Nat Gas News – October 19, 2017

Nat Gas News – October 19, 2017

Natural Gas Production Tax Gets Life in Pennsylvania House

Lancaster Online reported: HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The potential for a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production gained new life Wednesday, as a bill emerged from a state House committee and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf urged leaders of the Republican- controlled chamber to speed it to a floor vote. Wolf, who has long sought the tax, called the proposal “fair and commonsense.” Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 gas state thanks to the prolific Marcellus Shale, is the only major natural gas producer that does not tax production. Wolf and other supporters of the tax say it is a fair way to help stitch up Pennsylvania’s deficit-riddled finances amid a four-month budget standoff. The House bill imposes a volume tax that rises with the price of natural gas from 2 cents per thousand cubic feet to 3.5 cents per thousand cubic feet.

Senate Bill Would Fast-Track ‘Small-Scale’ Natural Gas Exports

The Hill reported: Under the bill, applications to export up to 51.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to nearly any country would get Energy Department approval “without modification or delay.” Currently, all natural gas exports from the contiguous United States must be extensively reviewed and certified by the Energy Department as being in the “public interest” before they can proceed. “This bill promotes the growth of American natural gas, creating well-paying jobs with good benefits for hardworking families in Louisiana,” Bill Cassidy said in a statement. “Expedited approval of small-scale natural gas exports would strengthen an emerging sector of Florida’s economy,” said Rubio. The legislation mirrors a regulation the Energy Department proposed in September that would similarly expedite approvals for small-scale exports. Gas demand is growing rapidly in the Caribbean and Latin America, and Republicans and the Trump administration see an opportunity for the United States to take advantage of it.