Hope Gas Closes Acquisition of Peoples Gas WV – Adds 13K Customers

Hope Gas, a Local Distribution Company (LDC), otherwise known as a utility company, provides gas service to approximately 112,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-five West Virginia counties. In January, Hope announced it was buying the West Virginia division of Peoples Gas, currently owned by Essential Utilities, for an undisclosed amount (see Hope Gas…

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WV’s Waco Oil and Gas Fined $825K by Feds for Pollution Violations

Waco Oil & Gas Co., Inc., headquartered in Glenville (Gilmer County), WV, signed a proposed consent decree (settlement agreement) with the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to settle an “alleged” charge of violating the federal Clean Water Act and West Virginia state law for “unauthorized discharges of…

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Plugging Orphan O&G Wells Begins on Federal Land in WV

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 will go to actual infrastructure projects like roads and bridges….

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Joe Manchin Promotes IRA in Recorded Speech to Shale Insight

In an administration full of destructive regulatory actions and legislation targeting fossil energy for extinction, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) stands out as one of the worst. The IRA was made possible by a traitorous vote by West Virginia Democrat U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (see Tragedy: Joe Manchin Caves & Agrees to Big Green…

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21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 18 – 24

New shale permits issued for Sep 18 – 24 in the Marcellus/Utica were roughly the same as the prior week. There were 21 new permits issued last week, down 1 from permits issued two weeks ago. Last week’s permit tally included 11 new permits in Pennsylvania, 4 new permits in Ohio, and 6 new permits…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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22 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 11 – 17

New shale permits issued for Sep 11 – 17 in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded. There were 22 new permits issued last week, up from 14 issued two weeks ago. But the increase came from an unlikely source. Last week’s permit tally included 9 new permits in Pennsylvania, 1 new permit in Ohio, and 12 new permits…

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Mike Bloomberg Spending $85M to Block Petrochem Plants in M-U, Gulf

Michael Bloomberg, the eleventh richest person in the world (with an ego to match his enormous wealth), has already spent $500 million of his personal fortune to shut down coal plants operating in the U.S. (but not anywhere else, like China). Yesterday, Bloomberg pledged to spend another $500 million to finish the job. He also…

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ORVI Tries to Pee All Over WV Coal-to-Hydrogen Power Plant Project

The old Energy Harbor coal-fired power plant in Pleasants County, WV, which had been offline since June 1 and was scheduled to be demolished, recently roared back to life under new ownership (see WV Coal Power Plant Roars Back to Life, Will Convert to Hydrogen). Omnis Fuel Technologies invested $800 million to restart operations at…

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Hit Bottom? U.S. Rig Count Up 9 at 641, M-U Stays Even at 39

Have we finally turned a corner? Hit rock bottom and have begun a rebound? We are referring to the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count. Last Monday, we reported the weekly rig count had finally gained a rig–the first time since June (see U.S. Rig Count Adds One Rig, M-U Drops Another Rig). However, the Marcellus/Utica…

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14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 4 – 10

New shale permits issued for Sep 4 – 10 in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be in the crapper. There were 14 new permits issued last week, up 1 from 13 issued two weeks ago, and down from the 16 issued three weeks ago. Not so long ago we routinely saw 30+ issued each week. Last…

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U.S. Rig Count Adds One Rig, M-U Drops Another Rig

For the first time since June, the national active U.S. rig count added rigs–a single rig–last week. The new active U.S. rig count is 632, up from 631 the previous week. Unfortunately, the Marcellus/Utica lost yet another rig, sinking to 39 active rigs. Once again, West Virginia was the unlucky state that lost a rig,…

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