4th Circuit Allows EQT to Appeal WV Landowners Royalty Lawsuit

A lawsuit of interest for all landowners is playing out in West Virginia between a class of landowners and EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the country. We searched our extensive archives high and low and found no mention of this lawsuit! Somehow, it has escaped our attention — until now. As these…

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Equinor Wins Refund of Gas Severance Tax Paid in WV for Two Years

Yesterday, the Intermediate Court of Appeals for West Virginia issued an opinion in a case that had (until now) escaped our radar. Equinor, Norway’s state-owned oil and gas company (previously known as Statoil), said it had overpaid its severance tax bill in West Virginia for the years 2014 and 2016. Equinor said WV miscalculated the…

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Joe Manchin Does Right Thing, Announces Retirement from Senate

Score one for the good guys! We (collectively in the Conservative movement) have defeated Joe Manchin (Democrat) and his potential run for another term as Senator from West Virginia. Manchin, in our opinion, lost the moral authority to run again when he sold out the country and his fellow West Virginians by voting to approve…

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U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Antero’s WV Well Tax Case

In a court case that stretches back to 2019, Antero Resources, the biggest driller in West Virginia, challenged how its wells had been valued for tax purposes in Doddridge and Richie counties for 2016 and 2017. Antero said the combined value of its wells for those years should have been $1.488 billion. The state tax…

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U.S. Rig Count Hits New 2023 Low – Loses 7 @ 618, M-U Adds 1 @ 40

The U.S. rig count changed course again last week, dropping rigs after adding rigs (albeit anemically) for the prior three weeks in a row. The national rig count lost seven rigs last week — dropping to 618 active rigs — not only the lowest rig total this year but the lowest count since February 2022….

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Only One Project of $7B Hydrogen Hunger Games Brings H2 into Homes

Of the dozens of projects spread across the seven regional hydrogen hub projects selected by the Bidenistas to receive $7 billion in taxpayer largesse, there is only one project (part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project) that actually brings hydrogen into people’s homes. That project is, according to Hope Gas CEO Morgan…

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Equitrans Says MVP Will Become One of Most Valuable Pipes in U.S.

Equitrans Midstream issued its third quarter update yesterday. As you might expect, there was much talk about completing the nearly-done Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. Near the top of Equitrans’ 3Q official update is this comment from CEO Thomas Karam: “Once in-service, there is little doubt MVP will be one of the most valuable pipelines…

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Hope Gas to Use ARCH2 $$ to Distro 5,300 Hydrogen Fuel Cells in WV

A fuel cell manufacturer located 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 sources are subjected to an electrochemical process that…

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Deeper Dive into Hydrogen Hub Projects Coming to WV, Timeline

Last week, MDN brought you a list of the 15 proposed projects that are part of the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) initiative (see Full List of ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Projects by Name, State, and Type). We brought you a PowerPoint slide deck from Shawn Bennett, the Division Manager for Energy and…

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Full List of ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Projects by Name, State, and Type

We finally have a list of the 15 proposed projects that are part of the the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project. Earlier this week, officials with the Dept. of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and Battelle, the technology lab headquartered in Columbus Ohio that is quarterbacking the ARCH2 project,…

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More (but Still Sparse) Details Begin to Emerge for ARCH2 Projects

Yesterday, officials with the Dept. of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and those involved with the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project held a virtual meeting discussing where the ARCH2 project stands and the long-term effects of the project in the communities near where the nodes of the hub will…

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New York Company Has Big Role in West Virginia’s ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub

New York State has made no bones about the fact that it HATES fossil energy — particularly natural gas. The state has banned fracking, permanently (for all time), preventing abundant supplies of natgas from being extracted within the state, dooming counties in Upstate to economic poverty. The state has blocked multiple gas pipelines from Pennsylvania…

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Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region

As predicted by Reuters, on Friday, the Bidenistas announced the Hydrogen Hub Hunger Games winners. There were seven projects selected from 33 finalists. Among them was the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), which is a project that will use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, which is hydrogen…

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Slight Reversal – U.S. Rig Count Gains 3 @ 621, M-U Gains 1 @ 39

The U.S. rig count actually rose last week, adding a piddly four rigs to 622 active rigs (regaining the four it lost the week before). We remain near the lowest point since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica, after falling by one three weeks ago and holding steady two weeks ago, gained one rig…

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