PIOGA’s March 23 conference, held at the Rivers Casino, proved again that what we believe we know is taking place in the oil and gas industry is always less than the what is occurring in real time, and is always changing. The conference offered attendees updates and facts about important issues emerging in Pennsylvania and beyond.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will host five more town halls across the commonwealth this month to hear from environmental justice communities about efforts to combat climate change.

House Republicans passed legislation Thursday that would increase oil drilling and mining on public lands and waters, defying President Biden’s climate agenda and fulfilling a campaign promise to focus on lowering gasoline prices ahead of the 2024 election.

President Biden on Monday vetoed his first bill — blocking a Republican-led effort to restrict pension funds from making investment decisions based on factors such as climate change.

Taking a broader look at the intersection of several forces shaping energy development choices in underserved nations, including a lack of financing being driven by a reluctance to support needed electric generation facilities in those countries. Geopolitical factors, the most prominent being Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are also at the heart of some decisions being made by countries dealing with energy poverty or the need for additional generating capacity.

PIOGA released its formal response to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PADEP) 2021 Oil and Gas Annual Report and HB 2644 Lapsing Statement Report, issued December 29, 2022, which purport to provide an accurate snapshot of the conventional industry’s recent operations.

In January 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued two reports that include statistics and information about the oil and gas industry between 2017 and 2021, which purport to provide a snapshot of the industry. The 2021 Oil and Gas Annual Report and the report generated in response to Governor Wolf’s lapsing statement for House Bill 2644 (Act 96 of 2022) (Recommendation Report), however, fail to provide a complete or accurate picture of the industry, in part because they do not explain the realities behind the numbers or include descriptions of the good work of the conventional oil and gas industry to address environmental issues collaboratively.

Range Resources Corp. touted a long-term monitoring of air around a Cecil Township well pad that it said showed no elevated concentration of pollution in the area. Range said the findings showed that the 24-hour concentrations of PM2.5, a pollutant, were under the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

The drumbeat of ill-advised efforts by governments at different levels to take away consumers’ rights to choose energy sources is continuing, with the most recent count being about 80 local governments – most in California – passing ordinances that require or urge property owners to use electric rather than natural gas appliances, with a primary focus on new construction or renovations.

The powerful senators will roll out the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, which would bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission from using federal funding to ban new or existing gas stoves.