Shale Gas News – September 7, 2019

Bill desRosiers
External Affairs Coordinator, Cabot Oil & Gas

The Shale Gas News, heard every Saturday at 10 AM on 94.3 FM, 1510 AM and Sundays on YesFM, talked about methane emissions, offshore drilling, New York gas moratorium and much more last week.

The Shale Gas News has grown again; welcome Gem 104 as our FOURTH station! Gem 104 helps to solidify the Shale Gas News coverage in an important Marcellus region, PA’s northern tier. 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. The Shale Gas News is aired on Saturday or Sunday depending on the station.

Every Saturday Rusty Fender and I host a morning radio show to discuss all things natural gas. This week, as a guest, we had Daniel B. Markind, Esq., shareholder at Flaster Greenberg PC. Daniel also runs a blog called the Marcellus Shale Update.

Shale Gas News

The Shale Gas News, typically, is broadcast live. On the September 7th show (click above), we covered the following new territory (see news excerpts below):

  • Methane emissions continue to drop. In the oil and natural gas industry, you don’t get very far without making use of valuable resources rather than treating them as waste. So, it probably shouldn’t surprise you that methane emissions in the United States have dropped 15 percent since 1990 even as natural gas production increased more than 50 percent over that same period. This decline is significant, because methane is the primary component of natural gas.
  • Exxon agrees to sell Norway oil and gas assets for $4 billion. Exxon Mobil has agreed to sell its Norwegian oil and gas assets for up to $4 billion, in a move that marks the U.S. firm’s exit from production in the country where it has operated for more than a century, three sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Exxon said in June it was looking to sell its Norwegian upstream portfolio, which includes minority stakes in more than 20 other fields, operated by local producer Equinor and Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell.
  • Dems to push for offshore drilling ban when Congress reconvenes. Democrats have listed putting an end to offshore drilling as a top priority once Congress returns next week.  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the chamber would consider blocking offshore drilling in almost all waters surrounding the U.S. when Congress reconvenes next week after the August recess.
  • U.S. shale firms cut budgets, staff as oil-price outlook dims. Oil producers and their suppliers are cutting budgets, staffs and production goals amid a growing consensus of forecasts that oil and gas prices will stay low for several years. The U.S. has 904 working rigs, down 14% from a year ago, and even that is probably too many, estimated Harold Hamm, chief executive of shale producer Continental Resources (CLR.N), which has reduced the number of rigs at work.
  • Rice Addresses Belmont County, OH Landowners in Town Hall Mtg. EQT’s new CEO Toby Rice made the rounds and conducted four town hall-style meetings with landowners. We found and brought you local media coverage for both the first and third meetings–in Waynesburg, PA and Bridgeport, WV, respectively. There was a meeting in between those two, held in Belmont County, OH. We’ve been accused of bias for not writing about that meeting.
  • Andrew Cuomo Turns Mobster – Threatens to Replace National Grid. Andrew Cuomo, so-called governor of New York State (more like a ruling mob boss), is feeling the heat from HIS decision to block the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline from getting built to provide more gas to the New York City region. Because of HIS decision, National Grid, one of two natural gas utility companies for NYC and Long Island, has slapped a moratorium on all new customers of any kind from being added to the gas delivery system. If they add new customers, they run the risk of running out of gas during peak usage times in the winter. Cuomo is now threatening to replace National Grid as the utility supplier, displaying true mob boss-like behavior.
  • CNX Resources Lays Off Another 20 Workers – 14% Now Gone. Last Wednesday MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources had laid off some 50 employees, with rumors circulating that more layoffs were coming. Looks like the rumors were right. The company let go another 20 people late last week, making the new total 70 out of work–some 14% of the CNX workforce.

The Shale Gas News sponsored by Linde Corporation

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