Shale Gas News – February 27, 2021

Bill desRosiers
External Affairs Coordinator, Cabot Oil & Gas

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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 Putin’s pipeline, carbon tax, natural gas storage 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 Joe McGinn, Vice President of Public Affairs at Energy Transfer.

The Shale Gas News, typically, is broadcast live. On the February 27th show (click above), we covered the following new territory (see news excerpts below):

• Utah governor, 16 others sign letter to Pres. Biden opposing oil and gas leasing ban. Utah’s governor has signed a joint letter with 16 other Republican governors opposing the oil and gas leasing ban to President Joe Biden.
• US oil to join North Sea crude price basket. US-produced oil will join Europe’s pricing benchmark, reflecting the changing shape of the global market more than four decades after an American company brought the first North Sea crude ashore in the UK. S&P Global Platts, which runs price assessments in the North Sea that help underpin billions of dollars of oil deals each day, said on Monday that crude exported from the US shale heartlands would be included in its pricing system from next year.
• Allies worried Biden shaky on Putin’s pipeline. Russia’s adversaries in central and Eastern Europe are worried President Biden isn’t willing to fight hard to stop the Russia-Germany gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, one of Vladimir Putin’s core priorities.  Why it matters: The fight is the first significant test of whether Biden’s tough rhetoric against the Russian leader will be matched by action. Russian opponents fear Biden doesn’t want to antagonize Angela Merkel and won’t inflict serious costs on the Germans.
• Oil rises on positive forecasts, slow U.S. output restart. Oil prices rose on Tuesday, underpinned by the likely easing of COVID-19 lockdowns around the world, positive economic forecasts and lower output as U.S. supplies were slow to return after a deep freeze in Texas shut down crude production.
• Romney: ‘I’m very open to a carbon tax’ – Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) signaled yesterday that he may support carbon pricing, potentially making him a key player as lawmakers look for ways to pass climate policy through a closely divided Senate.
• Survey calls for second-ever US natural gas storage draw above 300 Bcf.  US natural gas stocks posted a massive draw last week, likely well north of 300 Bcf, as the end-of-season storage outlook has changed dramatically in only two weeks. The US Energy Information Administration is expected to report a 333 Bcf withdrawal for the week-ended Feb. 19, according to a survey of analysts by S&P Global Platts. It would register as the second-largest storage draw on record, and only the second weekly pull to ever register above 300 Bcf.
• Equinor Looks to Sell Operations in Utica Shale, Grow Non-op M-U. Oil and gas drilling giant Equinor (formerly called Statoil) is owned by the Norwegian government. Equinor/Statoil has drilled in the Marcellus/Utica for years. It looks like that may be coming to an end–at least the active drilling part. Equinor officials say they are evaluating their U.S. shale holdings, including their active drilling on 27,000 acres in the Utica Shale, with an eye toward selling.

The Shale Gas News sponsored by Linde Corporation