Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Long Island | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Transco | Williams
Cuomo Rejects NESE Pipe Again, Williams Walks Away
Is it time to turn the gas off for New York City and let the people there reap the “benefits” of having a dictator, Andrew Cuomo, as their governor? On Friday the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation, thoroughly and completely corrupted by Cuomo, issued yet another rejection for the critically-needed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project. It was the last straw for Williams, the builder of the project, which has walked away from the project. Gas customers on Long Island, including parts of NYC, now face the real prospect of running out of natural gas (this is not an exaggeration). Andrew Cuomo is the grossest, most corrupt governor in NY’s history.
Read More “Cuomo Rejects NESE Pipe Again, Williams Walks Away”
Yet another lawsuit trying to emasculate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by attacking its right to delegate eminent domain authority to pipeline builders has been tossed in federal court. Several of these cases have been tried using Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects. This latest case was brought by uppity, privileged landowners in Virginia against the Equitrans Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project.
Just when it seemed everything was going great to get all 10 mini-trains up and running at the Elba Island, Georgia LNG export facility (owned and operated by Kinder Morgan), a compressor fire earlier this week has caused the shutdown of three functioning units along with a fourth unit in the process of commissioning.
Midstreamer Equitrans, the former EQT Midstream (before EQT split itself into two companies) posted its first-quarter 2020 update yesterday and held a conference call with analysts. Of primary concern and focus for us, and most observers was an update on the company’s 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, which is 90% built and in the ground. The remaining portions of MVP are held up by various court cases and regulatory actions. According to officials on the call, there is a “narrow path” to completing the project by the end of this year at a cost of $5.4 billion. If the timeline slips, the cost goes up.
We have some exclusive news to share about a northeast PA LNG plant project. In August 2018, New Fortress Energy announced plans to build at least one LNG liquefying plant in Wyalusing, PA (see 
Energy Transfer (ET), one of the largest midstream (pipeline) companies in the U.S., is making another major cut in its 2020 capital budget. The company released its first-quarter update yesterday indicating it will cut spending this year by “at least” another $400 million, with a potential extra $300-$400 million cut later in the year. So spending may dip by most of billion dollars extra during 2020.
New Fortress Energy, which focuses on producing, exporting, transporting, and importing (in other countries) LNG marches to the beat of a different drummer. The company recently issued its first-quarter 2020 update. On a conference call with analysts, New Fortress founder and CEO (and billionaire) Wed Edens said his company hasn’t applied for nor accepted any government money re the COVID-19 pandemic. They also haven’t laid anyone off. In fact, New Fortress boosted the salaries of frontline fuel workers by 50% for the months of April and May in recognition of the jobs they are doing and the risks they face during the pandemic.
One week ago the Texas Eastern Pipeline Company (TETCO) pipeline running through Kentucky exploded for the second time in a year (see 
This is getting ridiculous. Does anyone really believe that a single pipeline project already built and now getting a redo could possibly have racked up 680 “violations” during construction work over the past five months? We certainly don’t believe it. Yet that’s what the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) alleges. Energy Transfer (ET), the builder and fixer of Revolution, has their own allegation: The DEP itself is “not in compliance with its own guidelines.” Who inspects the inspectors for compliance?
In March Williams, the midstream giant with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica, swallowed a poison pill (see 
Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a 303-mile Marcellus/Utica gas pipeline from West Virginia to southern Virginia, is 90% built and in the ground. The final 10% is waiting on various lawsuits and regulatory agencies to resolve outstanding issues brought on by radicalized green groups. One of the places the pipeline has long been done and in the ground is Lewis County, WV. It’s a mountainous area. Inspectors recently discovered there have been “slips” of the land resulting in “at least three locations” where MVP has shifted.
On Tuesday MDN told you that the Texas Eastern Pipeline Company (TETCO) pipeline running through Kentucky had exploded for a second time in a year (see 
In mid-March as the twin blows of the coronavirus pandemic and the Saudis and Russians decided to tank oil prices, Halliburton, the second-largest oilfield services company on the planet, announced it would furlough 3,500 workers for 60 days (see 
Williams, the midstream/pipeline giant with major operations and assets in the Marcellus Shale, released its first-quarter update and held a conference call with analysts yesterday. The company wrote down the value of several projects, including the Constitution Pipeline, which led to a paper loss of $518 million in 1Q20. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Marcellus (which Williams calls its Northeast G&P segment) saw revenues rise 23% in 1Q20.