Sunoco LP Pays PA DEP $12.6M to Resume ME2 Pipeline Construction
In what can only be considered a government shakedown, Sunoco Logistics Partners has agreed to pay a massive (historically high) $12.6 million fine to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for “permit violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.” The fine, along with a “stringent compliance review” going forward, gives the DEP enough confidence to allow Sunoco to resume construction on the ME2 project, which has been halted since January 3rd (see PA DEP Caves to Big Green Pressure, Stops All Work on ME2 Pipeline). Last Friday Sunoco appealed the DEP’s stop work order to a special court set up to hear appeals of DEP decisions (see Sunoco Appeals DEP’s ME2 Pipe Suspension to Enviro Hearing Board). DEP couldn’t risk having their order overturned–not when there’s a shakedown in progress! With respect to the “deal,” Sunoco said, in so many words, that while they (strongly) disagree with the DEP’s statements in making the deal, Sunoco is willing to pay the fine so they can get back to work and finish the project. A cost of doing business in PA, apparently. Beginning today, thousands of people who had been thrown out of work by the DEP order will resume their jobs. All it took was 12.6 big ones to make it happen…
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Last week National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Western New York State which operates drilling subsidiary Seneca Resources and pipeline subsidiary Empire Pipeline, issued its first quarter 2018 (everyone else’s fourth quarter 2017) update. Via Seneca Resources, NFG drills wells in northcentral and northwestern PA. Via Empire Pipeline, they build and maintain hundreds of miles of pipelines. NFG wants to add to their pipeline portfolio by building the Northern Access Pipeline–a $455 million project with 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern PA up to Erie County, NY. Northern Access would allow Seneca to drill new wells in an area currently pipeline “constrained.” However, Northern Access construction has been blocked by the corrupt NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (see 
Duke Energy needs to replace an aging pipeline, built in the 1950s, near Cincinnati, OH–or some people in Cincy will have to go without natural gas. Duke has proposed a 13-mile, 20-inch pipeline along two potential routes. Both routes are opposed by antis, including a group calling themselves NOPE–Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension. We call them DOPEs–Dummies Opposing Pipeline Extensions. Will the DOPEs volunteer to shut off the natural gas to their homes and businesses if the pipeline doesn’t get built? Not on your life! The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) held two public hearings last April, to grant anti-pipeliners the opportunity to vent (see 
MDN reported on a heated meeting several weeks ago near our home base. The Town of Fenton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met to hear arguments against a zoning decision that would allow a proposed virtual pipeline/compressor station from NG Advantage to be zoned as a trucking/freight facility (see 
CNX Resources, in addition to issuing an announcement about proved reserves yesterday (see today’s companion story), also issued an announcement about CNX the drilling company selling its Shirley-Pennsboro gathering system in West Virginia to CNX the pipeline company (CNX Midstream) for $265 million. Yes, in a sense it is moving assets around on paper. However, this seemingly innocuous announcement is interesting to MDN for a couple of reasons. First, there is a trend of splitting companies apart–to spin out the pipeline/midstream stuff into its own standalone company, separate from the drilling part of the company. EQT, a major CNX competitor, is going through the process of evaluating whether or not to spin off their pipeline subsidiary into its own company (see 
As we told you last week, Monday (Feb. 5) was the final day for landowners who live along the path of the PennEast Pipeline to accept an offer from PennEast to lease their land for the pipeline (see 
A construction company based in North Dakota, Bilfinger Westcon, has filed several lawsuits against MarkWest Energy (now owned by Marathon Petroleum) claiming MarkWest has failed to pay more than $40 million for work done on a number of projects. Bilfinger Westcon says MarkWest used a “time & materials cap” scheme to cap the amount of money they paid for various projects, but then slipped in last-minute change orders. Essentially, it was a way of getting more work for free–that’s the charge being made. Bilfinger says MarkWest was getting ready to sell itself to Marathon and wanted to rush to complete several projects and using time & materials cap was how they did it without breaking the bank. We have to say this is the first time we’ve heard or read anything negative about MarkWest’s business practices. We suspect there’s another side to this story, but MarkWest says they won’t comment on pending litigation. Here’s the Bilfinger Westcon side of the story…
Looks like asking “Pretty please, with a cherry on top” (along with providing requested information) works! MDN previously told you that on Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked Rover Pipeline for more information before FERC would allow the project to restart drilling under the Tuscarawas River (see 
In the end, it came to down to cold, hard cash. Last May, MDN told you about antis running the City of Green, Ohio who were/are hellbent on stopping the NEXUS Pipeline (see 
On Jan. 24, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sent a letter to Rover Pipeline stopping drilling at the Tuscarawas River site, which had only restarted in December (see 
As we do each month, MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for rig count health in general and rig count health in the Marcellus/Utica in particular. Patterson operates many rigs in our region. Last April, Patterson bought out and merged in Seventy Seven Energy (SSE). The addition of SSE’s rigs served to rocket Patterson’s rig count number in April and May much higher (see 
The State of New Jersey and its elected leaders (Governor and Attorney General) continue their quest to hassle and block the PennEast Pipeline from entering a small portion of their state. Why? To answer that question you’d have to enter their brains to understand all of the political calculations that go on–a very scary proposition. NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (far-left Democrat) on Friday rejected PennEast’s request to use state-owned land for small part of the pipeline’s route. Also last week, the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection (an executive branch agency, reports to NJ’s newly elected LibDem Gov. Phil Murphy) told PennEast the DEP is closing the books on PennEast’s water crossing permit application for lack of information. PennEast says the DEP’s action was not a surprise and that they will refile the application with the additional information sought. It all just points to a very hostile (to private business) government that has seized power in The Garden State. Don’t worry, PennEast isn’t letting NJ’s hostility stop them. This pipeline will still get built…
As we told you last week, today (Monday, Feb. 5) is the final day for landowners who live along the path of the PennEast Pipeline to accept an offer from PennEast to lease their land for the pipeline (see 
In mid-January MDN brought you the news that (sadly) Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) had to file in federal court to “condemn” some holdout landowner properties along the pipeline’s route (see 
Money–a lot of money–is flowing into Lancaster County because of construction work now being done on Williams’ $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County. Local media pitches the revenue and jobs created by the project as “temporary.” MDN once heard a union pipeline worker respond to that very argument at a FERC hearing (for the Constitution Pipeline) by saying he’s had an entire career of “temporary” pipeline jobs that last a few months or a year–making enough money to put his kids through college and make a nice living for himself and his family. Lancaster residents should jump for joy at their “temporary” blessing of this pipeline’s construction. Among the beneficiaries of these “temporary benefits” are “dozens of local businesses” and “more than 100 workers” who are employed full-time working on the project. An estimated $75 million (!) is now flooding into the Lancaster County economy, thanks to Atlantic Sunrise…