| | | | |

Energy Transfer to Acquire Crestwood Equity in $7.1B Mega-Deal

Some really big news hit yesterday. U.S. pipeline giant Energy Transfer (ET), builder of the Rover and Mariner East pipeline systems here in the Marcellus/Utica, is buying out and merging in Crestwood Equity Partners, a major pipeline company with operations in the Permian, Bakken, and Powder River Basin. ET will acquire Crestwood in an all-equity (stock-only) transaction valued at approximately $7.1 billion, including the assumption of $3.3 billion of debt. Once upon a time, Crestwood owned major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region, but as of last year, the company exited the M-U. The addition of Crestwood adds 1.4 Bcf/d of gas gathering capacity and 340,000 b/d of oil gathering capacity to ET’s existing portfolio.
Read More “Energy Transfer to Acquire Crestwood Equity in $7.1B Mega-Deal”

| | | | | | | | | | |

Antero Buying Crestwood’s WV Marcellus Gathering Pipeline System

Yesterday both Antero Midstream (the pipeline subsidiary of Antero Resources), and Crestwood Equity Partners announced a deal to sell Crestwood’s remaining Marcellus assets to Antero for $205 million. The assets include 72 miles of dry gas gathering pipelines and nine compressor stations with approximately 700 MMcf/d of compression capacity located in Doddridge County and Harrison County in West Virginia.
Read More “Antero Buying Crestwood’s WV Marcellus Gathering Pipeline System”

| | | | |

Crestwood/Con Ed Sell Stagecoach Gas to Kinder Morgan for $1.2B

Crestwood Equity Partners and Consolidated Edison, Inc. (Con Edison) yesterday announced they are selling their 50/50 joint venture in Stagecoach Gas Services to pipeline giant Kinder Morgan for $1.225 billion in cash. Stagecoach consists of four natural gas storage facilities and 185 miles of natural gas pipelines located in the Marcellus/Utica with multiple interconnects to major interstate natural gas pipelines, including Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary.
Read More “Crestwood/Con Ed Sell Stagecoach Gas to Kinder Morgan for $1.2B”

|

Crestwood Says Sale of Stagecoach JV Coming Soon – 1Q21 Update

Stagecoach assets (click for larger version)

In 2016 Crestwood Equity Partners formed a joint venture with New York City’s largest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., to operate a critical link of pipelines and storage facilities in the heart of the Marcellus/Utica called Stagecoach Gas Services (see Con Ed & Crestwood Seal the Deal on Marcellus Pipeline/Storage JV). In February we learned that Con Ed is looking to sell its 50% share of the Stagecoach jv (see Marcellus Stagecoach Sees Record Volumes, Con Ed Wants to Sell). We have an update on that effort, shared as part of Crestwood’s 1Q21 update.
Read More “Crestwood Says Sale of Stagecoach JV Coming Soon – 1Q21 Update”

| | | |

Marcellus Stagecoach Sees Record Volumes, Con Ed Wants to Sell

In 2016 Crestwood Equity Partners formed a joint venture with New York City’s largest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., to operate a critical link of pipelines and storage facilities in the heart of the Utica/Marcellus, called Stagecoach Gas Services (see Con Ed & Crestwood Seal the Deal on Marcellus Pipeline/Storage JV). Crestwood, which owns and operates midstream businesses in multiple shale plays across the United States, released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 update yesterday. The big news (for us) is that Crestwood partner Con Ed is looking to sell its 50% share of the Stagecoach jv.
Read More “Marcellus Stagecoach Sees Record Volumes, Con Ed Wants to Sell”

|

Crestwood 3Q20 Update: Marcellus Stagecoach Sees Record Volumes

In 2016 Crestwood Equity Partners formed a joint venture with New York City’s largest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., to operate a critical link of pipelines and storage facilities in the heart of the Utica/Marcellus, called Stagecoach Gas Services (see Con Ed & Crestwood Seal the Deal on Marcellus Pipeline/Storage JV). Crestwood, which owns and operates midstream businesses in multiple shale plays across the United States, released its third-quarter 2020 update yesterday. Guess which region generated the most revenue for the company last quarter?
Read More “Crestwood 3Q20 Update: Marcellus Stagecoach Sees Record Volumes”

| | | | |

Chesapeake Asks Court to Break Pipeline Contracts, Including M-U

We’ll try not to sound arrogant, but once again *only* MDN nailed it–which is why you subscribe, right? Yesterday we brought you the news that Chesapeake Energy has finally filed for bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). In our opening paragraph, we told pipeline companies according to the language we read in the press release, that Chessy is “looking to break existing contracts, using the bankruptcy filing as an excuse.” And guess what? That is exactly what happened, including a request to break a contract with Crestwood’s Stagecoach Pipeline in the Marcellus/Utica.
Read More “Chesapeake Asks Court to Break Pipeline Contracts, Including M-U”

| | | | | | | |

FERC Launches Investigation into Overcharging by Stagecoach Pipe

In 2016 Crestwood Equity Partners formed a joint venture with New York City’s largest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., to operate a critical link of pipelines and storage facilities in the heart of the Utica/Marcellus, called Stagecoach Gas Services (see Con Ed & Crestwood Seal the Deal on Marcellus Pipeline/Storage JV). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has launched an investigation into the fees charged by that service, which may now be too high following the Trump tax cuts.
Read More “FERC Launches Investigation into Overcharging by Stagecoach Pipe”

| | | | | | |

Seneca Lake LPG Storage Project is Now Officially Dead

Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (and tool of Andrew Cuomo and Big Green radicals) has officially killed the Seneca Lake LPG storage project planned near Seneca Lake. In May, Crestwood, the project’s sponsor, said the depleted salt cavern that would house the LPG (propane) underground may leak in one small area (see Crestwood Testing Proposed LPG Storage Site @ Seneca Lake for Leaks). That was all the Big Green radicals, including Seggos, needed as an excuse to kill the project. Seggos saw his opening and took it. Last Thursday Seggos issued a 31-page ruling denying the project (copy below). It’s obvious from the length of the report and the stated reasons that he uses, that Seggos had already, long ago, decided to deny the project. He talks about cockamamie, airy fairy things like the project is “inconsistent with the character of the local and regional Finger Lakes community.” Really? As if the salt mining operation that used to be there was consistent with the character of the region? It’s all nonsense. This report was written months ago, before the “leak” issue was known. The fact that one small part of the underground storage caverns (plural) is not airtight was the magic bullet Seggos needed to pull the trigger. And he did. While Crestwood has not yet responded and admitted that the project is dead, we see no way it can now move forward. Hey Schuyler County, how does it feel to kiss a $30 million addition to your tax base goodbye? What’s that? Nobody is left who lives in Schuyler County any more? Guess we know why…
Read More “Seneca Lake LPG Storage Project is Now Officially Dead”

| | | | |

Crestwood’s Seneca Lake, NY LPG Storage Facility Effectively Dead

How LPG storage works – click for larger version

One by one the nails have been driven into the coffin of a much-needed project in Upstate New York to store LPG–liquefied petroleum gas (i.e. propane). In 2009 Inergy filed a request to convert a depleted salt cavern along the shore of Seneca Lake (in Schuyler County, NY, near Watkins Glen) into a propane/natural gas storage facility. Inergy was later bought by and merged into Crestwood Midstream, and Crestwood Midstream later renamed to Crestwood Equity Partners. The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been sitting on its hands from the beginning, refusing to grant the necessary permits to allow the facility to open. We won’t recount all of the ins and outs, ups and downs, of this project (most of them legal). You can read our previous stories here. The one thing the Seneca Lake LGP project has always had going for it, the spark and glimmer of hope, is strong local support from the Schuyler County Legislature. That is, until now. In a unanimous vote Monday night, the legislature voted to rescind its support for the project. It’s not the final nail in the coffin, but we’d call it the next-to-final nail…
Read More “Crestwood’s Seneca Lake, NY LPG Storage Facility Effectively Dead”

| | | | |

Crestwood Testing Proposed LPG Storage Site @ Seneca Lake for Leaks

Lately we’ve wondered what’s been going on in the years-long struggle by Crestwood to create an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or propane) storage facility in a depleted salt cavern along the shoreline of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Last December we brought you the news that Crestwood had won a victory when a chief administrative law judge, part of the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), ruled against antis who are demanding ongoing, never-ending hearings about the project–a transparent tactic to continue the years-long delay in perpetuity (see Crestwood Scores Big Victory in Seneca Lake LPG Storage Project). The judge said the DEC has all the evidence it needs to make a decision. Of course, the decision will get made by a radical anti who heads up the DEC–Basil Seggos (part of the National Resources Defense Council cabal that opposes all fossil fuel projects). So the project still has miles to go before it becomes reality. But now, a new setback, not that the project hasn’t been “setback” from the beginning by radicals. This time the setback comes from within. An attorney representing the project sent a letter to the DEC on May 17 asking them to delay (?!) a decision while Crestwood runs more tests on well pressure to “determine its suitability as a gas storage unit.” That is, the depleted salt cavern may leak. Radicalized antis have pounced, demanding the DEC cancel the project forthwith–even before the test results are in…
Read More “Crestwood Testing Proposed LPG Storage Site @ Seneca Lake for Leaks”

| | | | |

Crestwood Scores Big Victory in Seneca Lake LPG Storage Project

This news is a bit dated, but still important. Crestwood Equity (used to be called Crestwood Midstream) won an important court victory in September regarding its plan to build an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or propane) storage facility in depleted salt caverns in New York. In 2009 Inergy filed a request to convert a depleted salt cavern along the shore of Seneca Lake (in Schuyler County, NY, near Watkins Glen) into a propane/natural gas storage facility. Inergy was later bought by and merged into Crestwood Midstream, and Crestwood Midstream later renamed itself Crestwood Equity Partners. The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been sitting on its hands from the beginning, refusing to grant the necessary permits to allow the facility to open. Earlier this year Crestwood scaled back its plans, dropping natgas storage but keeping LPG storage (see Crestwood Drops Seneca Lake Natgas Storage Plan, Keeps LPG Plan). In September, a chief administrative law judge, part of the DEC, ruled against antis who are demanding ongoing, never-ending hearings about the project–a transparent tactic to continue the years-long delay in perpetuity. The judge said the DEC has all the evidence it needs to make a decision. Of course, the decision will get made by a radical anti who heads up the DEC–Basil Seggos (part of the National Resources Defense Council cabal that opposes all fossil fuel projects). So the project still has miles to go before it becomes reality. Perhaps insurmountable miles. But, let’s enjoy this major victory against antis, spun as a minor victory by profoundly biased “reporter” Tom Wilbur in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Read More “Crestwood Scores Big Victory in Seneca Lake LPG Storage Project”

| | | | |

Crestwood Sells Salt Operation in Watkins Glen, Keeps LPG Storage

Our heart stopped when we saw news from Crestwood Equity (used to be called Crestwood Midstream) yesterday that the company has sold its US Salt business on the shore of Seneca Lake near Watkins Glen to Kissner Group for $225 million. We thought, “Oh no! Crestwood has finally thrown in the towel on their Seneca Lake Propane Storage project!” But alas, our fears were unfounded. Background: In 2009 Inergy filed a request to convert a depleted salt cavern along the shore of Seneca Lake (in Schuyler County, NY, near Watkins Glen) into a propane/natural gas storage facility. Inergy was later bought by and merged into Crestwood Midstream, and Crestwood Midstream later renamed itself Crestwood Equity Partners. The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been sitting on its hands from the beginning, refusing to grant the necessary permits to allow the facility to open. Sound familiar? Same old delay and later deny strategy from our corrupt governor, Andrew Cuomo. As recently as May of this year, Crestwood remained committed to building the storage facility in depleted salt caverns originally drilled by US Salt, which is owned by Crestwood (see Crestwood Drops Seneca Lake Natgas Storage Plan, Keeps LPG Plan). Crestwood scaled back the plan, excluding storage of natural gas and instead sticking with storing just propane (or LPG, liquefied petroleum gas). So when we read the news in Crestwood’s third quarter update yesterday that the company has sold off US Salt–we thought that was the end of the LPG storage project. Apparently antis in the Finger Lakes region thought the same thing. A local news outlet published an incorrect story stating the LPG storage project is dead. But then Crestwood issued a follow-up statement to say no, the LPG project is still alive and kicking–they kept that part of the US Salt real estate and still intend to build the storage facility, when/if the corrupt Cuomo DEC issues the necessary permits…
Read More “Crestwood Sells Salt Operation in Watkins Glen, Keeps LPG Storage”

| | | | | |

Crestwood’s Orange County, NY Rail NGL Terminal Opens Sept 6

Crestwood concept drawing for rail terminal in Orange County, NY – click for larger version

In February MDN told you we had made a discovery in reading through Crestwood Equity Partners (formerly known as Crestwood Midstream) quarterly update: the company is “developing a greenfield rail-to-truck NGL terminal in Montgomery, NY that will increase propane supply reliability across the Northeast markets” (see Crestwood Building Rail-to-Truck NGL Terminal in Orange County, NY). The terminal will come from “multiple producers in the Marcellus and Utica regions.” At that time, Crestwood was in the process of building the terminal, which will handle propane, in Orange County, NY–not far from New York City. Given NY’s allergy to any project related to fossil fuels, we found the news quite incredible. Something even more incredible: the terminal is done and the grand opening will happen next Wednesday, Sept. 6th…
Read More “Crestwood’s Orange County, NY Rail NGL Terminal Opens Sept 6”

| | | | | |

Crestwood Drops Seneca Lake Natgas Storage Plan, Keeps LPG Plan

Seneca Lake LPG facility – click for larger version

MDN has extensively covered the fight to get the Seneca Lake Storage Project permissioned. In 2009 Inergy filed a request to convert a depleted salt cavern along the shore of Seneca Lake (in Schuyler County, NY, near Watkins Glen) into a propane/natural gas storage facility. Inergy was later bought by and merged into Crestwood Midstream, and Crestwood Midstream later became Crestwood Equity. The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been sitting on its hands from the beginning, refusing to grant the necessary permits to allow the facility to open. Sound familiar? Same old delay and later deny strategy from man-child Andrew Cuomo. The plan, from the beginning, is to store both natural gas and LPG–or liquefied petroleum gas, commonly known as propane. Due to the ongoing delay from the NY DEC, last May the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which would oversee construction of the project, granted a two-year extension for the project to be completed (see Stalled Seneca Lake Propane Storage Project Gets FERC Extension). In a regular report filed with FERC on May 9, Crestwood’s Arlington Storage subsidiary (the company on paper attempting to build the facility) withdrew its request to build the portion of the project that would store natural gas–the “Gallery 2” project. However, Crestwood/Arlington Storage is still pushing forward with LPG (propane) storage at the Seneca Lake facility. A small-but-dedicated group of nutjob antis are heralding this as some sort of “tremendous victory.” It is nothing of the sort. The main part of the project has always been about storing propane, not natural gas… Read More “Crestwood Drops Seneca Lake Natgas Storage Plan, Keeps LPG Plan”

| | | | |

Crestwood Building Rail-to-Truck NGL Terminal in Orange County, NY

Crestwood concept drawing for rail terminal in Orange County, NY – click for larger version

As MDN was reading through the latest quarterly/full year 2016 update for Crestwood Equity Partners (formerly known as Crestwood Midstream), we discovered something fairly innocuous, but in our book, a big deal. Crestwood said the company is “developing a greenfield rail-to-truck NGL terminal in Montgomery, NY that will increase propane supply reliability across the Northeast markets. The terminal, which is expected to be placed into service in the summer of 2017, will be supported by product controlled by Crestwood from multiple producers in the Marcellus and Utica regions.” What?! How did that one slip by? Crestwood is in the process of building, and will open, a terminal to distribute propane–in Orange County, NY (not far from New York City). This is good news indeed–and we wonder how and why the antis haven’t been bleating about this project, the way they have been about Crestwood’s long-delayed propane storage facility along the shoreline of Seneca Lake (near Watkins Glen). No matter–we’ll take our small victories where and when we can get them. Disappointingly Crestwood makes no mention of the Finger Lakes LPG storage facility in their update. But the Marcellus does get a few mentions. Below are what we gleaned from the latest update on Crestwood’s Marcellus operations, along with more background on the forthcoming propane terminal in Orange County…
Read More “Crestwood Building Rail-to-Truck NGL Terminal in Orange County, NY”