Just north of Philadelphia International Airport and south of the Philadelphia sports Stadium complex lies the Port of Philadelphia, one of the largest freshwater ports in the world. So strategically located is the Port of...more
Two new developments of enormous significance passed under the radar last week, buried by the growing threat of an outright Russia/Ukraine war and governmental encroachment on democracy in Canada. These developments, however,...more
3/14/2022
/ China ,
Climate Change ,
Coal ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NATO ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Shale Gas ,
Ukraine
Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, February 23, President Biden reinstated the sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that he had waived only last year. Depending on what side of the political divide you...more
3/14/2022
/ China ,
Climate Change ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Joe Biden ,
Marcellus Shale ,
NATO ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
When Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine to go conquer that democracy, all of the abstract concepts about energy ended. While not quite a Pearl Harbor moment in terms of instantaneous ideological shift, Putin's...more
3/14/2022
/ Bad Actors ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
Last week, President Joe Biden warned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that a Russian invasion of Ukraine might be imminent. While Zelensky does not seem to share that assessment, full scale war in Eastern Europe seems...more
1/31/2022
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Marcellus Shale ,
NATO ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pennsylvania ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
During a press briefing on Friday afternoon, State Department spokesman Ned Price abruptly changed the subject from the disastrous pullout in Afghanistan to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
A Russian ship, the Ostap Sheremeta,...more
8/30/2021
/ Afghanistan ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Germany ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On Wednesday, June 29, the United States Supreme Court handed down one of its most important decisions in years. In the case of PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. New Jersey, et al., by a narrow 5-4 margin, the Court affirmed...more
For nearly a month, Enbridge, Inc., a Canadian oil and gas pipeline company, has been operating its Line 5 pipeline in defiance of an order from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to shut down Line 5’s operations effective...more
May 26, 2021 was the day the energy world changed.
On the same day that a Dutch court in The Hague ruled that Royal Dutch Shell could be held liable for climate change and ordered it to reduce its greenhouse gas...more
The drive to litigate public policy over climate change took some hits the last two weeks in the United States Supreme Court. First, last Monday in the case of Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP P. L. C. et al.,...more
5/26/2021
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Oil & Gas ,
Public Policy ,
SCOTUS
The dispute over the controversial oil and gas pipeline known as “Nord Stream 2” ended on Wednesday when the United States Department of State announced that the Biden administration was waiving sanctions against the...more
On Wednesday, April 28, a major component of the legal battle in the fight over interstate oil and gas pipelines will reach a climax. In Washington, D.C., the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case...more
Last week, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal dispute that has stymied completion of the proposed $1 Billion PennEast Pipeline from the Marcellus Shale gas fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania to Central...more
On February 3, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier proclaimed that Germany had exceeded its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to 1990 levels. Despite clearly being aided by the deep economic slump...more
2/11/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Germany ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia
President Biden’s first move on energy internationally likely will be one of his most unfortunate actions - rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Unfortunately, he will have no choice, since he has consistently pledged to do...more
1/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Green Deal ,
International Relations ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Paris Agreement ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Turkey ,
Venezuela
When President Biden takes office on January 20, among the many other obstacles, issues and problems that he will need to deal with is an impending polar vortex that meteorologists now predict will descend upon the United...more
1/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Domestic Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Policy ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Infrastructure ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Natural Disasters ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Polar Vortex ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia
...The absurdity of the current United States pipeline permitting process was on full display last week in two nearby states in the Upper Midwest.
On Thursday, Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline company, received notice from...more
...With the eyes of the nation still focused on the election results, and with ballots still being counted in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, few Americans were thinking about FERC, the Federal...more
...Every two years at election time, I publish a guide to the most interesting and important races around the country affecting energy. In 2020, however, energy, along with the coronavirus, is the election.
Originally...more
...Just one week before the 2020 Presidential election, two topics are dominating the conversation - the coronavirus and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking.” The reason for the coronavirus is obvious, but many...more
For generations, the area around the eastern Mediterranean Sea has been filled with turmoil. From the Arab-Israeli conflict to the divided island of Cyprus and the general animus between Greece and Turkey, the region’s...more
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
During all of Donald Trump’s presidency, he has been accused of maintaining secret ties to Russia. That charge only increased following recent reports that Russia had offered the Taliban cash to kill American soldiers in...more
6/29/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Governor Cuomo ,
India ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Vladimir Putin
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
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