A problem plaguing the entire country is old conventional oil and gas wells that were never adequately plugged and capped, called orphaned wells, because (supposedly) nobody knows who owns them. In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the…
Read More...Mama says, “Stupid is as stupid does.” The phrase from the modern classic Forrest Gump perfectly describes a proposal floating in the Pennsylvania legislature called House Bill (HB) 170, which would increase setback distances for shale wells from 500 feet to 2,500 feet — effectively killing any new shale well drilling anywhere in the state….
Read More...Freeport LNG’s export terminal with three liquefaction “trains” shut down in June 2022 after an explosion and fire (see Explosion Rocks Freeport LNG Export Plant – Offline for 3 Weeks). What was initially thought to be a three-week outage lasted for ten months! The plant finally returned online in March of this year (see Freeport…
Read More...An abrupt turn of events. Pennsylvania Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, Rich Negrin, has resigned his post, or rather, he will resign. He “pre-resigned” — handing in his notice that he will officially resign as of Dec. 9. But until then, for the next six weeks (effective immediately), Negrin is on medical leave….
Read More...While the newly elected Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (from Louisiana), is relatively unknown to the oil and gas industry, the industry likes what it sees in Johnson. We do, too. Did you catch Johnson’s first media interview since winning the Speakership? It was a live interview last night with Sean Hannity…
Read More...On Sept. 1, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), part of the Biden Dept. of Transportation, issued a federal rule suspending a 2020 authorization of LNG transportation in rail tank cars granted under the Trump administration (see LNG-by-Rail Officially on Hold with PHMSA, Agency Will “Study” It). The suspension (ban) will remain in…
Read More...Last November, Upper Burrell (Westmoreland County, PA) town supervisors held a hearing, and following that hearing, voted unanimously to approve a new well pad proposed by Olympus Energy (see Olympus Energy’s 4th Upper Burrell Well Pad Wins Unanimous Approval). It was the fourth such well pad approved by the town. Olympus is back and has…
Read More...In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Infrastructure bill, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the help of turncoat Republicans (see Biden So-Called $1.2T Infrastructure Bill Passes Thanks to RINOs). Only about 9% of the $1.2 trillion goes to infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. One of…
Read More...Rich Negrin, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), was supposed to be Gov. Josh Shapiro’s guy who could magically make the trains run on time at the DEP. He was the White Knight bureaucrat who could crack the code on getting simple permits for construction — things like Chapter 102 erosion and…
Read More...In May, the PHMSA issued a proposed new rule that would slap onerous and costly 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 New…
Read More...Last Friday in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden tried to sell the line that Pennsylvania was a big winner in the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). PA Gov. Josh Shapiro also tried to sell that same line, claiming PA is “the only state to secure…
Read More...With all of the good news about WV (and OH, and PA) winning the Biden Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games contest by scoring $925 million for the WV-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) (see today’s lead story), there is a potential black cloud on the horizon. Investments in ARCH2 might not actually come to pass…
Read More...Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, wants to extend the pipeline by an extra 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric generation. The extension is called MVP Southgate. In typical fashion, Democrats oppose it,…
Read More...In May, MDN brought you the sad news that New York State has fallen and is now under a Communist dictatorship, with the freedom to choose energy sources now gone (see NY State has Fallen – Gas Stoves & Peaker Plants Banned in Budget). Gov. Hochul and the Democrat legislature unilaterally voted to ban new…
Read More...In April 2022, MDN told you about Nopetro LNG’s plans to construct and operate as many as three liquefaction trains in Port St. Joe, Florida, that would liquefy up to 3.86 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year of natural gas for export and delivery to markets in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America (see…
Read More...