Industrywide Issues

Oil & Gas Jobs Continue To Grow – Latest Numbers for PA, OH, WV

The Energy Workforce & Technology Council, based in Houston, TX, is the national trade association for the global energy technology and services sector. The Council reports jobs in the O&G sector increased in November, adding 1,286 jobs. The O&G industry employs 652,398 jobs across the country, just 54,130 jobs away from returning to pre-pandemic levels….

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PA Senate Republicans Advance Energy Info Office Bill, EHB Nominee

Yesterday, the Republicans who sit on the Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee got work done while the Democrats tried to block work. The committee advanced legislation to establish an Independent Energy Information Office by a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting. There was also a party-line vote advancing Paul Bruder, an environmental attorney nominated…

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CNG Truck Accident in Upstate NY Near Albany Injures Driver

Last Tuesday, Dec. 5, a tractor-trailer hauling a trailer with CNG (compressed natural gas) canisters traveling eastbound along Interstate 88 near Albany “exited the road and traveled down a steep ravine” shortly before 3 a.m. It crashed, ripping the top of the trailer off the frame (the part connected to the wheels). The driver was…

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Out-of-State Protester Gets Jail for Blocking MVP Construction

Appalachians Against Pipelines, a group backed with big money from Big Green, funnels paid “protesters” to construction sites for the 95% completed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), mainly in Montgomery County, Va., who chain themselves to equipment requiring state troopers to carefully remove them (requiring hours), slowing the already challenging work to complete the project. About…

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NYMEX Henry Hub Price Crashes with Warm Weather Forecast

The commodity price for natural gas, as expressed by the NYMEX Henry Hub futures contract (for January), fell 10.5% in early trading yesterday before finally closing at $2.43/MMBtu, down 15 cents (6.17%) from the previous day. Why the big drop when prices are already low? Lack of demand due to warm weather. In fact, according…

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Williams CEO Tells COP28 Delegates NatGas Will Fuel Transition

Williams is a powerhouse pipeline company. Williams operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines in the U.S. and flows approximately one-third of the natural gas used in our country through those pipelines. Massive! The CEO of Williams, Alan Armstrong, is (or was) in Dubai for the United Nations COP28 climate meeting. He was there to…

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Antis Launch Effort to Block Iroquois Pipe Compressors in NY & CT

The Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline project called Enhancement by Compression (ExC) increases horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, flowing more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England (see Despite Antis’ Best Efforts, More NatGas Coming to New England). The…

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Hope Gas Fights FOIA for Detailed Maps of 30-Mile Gas Pipe in WV

Hope Gas is a Local Distribution Company (LDC) that provides gas service to approximately 125,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. The company owns and maintains more than 6,900 miles of pipelines that safely deliver West Virginia natural gas to many homes and commercial or industrial sites. In September, Hope Gas…

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DUG Appalachia: M-U Needs More Pipeline Connections to Gulf Coast

Amol Wayangankar, principal of Enkon Energy Advisors, spoke at the recent Hart Energy DUG Appalachia event in Pittsburgh. He had some REALLY interesting things to say about pipelines and takeaway capacity and where (and how much) Marcellus/Utica gas flows. One fascinating observation: Over the past 24 months, Appalachia gas production grew 0.3 Bcf/d, while production…

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NatGas-Powered WATT Fuel Cells HQ Staying in Westmoreland County

WATT Fuel Cell Corp. signed a seven-year extension of its lease to keep its headquarters in Westmoreland County, PA. WATT Fuel Cell manufactures Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (“SOFC”) stacks and systems that operate on common, readily available fuels such as natural gas and propane. Instead of burning and combusting natural gas (or propane), those fuel…

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DUG Appalachia: Encino Looks to Grow Oil Production in OH Utica

Hart Energy keeps the hits rolling, publishing interviews and articles from the recent DUG Appalachia event held in Pittsburgh in November. The latest is a transcript of an interview between Hart Energy’s editorial director and Encino Energy’s CTO. According to the CTO, the company uses “machine learning” to perfect its oil drilling in the northern…

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Venture Global LNG Fights Back, Says It Did Not Violate Contracts

Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility recently received Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) authorization to place the final three liquefaction blocks (7-9) into service (see Venture Global Gets FERC OK to Commission 3 Calcasieu Pass Trains). The other trains, 1-6, have been online for 18 months but are not officially in commercial service, even…

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U.S. Begins Winter with Most NatGas in Storage Since 2020

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the best number crunchers in the business, working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 United States ended the natural gas injection season at 3,776 billion cubic feet (Bcf). The Lower 48 entered the winter heating season, which runs from November 1–March 30, with the most…

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INGAA Files Lawsuit Challenging PHMSA’s New Pipeline Safety Regs

In May, the PHMSA issued a proposed new rule that would slap onerous and very expensive new requirements on pretty much all natural gas pipelines in the country, including 2.7 million miles of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipelines; 400+ underground natural gas storage facilities; and 165 liquefied natural gas facilities (see Biden DOT Issues…

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