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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…