Natural gas prices are spiking again. They hit $7.30/MMBtu on April 14th, the last day of trading last week (because of Good Friday). Rig counts are at 693, up 30 from last month, and still part of a long, gradual climb. The last storage report was from April 8, and showed 1,397 Bcf in storage. That’s well below the five year average, but still not below the five year low.

Mountain Valley Pipeline is appealing a 4th Circuit Court decision.

LNG from the U.S. will not immediately replace natural gas flowing through pipelines from Russia to Europe. The sheer quantity of natural gas that the pipelines supply can’t be matched by the number of cargo ships available. Kind of like wind and solar trying to match domestic natural gas electrical generation. There are other reasons listed in the linked article, too.

Looks like the legislature fixed the mineral rights property tax issue that they created last year.

A pipeline in Michigan exploded. Thankfully there were no injuries or deaths. Natural gas is a great source of energy, but you have to think twice before allowing a large pipeline to be installed near you.

When you’re negotiating with a pipeline company, keep the following in mind. Mountain Valley Pipeline wanted to pay about $150,000 for some property, and a jury awarded the landowner over $500,000 for it in the eminent domain proceeding.

RBNEnergy analyzes whether the U.S. could supply Europe with enough LNG to replace all the gas Russia supplies Europe with.

Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes have stopped work in Russia. This is big. Oil and natural gas production relies on service providers, and these are the service providers. oil and natural gas production is going to slow way down in Russia.

West Virginia has submitted an official proposal for a $2 billion hydrogen hub. Those are big numbers. This would be very good for West Virginia’s economy.

The percentage of U.S. LNG going to Europe has increased from 30% to 70% in the last couple months. We’re not producing more, just sending more of what we produce to Europe. That does hint at an increased demand, at least until the war in Ukraine is over.

It might seem like a small change, but FERC has decided that analyzing the environmental impacts of a pipeline will only be done for future projects. In other words, that analysis won’t apply to the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

If you’re wondering why oil and natural gas producers aren’t producing more in response to high prices, Forbes has an analysis for you.

Did you know that EQT’s stock was considered to be “junk”? I didn’t, but they just got upgraded from BBB- to BBB, which takes them out of junk stock territory.

The Biden administration has announced the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for 180 days. The announcement anticipates a ramp up of domestic production by the end of the year.

The US Transportation Department has adopted a new rule requiring automatic shut off valves for all new pipelines.

Work on an intermodal port in the northern panhandle of West Virginia continues. It could eventually be a benefit to the oil and gas industry.

Shelley Moore Capito is getting in on some of Joe Manchin’s action, pushing for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to be completed.

An analysis of natural gas prices through the summer and into the fall. The company behind the article owns Antero stock and suggests buying it, so they’ve got an axe to grind, but the analysis seems reasonable.

Libya can supply Europe with natural gas. Libya needs to be more stable. Maybe now that Europe needs Libyan gas, we’ll see outside intervention? Could war in one part of the world lead to peace in another?

Years ago, the UK banned fracking. Now that they’re not taking gas from Russia, they’re taking another look at fracking.

RBNEnergy published a quick but thorough look at why natural gas prices are so high.

China cut back on its purchases of LNG. This may help lower the cost of natural gas.

Here’s a good overview of the Marcellus/Utica gas play in relation to other natural gas plays.

So EQT is getting into the rare earth minerals business? Hmm. It’s not April 1st, so this must be real, but it’s not a clear logical business move.