Shale Gas News – December 12, 2020

December 14, 2020
News

Bill desRosiers
External Affairs Coordinator, Cabot Oil & Gas

…

The Shale Gas News, heard every Saturday at 10 AM on 94.3 FM, 1510 AM, 1600 AM, 104.1 FM and Sundays on YesFM, talked about pipelines, Covid 19, RGGI and much more last week.

The Shale Gas News has grown again to the Williamsport area on stations WEJS 1600 AM & 104.1 FM. The Shale Gas News is now broadcasting in Bradford, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wayne Counties, as well as in greater central PA and now the Williamsport area. The Shale Gas News is aired on Saturday or Sunday depending on the station.

Every Saturday Rusty Fender, Matt Henderson and I host a morning radio show to discuss all things natural gas. This week, as a guest, we had Jude Clemente, regular Forbes contributor and researcher at JTC Energy Research.

The Shale Gas News, typically, is broadcast live. On the December 12th show (click above), we covered the following new territory (see news excerpts below):

U.S. crude output to decline more than previously forecast in 2020 -EIA. U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 910,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2020 to 11.34 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, a steeper decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 860,000 bpd. Output next year is expected to slide by 240,000 bpd to 11.10 million bpd, a smaller decline compared to the previous forecast for a slide of 290,000 bpd.
Biden could swing these 5 pipeline battles. Some of the most consequential energy decisions facing President-elect Joe Biden are about pipelines. From Montana to Virginia, his administration will be deciding whether to greenlight large projects or press the eject button.
Changes Coming Atop Key Senate Committee in 2021. Regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats prevail as the majority part when the new Congress convenes in January, there will be changes in leadership on the key Senate Committee that oversees policies and authorizes funds for highways, Corps of Engineers civil works and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs.
Covid-19 and climate worries may not keep oil prices down for long. Covid-19 is still raging across the world, global economic activity remains impaired and there is a worldwide drive towards renewable energy as governments look to tackle climate change. That hardly seems a recipe for a higher oil price, but first impressions can be deceiving. While the price of oil had tanked as markets recognized both the enormity of the pandemic and its knock-on effect on economic activity, crude oil prices have since bounced back amid growing optimism about the roll-out of effective vaccines to combat Covid-19.
Pa. shale gas permitting continues to fall in November. Permits for shale gas wells in Pennsylvania dropped 57% year over year in November, according to the latest state data, continuing a decline in the state’s drilling activity that began in April after the bust in the oil markets. November’s 17% decline from October’s numbers was led by a drop-off in permitting activity in the wet gas counties of Greene and Washington, south of Pittsburgh. Washington County issued just two new drilling permits, to Range Resources Corp. and EQT Corp., an 89% decline from November 2019, according to the Department of Environmental Protection’s database Dec. 7.
Wolf vetoes oil, gas drilling rule relaxation. Should tougher environmental standards for oil and gas drilling aimed at hydraulic fracturing apply to more traditional oil and gas drilling? Pennsylvania’s state legislators say they should not. Gov. Tom Wolf disagrees. Pennsylvania Republicans have sought for the past two terms to ease regulations on what they call the conventional oil and gas industry with the Conventional Oil and Gas Wells Act. The legislation defines conventional, shallow-well oil and gas industry to include oil and gas well locations which are typically smaller than hydraulic fracturing, operations in shallow low-pressure formations, low-pressure wells, and natural gas systems which feed local consumers homes or local buildings rather than intrastate or even interstate systems.
DEP Holds Hearings On Joining Climate Program. The public has a chance to weigh in on Pennsylvania’s participation in a program that could reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution, and grow clean-energy jobs. Starting Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Protection will hold virtual public hearings on a draft rule to have Pennsylvania join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Since 2008, the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states in RGGI have cut carbon emissions from power plants by more than 40%.