Hurricane Florence is on everyone’s lips–as well it should be. We have close friends who live near Florence, SC–about 70 miles inland from Myrtle Beach. We toured the devastation of Hurricane Hugo on Myrtle back in 1989. It was massively destructive. Hurricane Florence is also a Category 4, as was Hugo, and may even turn into a Cat 5. It looks like Florence will come ashore much closer to Myrtle Beach than Hugo did, which came ashore around Charleston. MDN friend and contributor Chris Acker owns a place in Savannah, GA–also within the danger zone. Say a prayer for the folks along the coast of NC, SC, GA and VA. While we’re deeply concerned with the devastation that’s sure to come along the coast (and our friends in SC and GA), our minds go to the question, “Where does this storm go next, after it makes landfall?” The folks at Platts Analytics say the path may take it into the Marcellus/Utica region. Comparing this storm and its track to Hurricane Matthew (from 2016), Matthew caused a 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) decrease in production from the Marcellus region for three weeks while the industry recovered from the effects of that storm. And Matthew was only a Cat 1! If the leftovers of Florence visit our region, production and pipeline construction will likely take a hit. Energy Transfer’s repair of the Revolution Pipeline that exploded on Monday due to a landslide caused by heavy rains may take longer than expected. And who knows about Williams’ forthcoming startup of Atlantic Sunrise, due to go online Sept. 17. This hurricane is dicey folks. Buckle up for a bumpy ride, and pray that the remnants of Florence leave us alone…
