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Andrew “Don Corleone” Cuomo Extorts National Grid, Wins Pipe Battle

Sometimes the bad guy wins. That’s life. It’s just happened in New York State. National Grid has caved–bowing to the extortion demands of an autocratic governor (Cuomo) in order to stay in business. New York’s system of justice is now fully, completely, 100% corrupted by Cuomo. A very sad day here in New York. Cuomo has claimed victory over National Grid and any other utility that would dare to challenge his autocratic, dictatorial authority in the state by getting National Grid to not only give up its demand for a new pipeline (Northeast Supply Enhancement, NESE) to provide natural gas supplies, but to actually pay a $36 million fine (i.e. bribe) in order to stay in business. Democracy is gone. Hello tyranny.
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Fed Judge: Northeast Natural Energy Owes $7.9M to PA Landowners

Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) is a small-to-midsized driller headquartered in Morgantown, WV. It’s a young company, drilling its first shale well in 2013. In April 2017 MDN reported that NNE had obtained $300 million of investment from two investment firms (see WV Driller Northeast Natural Energy Gets $300M Investment). NNE currently owns 49,000 acres of leases “in the heart of the Marcellus Fairway,” operating 27 Marcellus wells and over 100 conventional oil and gas wells, mainly in West Virginia with some located in southwestern Pennsylvania.
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South Korea Buys 50% Stake in M-U’s UTOPIA Ethane Pipeline

UTOPIA route (click for larger version)

In January 2016, Kinder Morgan committed to building the UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) pipeline, a 12-inch ethane pipeline that would run 286 miles across the state of Ohio where it would connect with another pipeline to flow Marcellus/Utica ethane all the way to a cracker plant in Canada (see Kinder Morgan Ready to Move Forward with UTOPIA East Pipeline). In January 2018 UTOPIA went online (see UTOPIA has Arrived! KM OH Pipe Flowing Ethane to Canadian Cracker). Kinder’s 50% joint venture partner in UTOPIA, Riverstone Holdings, announced yesterday it has sold its interest to a consortium of South Korean companies.
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Tallgrass Energy Founder/CEO/Chairman David Dehaemers Retires

David G. Dehaemers Jr.

Tallgrass Energy, founded in 2012, owns and operates more than 8,300 miles of natural gas pipelines, more than 800 miles of crude pipelines, and more than 300 miles of water pipelines across a broad portion of the U.S. Tallgrass is the owner/operator of the Rockies Express (REX) natgas pipeline that carries Marcellus/Utica gas to Midwest markets including the Chicago area. The founder of Tallgrass, David G. Dehaemers Jr. (still a relatively young man) is “retiring” and “stepping down as CEO” effective immediately. What happened?
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Report Says NC Gov Used Quid Pro Quo to Approve Atlantic Coast Pipe

A year ago North Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly launched an investigation into a permit issued by Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to allow the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project to get built (see NC Republicans Hounding Dem Gov for Approving Atlantic Coast Pipe). We said at the time this situation has made for some strange bedfellows–with rabid Democrat anti-fossil fuelers supporting the Republican investigation. That investigation recently concluded and a report was issued claiming Cooper and his administration are guilty of nefarious dealings in issuing the permit.
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NY AG’s Prosecution of ExxonMobil Falls Apart – Case Dismissed?

New York’s Attorney General has viciously gone after ExxonMobil in state court hoping to prove the company knew, for years, that burning its oil and gas would lead to so-called man-made global warming and eventually kill the planet. And, says the AG, Exxon covered it up from investors because someday their stock will be worthless when everyone finds out, and they don’t want investors to know about it just yet. The AG is trying to prove the company has engaged in securities fraud–and that case is collapsing, near to having all charges dismissed.
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Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Nov 26, 2019

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Bulk of Cricket Valley protesters plead not guilty; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Commonwealth LNG, Gunvor ink LNG marketing and supply deal; Federal government will give HART $4.3 million to buy new natural gas buses; NATIONAL: Supreme Court: Penn State climate change scientist’s lawsuit against National Review can continue; Luxury beliefs of the leisure class are at the heart of fractivism; Long-term LNG export contracts lift baseload-level demand for U.S. gas; INTERNATIONAL: ONGC ends Indian shale exploration, winds up grand project mid-way; How Russia-China gas pipeline changes energy calculus.
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