summary of Eclipse Res. Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, followed by a copy of the full decision from the Sixth Circuit…
In June, radical anti-drillers from the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation won a case at the PA Supreme Court by the skin of their teeth (
Yesterday America’s natural gas and oil industry announced “a landmark partnership”–called the Environmental Partnership–to “accelerate improvements to environmental performance in operations across the country.” How will they do that? The first area of focus will be to reduce methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The Environmental Partnership includes 26 natural gas and oil producers, including several major Marcellus/Utica drillers (Chesapeake Energy, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chevron and Southwestern Energy). The list of 26 produce a “significant portion” of American energy resources–we’d peg it at around 80% of all production. The participating companies (full list below) will begin implementing the voluntary program starting January 1, 2018. Did you get that? It’s VOLUNTARY. Yet they will do it and they will voluntarily hold themselves and each other accountable–because they are good corporate citizens and (gasp) actually care about the environment. They don’t need the jackboot of government to force them to do it. Here’s how profoundly biased mainstream media reports it: Oil Firms Pledge to Plug Methane Leaks in Bid to Burnish Image (Bloomberg News). Yep, according to the anti-everything people, these companies are only doing it to “burnish” their image. They don’t really care about the environment. They’re evil, nasty fossil fuel companies (icky). MDN readers know differently. These companies are respectable, providing jobs and investment in local communities AND protecting the environment in those same communities–where they live. The other side? Groups like the Sierra Club destroy jobs in the name of “protecting” Mom Earth…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: PA DEP throws taxpayer money at coal lawyer to punish natgas; China delegation traveling around WV; 2 killed in Illinois pipeline explosion; natgas power generation in Southern states continues to expand, coal decline; California’s social activism is ruining the retirement income of millions; trends in shale tech: drones, solar and DNA sequencing; the coming surge in condensate production; time for round 2 of LNG export projects; China’s big demand for natgas creates price dilemma; and more!
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is picking on Cabot Oil & Gas–or more properly, shaking them down for some cash. Yesterday the DEP announced it had reached an “agreement” with Cabot whereby Cabot will pay the DEP $99,000 “for air quality violations related to equipment at natural gas wells throughout Susquehanna County.” But that’s not all, Cabot failed to file some paperwork–a far more egregious violation for the DEP: “Cabot failed to submit complete compliance demonstration reports for 20 gas wells.” Bad, bad Cabot. Here’s news of the DEP’s latest shakedown of a company that has (so far) invested over $4.6 billion in a single northeast PA county…