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FERC Approves Transco Southeastern Trail Expansion Pipe Project

In April 2018 Williams filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand capacity along the mighty Transco Pipeline to increase the amount of gas the pipeline can flow to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S by 296,375 dekatherms (296 million cubic feet) per day (see Williams Seeks OK to Expand Transco to Move Marcellus Gas South). The Southeastern Trail expansion project (SET), as it’s called, was given final approval by FERC yesterday.
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PA DEP Seeks Comment on Draft Radiation Monitoring Regs for Shale

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has drafted up new “technical guidance” on “radioactivity monitoring at solid waste processing and disposal facilities” specifically targeted at the shale industry. Translation: new regulations for how dumps (and drillers) monitor and report on radioactivity levels from incoming loads of drill cuttings. The DEP has posted their proposed new guidance document for public comment, after which they will adopt the new regs.
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Leidy South Compressors Generate $100M Economic Impact, 680 Jobs

Did you know that building just two new compressor stations in Pennsylvania will bring the state an extra $100 million in economic activity and support 680 direct, indirect and induced jobs? We sure didn’t! Last week Williams filed a newly published study with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the economic impact of their proposed Leidy South Expansion Project (full study embedded below). The study makes an irrefutable case for building the new compressor stations in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.
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Philly Pipe Protesters Go to Harrisburg, Picket Gov’s Empty Office

Credit: WITF Harrisburg (click for larger version)

A small group of southeast Pennsylvania pipeline protesters drove themselves to Harrisburg on Wednesday (using fossil fuels to get there) to demand Gov. Tom Wolf put a halt to construction of the legally-permitted Mariner East 2 pipeline, and essentially shut down the operation of the entire Mariner East network (ME1, ME2 and ME2X). Gov. Wolf wasn’t even in his office, so they were picketing and protesting for nothing. Oh well, the wackos get an “A” for effort, right?
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NY Public Service Commission Admits Downstate is Short on NatGas

If this doesn’t beat all. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused to allow a new pipeline to get built, so National Grid, the gas utility for all of Long Island and part of New York City, had to ban new customer hook-ups. Cuomo blamed National Grid and got the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to issue an edict forcing National Grid to add more than 1,000 new customers (see NY Police State: Cuomo Orders Natl Grid to Hook Up Gas Customers). And now that same PSC that is Cuomo’s bludgeon is admitting, publicly, that yes, there really is a natural gas shortage in National Grid’s territory–and it’s Albany’s fault, NOT National Grid’s fault.
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NY Spends $5M on Grants to Figure Out Ways to Use Less NatGas

New York State used 1.26 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas in 2017 (the latest data available). It was the sixth highest usage by states in the U.S. NY itself has an enormous amount of natural gas sitting beneath it that current Governor, Andrew Cuomo, refuses to allow drillers to tap. NY sits next to the biggest and best shale producing states in the country: Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia together produce over 40% of all the natural gas produced in the entire country!
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Ignored Pipe Caused Philadelphia Refinery Explosion

In June there was a series of explosions and a massive fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Refining Complex, the East Coast’s oldest and largest oil refinery (see Massive Explosion, Fire at Philadelphia Refinery). It took fire fighters a full day to extinguish the blaze. The refinery had already been through bankruptcy once. The fire caused it to close down and layoff over 1,000 workers (see Philly Refinery to Close Following Massive Fire – 1,020 Jobs Lost). We now have a good idea of what caused the initial problem: An elbow pipe that had not been inspected in almost 45 years had become paper-thin.
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Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Oct 18, 2019

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Maryland issues draft greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: DTE Energy pays $2.5 billion for M5 Midstream; NATIONAL: All Electric? (video); Republic Services expands natural gas-powered fleet; INTERNATIONAL: Pieridae Energy closes acquisition of Shell’s Alberta assets.
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