Industrywide Issues

Trump EO Declares National Energy Emergency – “Drill, Baby, Drill!”

Our heads are officially blown! Did you catch any of yesterday’s inauguration? WOW!!! We have NEVER been more proud to be an American than we were yesterday. President Trump hit the ground running so fast the left’s heads were spinning around like Regan’s head in The Exorcist. The left doesn’t know what hit them. Everything…

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Dept. of Energy Reverses Biden LNG Pause, Extends Comment Period

One year ago, the sleazy Joe Biden slapped a “pause” on allowing the Department of Energy (DOE) to review and issue export approvals for any new LNG export facilities (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). The move profoundly and negatively affected our domestic natural gas industry, putting some…

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National Rig Count Whacked, Down 9 in Two Weeks; M-U Count Steady

After losing five rigs two weeks ago, the Baker Hughes national rig count lost another four last week. The number of rigs nationally now stands at 580, the lowest since Dec. 2021 (over three years ago). The Marcellus/Utica rig count was a combined 34 last week—the same number for five weeks in a row. PA…

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NYMEX Gas Futures Price Soars to Close at $4.2580 MMBtu

Baby, it’s cold outside! And it’s getting colder beginning this weekend and moving into next week. The cold weather, combined with less natural gas in storage (less than the average), has increased the NYMEX “front month” futures contract for natural gas. Yesterday, the NYMEX price closed at $4.2580 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), the…

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MPLX PA Bluestone Gas Processing Plant Gets Big Sloppy Kiss from EPA

Marathon Petroleum’s MPLX, formerly MarkWest, operates five complexes in the Marcellus shale. One of the five is the Bluestone Complex in Butler County, PA. Bluestone gathers 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas. Bluestone processes 400 MMcf/d of natural gas, separating methane from other hydrocarbons. The facility then further separates ethane (C2H6)…

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LG&E and KU Announce New Hyperscale Data Center in Louisville, KY

Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) announced a contract to supply electricity to its first hyperscale data center customer yesterday. A joint venture between PowerHouse Data Centers and Poe Companies is developing a cutting-edge 400-megawatt (MW) data center campus in Louisville. The first 130 MW will be available in October 2026. While no mention was…

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Antis Block 15-Mile Pipe Causing Gas Moratorium in Myrtle Beach

Here’s a story that illustrates how the radicalized left continues to destroy jobs and the economy with its kneejerk reaction against *any* fossil fuel pipeline, no matter how large or small. Some five years ago, Dominion Energy announced the River Neck to Kingsburg project, a short 15 miles of 16” natural gas transmission main line…

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Sen. Ed Markey Bill to Deny Big Oil from Cabinet, but Not Big Green

Yesterday, U.S. Senator Ed “Lackey” Markey (Dem from Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Jeff “Malarkey” Merkley (Dem from Ore.) reintroduced the Banning In Government Oil Industry Lobbyists (BIG OIL) from the Cabinet Act, which would prohibit the appointment of executive officers and lobbyists of fossil fuel entities or…

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Bernstein Research Predicts NatGas Price to Average $5 in 2025/26

Hart Energy is reporting some startling statements from Bernstein Research in a new report. One insight (statement) offered by Bernstein is that U.S. natural gas will average $5/Mcf in 2025 and 2026, and that’s “conservative, in our view.” Bernstein predicts “a coming U.S. gas super-cycle.” The Bernstein team expects U.S. gas demand will grow from…

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TETCO Asks FERC to Swap Gas for Electric Compressor in Pa. Project

The Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline Company (aka TETCO) recently filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to make a change in its plans related to upgrades at the pipeline’s Entriken Compressor Station located in Todd Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, TETCO (owned by Enbridge) filed to build the Appalachia to…

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PA DEP (Finally) Gets It Right with New Permit Tracking Website

Going back perhaps more than a decade, we have told you about the shortcomings of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the timely review and issuance of permits used during the drilling process. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation Permit or Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit could take two, three,…

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Judge Tosses NYC Lawsuit Against Big Oil re Climate Change

A judge has dismissed New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell liable for misleading the public about their products and claims that their commitment to renewable energy and fighting climate change are false. The case was so weak not even a Democrat judge appointed by Kathy Hochul could stomach it….

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Energy Pick Chris Wright Vows to “Unleash” LNG & Nuclear at Hearing

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to grill Chris Wright, CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, and Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Energy. By all accounts of the coverage we’ve read, Wright (like Trump’s other picks) hit the ball out of the park. He began his…

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EIA Predicts U.S. Will Import Less, Export More NatGas in 2025/26

Two days ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), which we reported on yesterday (see Jan. STEO: NatGas Production & Demand to Hit New Highs in 2025). The EIA subsequently published a post on its Today in Energy site to review “five key energy forecasts through December…

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