Industrywide Issues

Anti Group Loses Yet Another Penn Twp (PA) Frack Ban Case

A leftist anti-fossil group calling itself Protect PT, in Penn Township (Westmoreland County), PA, backed with big money from Big Green groups, continues to sue in an effort to block shale drilling in the township. And they keep losing their lawsuits. Protect PT has launched multiple challenges to a local Penn Township ordinance which allows Apex

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Ohio’s Non-Drilling Counties Look to Profit from Utica Shale Too

Drilling is great for local counties when it arrives. Especially for the “supply chain” in those counties–companies that sell goods and services to drilling companies. Everything from retail to convenience stores to restaurants to hotels to trucking companies and more. But what about businesses in nearby counties without any drilling activity? Is there any way

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Atlantic Coast Pipe Reps “Optimistic” Building Resumes Summer ’20

Yesterday MDN reported on Dominion Energy’s third quarter update from last Friday, a session in which CEO Tom Farrell commented the company’s commitment to building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is “unwavering” (see Dominion Energy 3Q – Commitment to Atlantic Coast Pipe “Unwavering”). Last Thursday a pair of ACP representatives gave an update to Upshur

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Potential Light at End of Jones Act LNG Tunnel?

For some time we have criticized the 100 year-old Jones Act that prevents LNG carriers built and/or crewed by other counties from transporting LNG from one U.S. port to another U.S. port (see Puerto Rico Imports Russian LNG Thanks to U.S. Jones Act). Among the statements we’ve made is that the Jones Act prevents all

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Rhode Island Eco-Socialists Threaten State with NatGas Outages

Activists from the Providence Democratic Socialists of America and the George Wiley Center protested Nov. 2 in front of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s house. (Credit: Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News) Socialism is evil. It’s the same root political philosophy as Communism, leading to a society in which individual freedoms are stripped away–the very freedoms purchased at a high

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Where Does Most “Associated Gas” Come From?

click for larger version A few weeks ago MDN said the Marcellus/Utica produces more than twice as much natural gas as the Permian–33.3 Bcf/d in November for the M-U versus 16 Bcf/d for the Permian (see EIA Oct ’19 Drilling Report: Permian Gas Grows More than M-U). The Permian, an oil play, is a serious

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PA DEP Fines Equitrans $650K for SWPA Gas Storage Field Violation

Equitrans (nee EQT Midstream) owns a natural gas storage field in Greene County, PA, in the southwest corner of the state, called Swarts Field. Natural gas storage fields are an important, but often overlooked, part of the natgas ecosystem. Last December the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) threatened to shut down Swarts Field because

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Northeast PA Rail Yard Expanding to Handle More Miss. Frac Sand

Frac sand Good news for drillers in the Marcellus/Utica: You’re about to have access to even more frac sand than before. In May 2018 Shale Support Global Holdings signed a deal to become the exclusive provider of frac sand to the Shale Rail terminal located in Wysox (Bradford County), PA (see Shale Support Exclusive Frac

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OH Lawmakers Plan to Block Foreign Ownership of Power Plants

We’re still feeling the fallout of FirstEnergy’s sleazy campaign to keep their $1 billion ratepayer bailout in Ohio. Last week we told you about FirstEnergy’s Mafia-like tactics in attempting to block petitioners from gathering signatures to overturn House Bill 6 that hands FirstEnergy $1 billion (see FirstEnergy Uses Questionable Tactics Against Referendum Workers). Part of

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Explaining the U.S. LNG Marketplace – Who Sells It, Who Buys It

While on the surface the liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketplace may seem simple and straightforward, when you dig down you’ll find it is complex. There are different kinds of contracts between those who sell the gas, those who liquefy and ship it, and those who buy it. The LNG marketplace is, with the entrance of

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Ohio Landowners Sue Encino Energy for Shorting Royalties

Landowners in Carroll and Columbiana counties (Ohio) have filed a class action lawsuit against Encino Energy claiming the company underpaid oil and natural gas royalties. Last November Encino Acquisition Partners (i.e. Encino Energy) completed its purchase of all of Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio Utica Shale assets for $2 billion (see Stop Press: Chesapeake Sells ALL of

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PennEast Asks Full 3rd Circuit to Reconsider Bad Decision

The stakes are about as high as it gets: “The immediate disruption of the natural gas industry,” says PennEast Pipeline. We’re referring to a terrible decision in September by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that disallows PennEast from using the delegated power of eminent domain to cross properties either owned by,

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FirstEnergy Uses Questionable Tactics Against Referendum Workers

All we can say is, shame on FirstEnergy. They hired people to block petition gatherers trying to get signatures for a referendum for the November ballot. The tactics used can only be described as bullying–sometimes physical. Workers are trying to get enough signatures on a petition to place a referendum on the November ballot. The

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Eurkea Gets $1.5M Grant to Expand Lithium from Wastewater PA Plant

Eureka Resources, which owns and operates a centralized treatment/recycling facility in Bradford County, PA to process Marcellus watewater, is getting a $1.5 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects grant to help the plant launch a high tech solution to recover lithium from Marcellus wastewater. Yes, lithium, like that used to manufacture rechargeable batteries. This post

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Pittsburgh Intl Airport to Generate Electricity Using Shale Gas

In March 2018 MDN brought you the news that Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) was exploring the possibility of producing its own electricity (see Pittsburgh Airport Plans NatGas Microgrid to Attract New Business). You may recall that CONSOL Energy (now CNX Resources) previously drilled a bunch of wells on airport property and now produces a boatload

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