This report is out late this month. We were on vacation on the 15th, and it has taken some time to get around to this item on the to-do list after getting back. My apologies for it being so late.

These numbers are taken from the 15th of November. Natural gas prices are $6.03/MMBtu. They hit a low of $4.96 and a high of $6.94 in the last month. Gas storage is at 3.6 Tcf, up a bit from last month. Next month the numbers should be going down. Drilling rigs are at 779, up 10 from last month.

Here’s a pretty bare-bones prediction of natural gas supply and demand forces for the upcoming winter. This prediction does not include a price prediction, so it’s actually worth looking at.

The WVU Energy Institute is excited about, or at least is doing research into, hydrogen. Seems like everybody is interested in hydrogen as an energy storage solution these days. Of note in this article is a mention that the carbon from burning natural gas to create hydrogen would be easily (well, more efficiently) stored in depleted natural gas formations. I’ve wondered why burning natural gas to create hydrogen would be efficient. This helps me understand that better. A large energy plant is always more efficient than many small generators, and you could plausibly save enough on that fact alone to make capturing the carbon at that one location and sequestering it financially viable.

Joe Manchin is now the third least popular U.S. Senator, according to a Morning Consult poll. He was pretty popular before his disastrous handling of the MVP/IRA deal.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has cancelled eminent domain proceedings for a portion of the pipeline called the Southgate Extension. It’s unclear exactly why, and this portion of the pipeline is not needed to complete the pipeline, so the ramifications of this decision remain unclear.

One reason that manufacturers are making the decision to locate in West Virginia is that we have energy here. To be honest, I hadn’t heard that manufacturer’s were moving to West Virginia in droves, but the article makes some good points as to why it would be smart, and financially beneficial, to do so.

Lithium is necessary for batteries (using current technology) and rather rare. Most of our supply comes from overseas. There are quite a number of lithium production projects planned for the next few years, though.

A federal judge is questioning whether West Virginia’s DEP created regulations that meet the standards sent down by previous rulings.

Just in case you were wondering, here’s an article about why there’s a diesel shortage right now. Side note, gas prices are complex, and this article addresses only one of the factors that can determine the price of gas.

The increase in the cost of natural gas led to natural gas being used less for generating electricity. The usual replacement for natural gas is coal.

The Inflation Reduction Act is likely to increase demand for hydrogen and reduce the demand for natural gas.

Here’s a Bloomberg Energy post about the souring relationship between oil companies and the Biden Administration.

Senator Manchin is throwing his weight around again. This time he is refusing to have a hearing to re-approve the FERC’s Chairman, Rich Glick. Glick is anti-natural gas and pipelines, and is an odd person to have in charge of the FERC, and Manchin has been working to get the Mountain Valley Pipeline built, so it makes sense that Manchin would be hesitant to hold a confirmation hearing for him.

The Saudis are saying they’ll “be cautious” with oil production. OPEC meets December 4, and this statement hints that they will not increase oil production.

West Virginia has collected a lot more severance tax this year. A lot more. Sure do hope the State invests that money rather than just spend it.