Earlier in June, while trying to locate the successor to a longtime employee at Chesapeake Energy on behalf of a client, I asked a friend at another energy company if he knew whom I should contact. “I don’t know,” he...more
On a desolate Himalayan mountainside thousands of feet above sea level, Chinese and Indian troops recently fought a military battle using sticks, clubs and fists. When it was over, the hostilities over a border dispute left...more
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced last week that he has chosen a site along Delaware Bay in Salem County to become what is being called the New Jersey Wind Port, billed as the first port in the nation to be built...more
Norislk spill, Oil spill Russia, Thawing permafrost , Lake pyasino, Pyasina river, Artic oil spill, Fossil fuels, Fossil fuel companies, Renewable energy, Energy attorney, Daniel markind, Gas, pipelines, Shale gas, Marcellus...more
Two United States Senators, Republican Ted Cruz of Texas and Democrat Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, introduced legislation last week that would place sanctions on any company attempting to finish laying the pipe needed to...more
6/11/2020
/ Coal ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Sanctions
Following days of rioting that frightened even those of us who remember the 1960’s, a dazed America wakes up in a very different place than before. Still in the midst of civic unrest and a global pandemic, the country also...more
Approximately 30% of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States have been reported in the New York City metropolitan area, which is located mainly in southeastern New York state and northeastern New Jersey. Last...more
People in the United States who wonder how far pipeline protests can go, and how disruptive they can be, need only look north to Canada. As this article is written, much of the national Canadian rail system has been shut down...more
2/20/2020
/ Canada ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Native American Issues ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Protests ,
Railways ,
Tribal Lands
While the eyes of the world have been on the impeachment of President Trump, Brexit, the coronavirus and the new American peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, the seeds for the next war perhaps are being sown in the...more
2019 was the year in which reality smacked the Marcellus Shale Basin in the face. Long held assumptions about asset valuation and infrastructure development fell apart. By year’s end, some of the most famous names in the...more
The Middle East turned on its axis last week. Thanks in large part to the shale revolution, few Americans heard about it – and most did not care who did.
Originally published on Forbes.com November 5, 2019....more
11/7/2019
/ Energy Sector ,
Foreign Policy ,
Hong Kong ,
Iraq ,
Lebanon ,
Middle East ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Protests ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Shale Gas ,
Syria ,
Turkey
Two of the legal worlds that I straddle – energy and aviation – collided last week in the Mediterranean Sea. The implications for these two disciplines, as well as world security, could be enormous.
Originally published on...more
11/7/2019
/ Cyprus ,
Drones ,
Energy Sector ,
Greece ,
Israel ,
Middle East ,
Natural Gas ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Syria ,
Turkey
Pacific Gas and Electric provided its customers in northern California with a glimpse of the future last week. Due to extremely dry conditions coupled with the prospect of strong winds, and cognizant of last year’s massive...more
11/6/2019
/ Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
CPUC ,
Energy Sector ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PG&E ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wildfires
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) announced this week that it is establishing a microgrid to supply power at the airport, connected to the main electrical power grid in case of emergency but otherwise separate from...more
11/6/2019
/ Airports ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Microgrids ,
National Security ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Panels ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Projects ,
Utilities Sector
By a vote of 17-11, the Oregon State Senate last week just passed a five-year moratorium on fracking in that State. The Senate bill cut in half a 10-year moratorium passed in March by the Oregon House of Representatives, but...more
At 8:30 p.m. yesterday, the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation rejected Williams Corporation’s proposal for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline. Citing potential water...more
While little noticed outside of the energy industry, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is about to make one of the seminal decisions of his tenure. Before May 16, 2019, Governor Cuomo must decide whether to allow the New York...more
5/1/2019
/ Certifications ,
Department of Environmental Conservation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Fracking ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines
Residents of the Siberian town of Pervouralsk have been horrified by a sight they never expected – green colored snow. Vladimir Putin’s Russia, in the same way as the Communist Soviet Union, industrializes with little regard...more
3/11/2019
/ Canada ,
Eminent Domain ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Hydropower ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Offshore Wind ,
Oil & Gas ,
Private Property ,
Russia
To nobody’s surprise, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf began his second term by calling for a mineral extraction tax to be layered upon the State’s local impact fee. Of course, the Governor never mentioned the impact fee in...more
2/11/2019
/ Economic Downturn ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Wolf ,
Impact Fees ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
State Taxes
Last week, New York City area utility Consolidated Edison notified regulators that, as of March 15, it would accept no new natural gas customers in Westchester County due to supply shortages. It is possible that cutoffs in...more
1/23/2019
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Gas Prices ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Political Parties ,
Renewable Energy ,
Shale Gas ,
Venezuela
2018 began with the United States producing immense amounts of oil and natural gas; pipeline companies struggling to build out the national pipeline system but not being transparent about how they are doing it; Europe, led by...more
12/28/2018
/ Coal ,
Energy Costs ,
EU ,
Explosions ,
FERC ,
Gas Royalties ,
Germany ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Wolf ,
Land Owners ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Political Parties ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Severance Tax ,
Solar Energy ,
State Legislatures ,
Transparency ,
Wind Power ,
WV Supreme Court
Pipeline issues continue to dominate the natural gas news. Last week, the pipeline industry got some good news, some bad news, and some news potentially so devastating it could threaten the entire industry....more
12/18/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Eminent Domain ,
Environmental Violations ,
Explosions ,
False Reporting ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Permits ,
PG&E ,
Pipelines ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Public Safety ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Safety Violations ,
Wildfires
The simmering dispute over waterway rights between Ukraine and Russia broke into armed conflict this week. Its implications are enormous both for the energy world as a whole and especially for us in the Marcellus Shale...more
11/29/2018
/ Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Inland Waterways ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Military Conflict ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ports ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine ,
Water Rights
On Black Friday, the Trump Administration released Volume II of the National Climate Assessment. Running 1,600 pages, the report is the second volume of the fourth National Climate Assessment, which was mandated by Congress...more
The tortured story of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline construction may be coming to an end. If so, it will end the way it began, mired in controversy and inconsistent with what had been proposed and promised by the developers....more
11/19/2018
/ Amazon ,
Construction Project ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Gas Prices ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Political Candidates ,
Shale Gas ,
State and Local Government ,
State Regulators ,
Water Quality