Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Mountaineer NGL Storage | NGLs | Ohio | Storage
Mountaineer NGL Storage Says Construction Begins in OH 1Q20
Could we *finally* see some movement on an NGL (natural gas liquids) storage facility in the Marcellus/Utica? Indeed it seems possible–even likely. Mountaineer NGL Storage is planning to build an NGL storage operation in Monroe County, OH, located just across the river (and border) from West Virginia.
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Monday evening the Mariner East 2 pipeline was down for routine maintenance at a pump station in Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia). When workers relit a pilot in a flare used to burn off excess gases, there apparently was some accumulated gas in the flare stack and it ignited, creating a loud boom. Nobody was injured, there was no danger. Yet that incident is now being labeled an “explosion” by anti-fossil fuel activists and their sycophants in the press.
We have a proud tradition in America of vigorous debate and free speech. We have protests. We still, for now, have a free press where we can express our ideas–whether others agree with us or not. But some on the environmental left go too far. They don’t just protest, they break the law. Some even become violent. Take the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, as an example.
Last Thursday the Texas Eastern Transmission Company (TETCO) pipeline exploded near a trailer park in Lincoln County, Kentucky (see 
Marcellus/Utica gas hitches a ride to the Gulf Coast to feed several LNG export facilities. We previously outlined how some gas flows to Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG plant via Williams’ Transco system (see 
PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion (or $1.2 billion, depending on the source) new greenfield pipeline project from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ. PennEast will flow PA Marcellus gas to markets in NJ. The project has faced numerous lawsuits and regulatory blockades, much of it in NJ. We won’t recount all of the ins and outs. What we will tell you is that PennEast is about to overcome another such government blockade by submitting a new Freshwater Wetlands Permit application to the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP).
It appears the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has become politicized. Why is it that leftists (like Va. Gov. Ralph Northam) politicize what are supposed to be impartial government agencies? The DEQ has issued a “stop work” order to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) for construction activities along a tiny two-mile stretch in Montgomery County. Fine, if there are issues, stop the work. It’s the highly politicized and inappropriate press release the DEQ issued that accompanied the stop work order we object to.
In March 2017, radical green groups, including the Sierra Club, Lancaster Against Pipelines, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness, Allegheny Defense Project, Clean Air Council, Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County, and Heartwood, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in an attempt to block construction of the $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project in Pennsylvania (see 
A month ago MDN told you that UGI, a big utility and midstream company headquartered in Pennsylvania, had cut a deal to buy certain pipeline assets in the Marcellus/Utica from Columbia Midstream (see 
Last Thursday the Texas Eastern Transmission Company (TETCO) pipeline exploded near a trailer park in Lincoln County, Kentucky (see 
Last week midstream giant Williams released its second quarter 2019 update. Although the company reported net income of $175 million, up 130% over the previous year’s 2Q, total revenue dipped a tad from $2.09 billion to $2.04 billion. Amidst a lot of good news, there was one cloud. Because northeast drillers are pulling in the production reigns (given super low prices), and because Williams has recently sold off a bunch of assets, the company has launched a “voluntary separation program” to reduce head count.
Last week National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Western New York State (operates drilling subsidiary Seneca Resources and pipeline subsidiary Empire Pipeline), issued its quarterly update. The company says it plans to cut back on its natural gas drilling in central and western Pennsylvania next year from three rigs to two, but will increase investment and work on pipelines.
Last December MDN brought you news of a new Transco pipeline expansion project, the Williams “Leidy South Project,” to expand Transco capacity in Pennsylvania (see 
Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a 303-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia into Virginia (being built by Equitrans Midstream) is now 85% complete. Lawsuits are holding up completion of the pipeline, now expected to be done in mid-2020. The project has faced opposition from a small but dedicated group of loons willing to break the law (see