WV Coal Power Plant Converting to Hydrogen Shops for More Land

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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Manchin Wants to Appoint His Staffer as Next FERC Commissioner

The swamp gets swampier. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, Chairman of the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is rumored to be pushing a staff member to fill the open Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner slot. There is an open seat for a Democrat after Manchin blocked Richard “Dick” Glick from…

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MVP Work Restarts in Summers County, WV – Joe Manchin Field Trip

An Act of Congress (the Fiscal Responsibility Act) cleared away the remaining obstacles to completing the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Equitrans Announces Mountain Valley Pipe to Get Completed in 2023). After a final appeal by antis with their colluding buddies of the 4th Circuit threatened to block the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s MVP provisions, the…

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$2B WV Hydrogen Proj Taps Battelle to Develop Carbon Capture System

In August, MDN told you about a new $2 billion hydrogen project coming to West Virginia (see $2B Hydrogen Project Announces for WV – FidelisH2 in Mason Co.). Fidelis New Energy announced it had selected Mason County for a “net-zero” hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid, which it has dubbed The Mountaineer GigaSystem. The…

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U.S. Rig Count Drops Another Rig, M-U Drops 1 Rig Too

Quick! Apply pressure to the wound before the patient (in this case, the Marcellus/Utica) bleeds out. Another week, another lost rig in the Marcellus. We can’t seem to stem the flow of rigs leaving. The national rig count also lost one rig overall. For the eighth week in a row and the 17th of the…

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Antero Donates $4 Million to WVU’s Engineering & Petroleum Program

Antero Resources and Antero Midstream have donated a massive $4 million to West Virginia University’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources to help train the next generation of petroleum and natural gas engineers. Antero’s gift is the largest philanthropic donation to the school to date. It will support undergraduate and graduate students…

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WV Coal Power Plant Roars Back to Life, Will Convert to Hydrogen

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, has roared back to life under new ownership. Omnis Fuel Technologies invested $800 million to restart operations at the plant, which is now back online and producing electricity. Omnis’ plan is…

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7 New Pipeline Projects Planned to Handle 2 Bcf/d from MVP

Last week, MDN brought you information about what happens next when (not if) the mighty 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline gets completed (see MVP Prompts New Pipe Expansions for Hungry Downstream Customers). MVP is built to flow 2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of Marcellus/Utica gas southward. The problem is there isn’t (yet) enough takeaway…

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GO-WV “Optimistically Cautious” About Shale Gas Performance in 2023

Last week, MDN told you about the great news coming from the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, Inc. (GO-WV) and its newest annual Gas Facts report covering the impact in WV from the shale energy industry in 2022 (see WV Country’s 4th Largest NatGas Producer, Supplies 10% of U.S. Gas). West Virginia natural…

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WVU Cutting Budget, Plans to Trim Petroleum & NatGas Engr Program

West Virginia University (WVU), the Mountain State’s public research university, is located in Morgantown, WV. Enrollment at all of WVU’s campuses at one point almost touched 30,000 students. Big university–important university. WVU has a major Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program as part of the school’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources….

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Analyst Says MVP Not Ready Until Mid-2024; Won’t Spur New Drilling

East Daley Analytics, based in Colorado, is a consulting firm that specializes in identifying, understanding, and monitoring operational risk throughout the oil and gas value chain. A “Daley Note” published yesterday by the company focused on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), providing a status update and a couple of intriguing (some might say controversial) comments….

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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 14 – 20

New shale permits issued for Aug 14 – 20 in the Marcellus/Utica finally turned around. There were 27 new permits issued last week, way up from the 10 issued the prior week. Last week’s permit tally included 21 new permits in Pennsylvania, 2 new permits in Ohio, and 4 new permits in West Virginia (after…

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Judge Rules WV Lawsuit Against SWN for ‘Well Bashing’ Continues

Two Marshall County, WV landowners with the same last name (obviously related) sued Southwestern Energy (SWN), accusing the company of “well bashing,” in March of this year (see WV Mineral Owners’ Lawsuit Accuses Southwestern of ‘Well Bashing’). The landowners seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action. Well bashing happens when drilling a…

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EQT Finally Completes Acquisition of Tug Hill and XcL Midstream

Nearly one year after EQT announced a deal to buy privately-owned Tug Hill Operating’s West Virginia shale assets for roughly $5.2 billion (see Confirmed: EQT Buys Tug Hill’s THQ Appalachia for $5.2 Billion), the deal is finally done. EQT announced yesterday it had closed on the purchase (revised price ~$4.6 billion), adding roughly 90,000 acres…

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