Industrywide Issues

Marcellus Shale Created 123K Jobs, Added $41B to PA Economy in 2022

Natural gas development is fundamental to the health and strength of Pennsylvania’s economy, supporting well over 100,000 family-sustaining careers, boosting state tax revenues, and generating billions in economic benefits, according to a new economic impact analysis (full copy below) commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). The analysis, released at the kickoff of the SHALE…

Read More...

Open Season for New Capacity at Enbridge’s Dawn Parkway System

The Enbridge Gas Dawn Parkway System is one of the most robust pipeline systems in North America and provides for the movement of natural gas from Enbridge Gas’s Dawn Hub located near Sarnia, Ontario, to the Greater Toronto Area, where it interconnects with other downstream pipelines serving eastern Canadian and northeast U.S. markets. Marcellus/Utica molecules…

Read More...

FERC Can’t (or Won’t) Produce Document Naming Phillips in Charge

In November 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed regulatory lawyer Willie Phillips to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), replacing Neil Chatterjee (see Senate Confirms D.C. Swamp-Dwelling Democrat Lawyer to FERC). Before joining FERC, Phillips was chairman of the Public Service Commission for the District of Columbia. We were concerned that…

Read More...

CME Group Launching “Micro” Henry Hub Futures & Options Nov. 6

For traders who buy and sell NYMEX Henry Hub futures (and there is a fair number who read MDN), listen up! CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), announced it is launching Micro Henry Hub futures and options beginning November 6. The standard Henry Hub natural gas futures…

Read More...

Intl Gas Union’s 2023 Global Wholesale Gas Price Survey Report

According to the International Gas Union’s (IGU) 2023 Global Wholesale Gas Price Survey report (full copy below), 2022 was THE most turbulent year in the history of gas markets, as the global energy crisis intensified and the global price levels reached record highs. Last year saw record price levels, with Europe’s wholesale prices reaching over…

Read More...

OH Fed Court Ruling Further Clarifies Post-Production Deductions

An important decision was recently issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that has the potential to affect landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica. At least, we believe it has broader implications. The case is known as Grissoms et al. v. Antero Resources Corporation. The case revolves around the issue of…

Read More...

Hope Gas Seeks to Build 30-Mile Gas Pipe in Monongalia County, WV

Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC) or a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. Hope Gas recently received approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia to acquire nearly 900 miles of gathering pipelines in northern West Virginia from Equitrans…

Read More...

Enbridge Pipe to Feed TVA Plant in Tenn. Advances with FERC EIS

Enbridge has plans to build a natural gas pipeline across Tennessee to get gas to one of Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) planned gas-fired power plants (see Enbridge Gets Serious About New TN Pipe to Feed TVA Power Plant). Enbridge’s Ridgeline Expansion Project is an expansion of the company’s existing East Tennessee Natural Gas (ETNG) system….

Read More...

Ameren Plans to Build Two Gas Peaker Plants in Mo. Fed by M-U

Yesterday, Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, a regional electric utility, announced its updated 20-year plan to provide reliable, affordable, and resilient energy to its customers. The plan calls for investment in new on-demand energy sources (two new gas-fired power plants) to ensure the long-term stability of the energy grid and accelerated deployment of…

Read More...

Enbridge Open Season to Expand Algonquin Pipe in New England

The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. Enbridge is conducting an open season to…

Read More...

Federal EPA Approves 2nd Injection Well in Plum Borough, PA

Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to site a second injection well in Plum Boro, next to an existing one. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see Plum Boro Injection Well in SWPA Now Open for Business!). In September…

Read More...

Now-Dead Parkersburg Cracker Site Finally Records Deed Transfer

Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America (headquartered in Brazil), and its parent company Odebrecht were, at one time, hot-to-trot to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker near Parkersburg, WV. Back in 2015, Braskem purchased the 374-acre site that was formerly the SABIC/GE property from Appalachian Shale Cracker Enterprise for $10.9 million. Then things…

Read More...

Dead Cat Bounce? U.S. Rig Count Cut 11 @ 630, M-U Stays Even @ 39

Two weeks ago, the U.S. rotary rig count rose nine after rising by one the week before that (see Hit Bottom? U.S. Rig Count Up 9 at 641, M-U Stays Even at 39). We’re suggesting those two weeks of increases were, perhaps, the proverbial “dead cat bounce,” meaning even a dead cat will bounce a…

Read More...

SRBC Approves Water Permits for 34 Shale Well Pads in NE Pa.

In August, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) approved 34 water-use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga counties. We’re just learning of the action via an official notice published in the Sept. 23 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The approvals, which are…

Read More...

SRBC Approves 8 New Water Withdrawal Requests for Shale Drilling

The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals for responsible and safe shale drilling. Last week, the SRBC approved 22 new water withdrawal requests within the basin, eight of…

Read More...