Dominion Cove Point to Begin LNG Exports to India in Jan 2018
Since early 2013 all of the LNG export capacity at the coming Cove Point LNG facility (on the shore of Maryland) has been spoken for–by India and Japan (see Dominion’s Cove Point LNG Facility Achieves Important Milestones). Cove Point is scheduled to go online late this year, with shipments heading to India beginning in January 2018. GAIL India, the state-owned entity contracted with Dominion/Cove Point for LNG from the plant, has known about the coming date for the past four years. They will need numerous ships to ferry Cove Point LNG to India. So GAIL put out the word several years ago for companies to build nine ships total–to handle LNG exports from both Cove Point and Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass facility, along the Gulf Coast. One of the requirements for the project is that three of the nine has to be built in India–“Made in India”. They got no takers, and so now GAIL is scrambling to try and lease ships for the “short term” (3-4 years) so they can begin shipping on time…
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Last week MDN brought you the news that Energy Transfer’s $3.7 billion, 711-mile Rover Pipeline needs up to 15,000 workers to build it. They currently have ~4,500 workers. And they want to complete the first stage of the pipeline by July (see 
Last Thursday was the last day for people, agencies, nutjobs, supporters–for anyone–to file an official comment with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the agency’s draft environmental impact statement for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Dominion has proposed building the $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. One of the problems they’ve had is resistance from U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service. In January 2016, the USFS told Dominion it was a no-go for running the pipeline through tiny pieces of either the Monongahela or George Washington national forests in West Virginia and Virginia (see 
Yesterday we brought you the sad (and angering) news that once again Gov. Andrew Cuomo has caved to political pressure from environmental Nazis and instructed the now-corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny stream crossing permits for National Fuel Gas Company’s Northern Access Pipeline project (see 
Some 70 years ago Allen Danos Sr., a descendant of south Louisiana farmers, borrowed $2,000 to start a small tugboat company with his brother-in-law. The small business grew and expanded into the oil and gas business, attracting customers like Gulf Oil (which later became Chevron). Over the years Danos has continued to grow. Today it is an oilfield services company (OFS) servicing some of the world’s largest drillers with coating, construction, environmental, fabrication, instrumentation and electrical, production workforce, project management, consulting and more. Danos is still headquartered in Louisiana (with multiple offices in that state), but also with major offices in Texas–and in the Marcellus/Utica region. Danos is expanding in our region, opening a new facility in Martins Ferry, OH. They’ve also decided to close the Canonsburg, PA office and merge it into the Martins Ferry office. Here’s the announcement…
On Friday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finally, after delaying a decision three times adding an extra eight months, issued a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the PennEast Pipeline project. We should add, it was a favorable EIS. While FERC found (as they always do) that there would be “some adverse environmental impacts” from the project, those impacts “would be reduced to less than significant levels” with PennEast’s proposed construction plans. This is a major milestone and all but assures the project will now go forward and will be built and go into service sometime in 2018. What potential roadblocks remain? For one, PennEast will need water crossing permits from New Jersey, which they filed for last week (see 
On Feb. 3, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a long-delayed project–National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) Northern Access 2016 pipeline project (see 
The Baker Hughes rig count in the U.S. continued to rocket skyward in March. In January the average number of U.S. rigs was 683. In February, the count zoomed to 744, up 61 rigs in just a month. And in March, the U.S. rig count zoomed to 789, up another 45 rigs in a month. Each active rig translates into hundreds of jobs, both directly working at the rig and indirectly in services delivered to the rig and its workers. It also means more landowners will soon have royalty payments heading in their direction. When rigs are active, life is good. What about rig counts in the Marcellus/Utica? Disappointingly our region’s rig count lost a rig in March. PA lost two rigs, OH gained a rig, and WV stayed even. What does it all mean? It means that this zooming up in rig counts is happening in other locations–primarily in the Permian Basin in Texas. That is, oil rigs rushing to take advantage of an increase crude prices to a sustained $50+/barrel. While we’re happy the rig count is up, we’re not happy more it is not happening in the northeast. But honestly, without pipelines to take away an increase in production, can you blame our drillers? Once there is more takeaway capacity, you’ll see rig counts begin to climb again in our neck of the woods…
In January 2016, Kinder Morgan committed to building the UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) pipeline, a 12-inch ethane pipeline that will run ~240 miles across the state of Ohio where it will connect with another pipeline and (eventually) flow ethane all the way to a cracker plant in Canada (see 
School officials at a school district in Delaware County, PA (Philadelphia suburb) were, understandably, concerned about plans that would bring the Mariner East 2 pipeline “near” the school. What happens if, in the extremely unlikely event, the pipeline leaks? Or explodes? What kind of measure are in place to protect the kiddies? Sunoco Logistics personnel (builder of the ME2 project) along with emergency first responders met with Middletown school officials on March 31 in a private meeting–because emergency plans are confidential. Coming out of that meeting, the school district superintendent said he was “extraordinarily satisfied” with the plans and that they kids are safe with ME2 being located nearby. You don’t hear that often, because the media doesn’t typically report it…
Even though a companion story today reveals that a local school district in Middletown Township, PA (near Philadelphia) is completely satisfied that the Mariner East 2 pipeline is safe (see Delco School “Extraordinarily Satisfied” with ME2 Pipeline Safety), there are still a few hardened anti-fossil fuelers in Middletown who refuse to consider reason. They are keeping up a losing battle against ME2. Their latest approach is to pressure (i.e. bully) town officials to unilaterally reject the pipeline through their jurisdiction based on town zoning codes about setbacks–the distance from the pipeline to surrounding structures. Like two other towns with similar codes (Thornbury and West Goshen), the antis in Middletown are threatening to (surpise!) sue if the town doesn’t do what they (the antis) selfishly demand by rejecting the pipeline…
Last July we were introduced to the concept of a “wide economic moat” (see 
MDN first told you about IMG Midstream in August 2014 (see 
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced yesterday that it would require water quality certifications under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act for each segment of both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (Dominion) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline project (EQT & NextEra Energy). Apparently the DEQ considered using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 process–a less rigorous review (saves about half a forest of trees in paper). But in the end, the DEQ said they were caving to political pressure from anti groups (our words), and instead put Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley on notice to get ready for a detailed exam. It will be painful. However, it’s not anything either company isn’t already used to/hasn’t done before. We wouldn’t say “it’s no big deal,” but neither is this a show stopper. The more relevant question: Is the DEQ ready to review the blizzard of paperwork that will come at them, IN A TIMELY MANNER? The real question is whether or not the DEQ is equipped to conduct the extensive review they’ve now demanded, and what happens if they can’t?…
In what has to be a major blow to the morale of anti-pipeline crusaders in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, the top elected state officials in the legislatures of all three states, both Republicans AND Democrats (16 of them in all), sent a letter on Tuesday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting FERC approve the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Dominion wants to build a $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. The leaders of all three state legislators have told FERC, we want this pipeline, we NEED this pipeline, please approve it. Today is the last day FERC will receive public comments on the project. Here’s who signed, along with a copy of the letter sent to FERC…
Today is, hopefully, a joyous day for the PennEast Pipeline. Today is the day that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is supposed to, after three delays, issue the project a final Environmental Impact Statement. If/when that final EIS is issued, the only step remaining, from the federal perspective, is a certification of the project. Typically a favorable final EIS is the big step, and the certification then is perfunctory–a given. We have to confess we are on pins and needles because the project has now been delayed three times, a red flag in our book (see