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15 Biggest Natural Gas Pipeline Companies in the World

Here’s a question: What are the 15 biggest (by company revenue) natural gas-owning pipeline companies in the world? The U.S. has the biggest natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the world, covering a distance of 333,000 kilometers (206,917 miles). Even so, only one U.S.-based company is in the top 5 biggest pipeline companies. Can you guess which country takes the top 2 spots on the list?
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Revolution Processing Plant Xmas Explosion Caused by Leaky Valve

Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline cryogenic plant (click for larger version)

Residents living in the vicinity of Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline cryogenic plant in Bulger (Washington County), PA, got a surprise “present” on Christmas morning. Around 7:30 am, residents report hearing an explosion, followed by a fire, at the plant used to separate NGLs (natural gas liquids, including ethane, propane, and butane) from the raw gas stream that flows through the Revolution gathering pipeline (see ET Revolution Cryogenic Processing Plant Explodes in PA on Xmas). We told you earlier this week the plant has resumed “partial operations” (see Revolution Cryogenic Plant Partially Restarts Following Explosion). While an investigation into the matter is still ongoing, a preliminary report says the explosion occurred when a defective valve released a vapor cloud of natural gas liquids from one section of the plant and ignited.
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Revolution Cryogenic Plant Partially Restarts Following Explosion

Residents living in the vicinity of Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline cryogenic plant in Bulger (Washington County), PA, got a nasty “present” on Christmas morning. Around 7:30 am, residents report hearing an explosion, followed by a fire, at the plant used to separate NGLs (natural gas liquids, including ethane, propane, and butane) from the raw gas stream that flows through the Revolution gathering pipeline (see ET Revolution Cryogenic Processing Plant Explodes in PA on Xmas). The good news is that the plant has resumed “partial operations.”
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ET Revolution Cryogenic Processing Plant Explodes in PA on Xmas

Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline cryogenic plant (click for larger version)

Residents living in the vicinity of Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline cryogenic plant in Bulger (Washington County), PA, got a nasty “present” on Christmas morning. Around 7:30 am, residents report hearing an explosion, followed by a fire, at the plant used to separate NGLs (natural gas liquids, including ethane, propane, and butane) from the raw gas stream that flows through the Revolution gathering pipeline. The explosion and ensuing fire drove at least one family out of their house for hours while firefighters stood by, waiting for the gas feeding the blaze to burn itself out.
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Cambria Landowners Sue ME Pipe for Allegedly Polluting Water Well

Pipeline lawsuit photo of sewage in the home (click for larger version)

Husband and wife Ronald and Jane Shawley, who live in Cambria County, PA, filed a lawsuit against the Mariner East 2 pipeline last week, alleging the pipeline has made their home “nearly uninhabitable.” The Shawleys say work done to install the pipeline fouled their water well and collapsed their septic system causing raw sewage to flow into their kitchen sink. According to the lawsuit, the Shawleys are seeking over $150,000 in damages and are demanding that the case be brought before a jury.
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Shapiro Announces Water Testing for Homes Affected by ME Pipeline

In August, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (a confirmed shale energy hater who becomes Governor on Jan. 1), announced that he had finally bullied Energy Transfer into pleading “no contest” (meaning they don’t admit to a darned thing) in a so-called criminal case against the company for a series of accidents affecting construction for both the Revolution and Mariner East pipelines (see ET Pleads No Contest to “Crimes” for ME, Revolution Pipelines). Part of the plea deal includes ET funding a program to test water supplies for those who claim their well water was damaged by the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline. On Friday, Shapiro announced the water-testing program has finally launched.
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FERC Approves Startup of ET Pipe Connecting M-U Gas to Gulf Coast

Gulf Run Pipeline map (click for larger version)

Gulf Run Transmission LLC received the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) stamp of approval on Wednesday to place the Gulf Run Pipeline into service delivering domestically produced natural gas from the Marcellus/Utica and several other shale plays to Gulf Coast and international markets. The newly constructed 135-mile, 42-inch natural gas pipeline in Louisiana has a capacity of 1.65 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day).
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PA PUC Cuts $48K Refund Check for Mariner East Pipeline Penalty

In March, MDN told you that the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a ruling against the now completed Mariner East 2 pipeline project, assessing a $51,000 fine on the project for work done near an apartment complex (see PA PUC Judge Fines Mariner East Pipe $51K for Work Near Apt Bldg). In June, the full PUC voted to accept and enforce the $51,000 fine recommended by the PUC judge (see PA PUC Upholds ME Pipe Fine of $51K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). Two months later (in August), the PUC voted to reverse its own decision, lowering the fine from $51,000 to $3,000 (see PA PUC Reduces ME Pipe Fine to $3K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). However, that wasn’t the end of the story…
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ET CEO Says Biden Energy Policy Like “Saturday Night Live” Skit

On Tuesday, the co-CEO of Energy Transfer, Marshall McCrea, went on an extended rant during the company’s quarterly update about Joe Biden’s energy policies and the Bidenistas in federal agencies who are attacking the fossil fuel industry. McCrea compared Biden’s policies to a sitcom, like a Saturday Night Live skit. McCrea said, “I mean, my goodness, if this doesn’t seem like a sitcom or Saturday Night Live skit, it’d be funny if it wasn’t so tragically sad. I guess we’re kind of tired of being attacked in the fossil-fuel business.” His comments triggered something. We think we know the genesis of McCrea’s comments comparing Biden to an SNL skit. Last weekend, just before Halloween, SNL ran a faux Halloween movie trailer about Biden running in 2024. It is *hysterically* funny. The skit skewers not only Biden, but other potential 2024 candidates, including Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, and (yes) even Hillary Clinton! You know when the left turns on itself and uses humor to destroy its own candidates, it’s all over and done.
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PA PUC Reduces ME Pipe Fine to $3K for Work Near Apartment Bldg

In March, MDN told you that the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a ruling against the now completed Mariner East 2 pipeline project, assessing a $51,000 fine on the project for work done near an apartment complex (see PA PUC Judge Fines Mariner East Pipe $51K for Work Near Apt Bldg). In June, the full PUC voted to accept and enforce the $51,000 fine recommended by the PUC judge (see PA PUC Upholds ME Pipe Fine of $51K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). And now, two months later, the PUC has voted to reverse its own decision, lowering the fine from $51,000 to $3,000. Why? What changed?
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Shell Cuts Deal to Buy LNG from La. Facility it Previously Dumped

Talk about irony! Scared of the potential impacts of the coronavirus and with the price of oil crashing in March 2020 (just as COVID was getting started), Royal Dutch Shell pulled out of a 50/50 joint venture partnership with Energy Transfer (ET) to build a new LNG export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana (see Shell Pulls Out of Lake Charles LNG Project, Energy Transfer Stays). In an announcement issued yesterday, ET said it had cut a deal with its old partner to sell them 2.1 million tonnes (MT) of LNG per year from the Lake Charles facility when the facility gets up and running in 2026. Shell must be kicking itself…
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Fed Judge Certifies Class Action Investor Lawsuit Against ME2 Pipe

In January 2020, the retirement systems for public employees of various municipalities, including the Allegheny County (PA) Employees’ Retirement System, filed a lawsuit against Energy Transfer and subsidiary Sunoco Logistics alleging top management made false and misleading statements about the construction of three Mariner East 2 and the Revolution natural gas pipeline projects in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit alleges because of those statements, the share price of their stock fell, and investors lost a boatload of money. In April 2021, the lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss by Energy Transfer (see Fed Judge Allows Investor Lawsuit Against ME2 Pipeline to Advance). Yesterday the same federal judge who allowed the case to continue in 2021 certified the case to be converted into a class action. Let the (legal) sharks begin to feed…
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ET Pleads No Contest to “Crimes” for ME, Revolution Pipelines

Loathsome and disgusting shale energy hater Josh Shapiro, Attorney General for Pennsylvania (running for governor), announced on Friday that he finally bullied Energy Transfer into pleading “no contest” (meaning they don’t admit to a darned thing) in a so-called criminal case against the company for a series of accidents affecting construction for both the Revolution and Mariner East pipelines. Shapiro brought the case–a case that converts accidents into crimes–in order to burnish his credibility with the wacko left in his own party. Now he has a “victory” to run on–and everyone in Pennsylvania is the poorer because of it.
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Mariner East & Marcus Hook Hit Record High M-U NGL Exports in 2Q

Earlier this week, Energy Transfer (ET), the builder of the mighty Mariner East pipelines and owner/expander of the Marcus Hook refinery, issued its second quarter update. The company had plenty of positive news to report, including net income of $1.33 billion, a $700 million increase from the same period last year. In July, the company hit a new record high for the amount of NGLs flowing through the Mariner East pipeline system. It has also found a way to squeeze another roughly 10,000 barrels per day of NGL exports out of Marcus Hook.
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ET Makes Significant Progress Cleaning Up Marsh Creek Lake

While drilling in Chester County in August 2020 in the Marsh Creek State Park area, Energy Transfer’s (ET) Mariner East 2X pipeline experienced an “inadvertent return”–nontoxic drilling mud coming up out of the ground where it’s not supposed to (see Mariner East 2X Construction Causes Another Drilling Mud Spill). In this case, an estimated 8,100 gallons of non-toxic drilling mud came up in a small section of the 535-acre Marsh Creek Lake. It was a costly episode for ET. In December, the state announced a gun-to-the-head “agreement” with ET that forced ET to pay a $4 million fine and spend another $4 million (or more) to dredge and fix the area, with an extra $341,000 in civil penalties for permit violations as the cherry on top (see PA Charges Mariner East Pipeline $8M+ to Fix Marsh Creek Lake). ET is making excellent progress on cleaning up Marsh Creek Lake.
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PA PUC Upholds ME Pipe Fine of $51K for Work Near Apartment Bldg

In March MDN told you that the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a ruling against the now completed Mariner East 2 pipeline project, assessing a $51,000 fine on the project (see PA PUC Judge Fines Mariner East Pipe $51K for Work Near Apt Bldg). This latest parting shot at the now-completed NGL pipeline project was levied for being too loud and not doing enough to communicate with residents of an apartment complex near where the pipeline was doing construction work in Delaware County. Yesterday the full PUC voted to accept and enforce the $51,000 fine recommended by the PUC judge.
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