PA Environment Digest

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6th Oil/Natural Gas Shock: Number Of New Natural Gas Wells Drilled In First Quarter Declined By Over 25% In PA Compared To 2021, 2020

In spite of breathlessly urgent statements by Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry and their politicians about the need to ramp-up drilling in the Commonwealth, DEP’s latest Weekly Oil And Gas Workload Report shows 25.6 percent fewer new unconventional shale gas wells were drilled in the first quarter of 2022-- 110 -- than in 2021-- 148 and fewer still than in 2020-- 153.

The same report also shows during the first quarter, DEP issued 209 permits for new wells.

DEP records show the natural gas industry has failed to use 40 percent of the permits DEP has issued to drillers since unconventional shale gas drilling began in the state.

A total of 9,263 wells with permits were never drilled-- DEP issued permits for 22,689 wells, but only 13,426 were actually drilled. Read more here.

The natural gas industry has also not developed 65 percent of the State Forest land it leased from DCNR for drilling in 2008 and 2010. Read more here.

The Independent Fiscal Office reported there were 10,332 horizontal wells producing natural gas in the fourth quarter of 2021. Read more here.

Clearly the industry, heavily influenced by investors, continues to want to keep oil and natural gas prices high and as the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in a survey of oil companies, they don’t intend to increase output by more than 5 percent this year. Read more here.

As PA Environment Digest noted from the beginning of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, we need to listen to what the Europeans say they need in the short term to wean themselves off Russian natural gas and oil and not to what the U.S. natural gas industry says they want.

That includes ramping up manufacturing of solar and wind renewable energy components to meet Europe’s stated goals of transitioning as quickly as possible to renewable energy. Read more here.

PA LNG/Pipeline Projects Got Permits

As multiple media outlets reported last week, companies that started LNG projects in Bradford County and Philadelphia have apparently abandoned those projects recently even though they had state, City of Philadelphia and other approvals to go ahead. Read more here.

In the case of the Bradford County facility, DEP issued its air quality permit in July, 2019 and had to extend it twice after the company didn’t move ahead with the project. Read more here.

In the case of the Philadelphia LNG project, City Council gave its approval in 2019 over community objections. It was first proposed in 2016, but the company recently broke off negotiations with the Philadelphia Gas Works saying the “opportunity has passed.” Read more here.

Although natural gas politicians keep pounding the theme “the government” is holding up natural gas pipeline projects, in response to that question at DEP’s budget hearing February 28, DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said, “Not on our end.” Read more here.

Environmentalists and Democratic Senate and House members have been very critical of the Wolf Administration for their repeated approval of natural gas pipeline projects over their opposition, in particular the Mariner East Pipeline project which has been penalized with record fines and has had criminal penalties filed against it. Read more here.

The PennEast Pipeline is most often cited by natural gas politicians as an example of a project canceled in Pennsylvania.

However, it was the New Jersey part of PennEast Pipeline that was canceled by the company in September, 2021. Read more here. In December 2021, the company requested DEP to withdraw/revoke their permits for the Pennsylvania portion. Read more here.

Still Pushing Dog Whistles

Pennsylvania natural gas politicians continue to push hard to lock consumers into the oil/natural gas energy complex that lets despots, wars and foreign energy markets set what we pay to heat our homes, drive our cars and pay for the electricity we use.

Although the politicians are not admitting the reality of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, reporting by the Associated Press and the Inquirer reported are clarifying the issues surrounding why the industry might not be poised to come to Europe’s rescue.

This week natural gas politicians will push bills in the House to try to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission ban on hydrofracking in the watershed and end the moratorium on leasing more State Forest land for drilling. Read more here.

Again, in spite of the fact there are hundreds of unused DEP well drilling permits and 65 percent of the State Forest land already leased hasn’t been developed.

The politicians have to push these “dog whistles” because the industry tells them too. Read more here.

Backsliding On Critical Reforms

There was no progress last week on addressing critical state issues like pipeline safety and preventing the abandonment of new wells. None is scheduled this week. Read more here.

In fact, on the new abandon well issue, DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance System reported that conventional oil and gas drillers were issued 77 notices of violation for attempting to abandon wells without plugging them in the first three months of 2022. Read more here.

Unconventional shale gas drillers were issued 8 NOVs for attempting to abandon wells without plugging them during the same time period. Read more here.

What They’re Reporting In PA

You can get a good feel for what happened last week in Pennsylvania on energy issues from the NewsClips--

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Why PA Natural Gas Might Not Be Poised To Come To Europe’s Rescue

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Philadelphia Gas Works, Liberty Energy Trust No Longer In Talks About LNG Plant In Passyunk: The “Opportunity Has Passed” [Project Was Approved In 2019]

-- AP: Republican Energy Promises Face Limits In PA Governor’s Race

-- Guest Essay - Sen. Yaw: Closing Of Bradford County LNG Project A PA, U.S. Tragedy

[Actually, The Company Did Nothing With State Approvals Since 2019. DEP’s Air Permit Was Extended Twice. Real Story Here]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Republicans Are Spreading Misinformation On Inflation, Energy Policies - Carl Hisiro, Fmr Assistant Counsel PUC, Fmr Chief Deputy Attorney General For Republican Attorneys General

-- PA Capital-Star: PA’s Gubernatorial Candidates Feud Over How To Reduce Pain At The Pump [Here’s an idea-- transition away from fossil fuels]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For Lackawanna Energy Center Gas-Fired Power Plant In Lackawanna County May 25 [PaEN]

-- Quarterly Report: DEP Issued 77 Notices Of Violations To Conventional Drillers, 8 To Shale Gas Drillers For Attempting To Abandon Wells Without Plugging Them

[“Warning: The average person is likely to be shocked at the number and extent of the violations documented by DEP day in and day out.”]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light, Jewish Earth Alliance Host April 20 Webinar On Clean Energy And Energy Independence [PaEN]

-- 6th Oil/Natural Gas Shock: ‘Drillers Continue To Return Cash To Shareholders… Rather Than Boost Production’ [PaEN]

-- Republican State Treasurer Garrity Calls For Biden Administration To Support American Energy Production

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican Opposition To Wolf Regulations On Carbon Pricing, Private Charter Schools Could Shape Coming Months

-- TribLive Guest Essay: PA Communities Should Be Allowed To Choose Clean Energy - PennEnvironment

-- Reuters: Manure Is A ‘Hot Commodity’ Amid U.S. Fertilizer Shortage [PA Included]

-- Leader-Vindicator: Republican Cong. Thompson Introduces Resolution Highlight PA’s Energy Capabilities

-- Business Insider: Republican Cong. Scott Perry Voted Against The Ukraine Invasion War Crimes Deterrence And Accountability Act

-- WITF: 2 PA Republican Members Of Congress Voted Against Bill Bolstering NATO And Supporting The Ukrainian People As They Fight Russian Invaders

-- York Dispatch Editorial: With More Nays, Republican Cong. Scott Perry Fails His District Again

What The World Is Saying

To see beyond what the natural gas industry is saying to their politicians in Harrisburg, PA Environment Digest is again providing these NewsClips during the seventh week of the 6th Oil/Natural Gas Shock--

-- Reuters: Speed Up EU Climate Policies To Wrest Free From Russia, 11 Countries Say

-- Reuters: Asset Owners Managing $10.4 Trillion Urge Governments Not To Let Worries About Fossil Fuel Supplies Impede Transition To Greener Energy

- Reuters: Big Oil To Tell Congress Markets, Not Companies, Set Fuel Prices, Testimony

[“The oil companies will say that labor and supply shortages are preventing a quick return of oil output to pre-pandemic levels, and that prices are determined in the international market.”

[“A survey in March by the]...Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas… [found] half of the big [oil] companies that responded said they didn’t intend to increase output by more than 5% this year despite higher oil prices. Most cited investor pressure as the top reason to limit their growth.]

-- Reuters: U.S. Lawmakers Slam Big Oil For High Gasoline Prices

-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Market’s Delicate Balance Is Crumbling As Nations Struggle To Secure Enough Fuel

[“The unfolding global energy crisis poses higher risks than the oil shocks of the 1970s, according to energy historian Daniel Yergin.”]

-- Reuters: U.S. Trading Industry Sees Natural Gas Price Spikes, Volatility As An Opportunity

-- Reuters: U.S. Shale Gas, LNG Firms Meet European Counties Over Supply Crisis

[“We need to build LNG facilities in the Northeast,” Pioneer Natural Resources]

-- Reuters: U.S. Natural Gas Storage Being Emptied By LNG Exports To Europe, Asia Due To Highest Prices In More Than A Decade

-- Reuters: U.S. Natural Gas Drillers Add 3 Rigs Last Week

-- Bloomberg: U.S. Gasoline Price Shock’s Roots Go Deeper Than Crude’s Surge

-- WSJ: International Energy Agency To Release Close To 60 Million Barrels Of OIl From Reserves

-- Bloomberg: Oil Price Increases After Slumping On Back Of IEA Reserve Release Plan

-- Reuters: Analysis: In Russia-Europe Natural Gas Standoff, Both Sides Lose