Energy Services

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    6 Middletown Antis Sue Sunoco LP to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipe

    As we reported last week, six anti-pipeline residents living near where the Mariner East 2 pipeline will pass asked the Middletown (Delaware County, PA) town council to reject the path of the pipeline near their property because it would, supposedly, pass closer than town code allows. At a meeting earlier in the week, town council told the residents they’re out of luck–the town will not pursue any action to block Mariner East 2. Period. The residents, amped up and agitated by Big Green groups, was rumored to be considering a lawsuit against the pipeline to force it to conform with Middletown’s ordinance. It’s no longer a rumor. The amped up antis, spurred on and using lawyers from said Big Green groups, filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Common Pleas on Friday… Read More “6 Middletown Antis Sue Sunoco LP to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipe”

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    Exclusive: What’s Going on with Fairmont Brine?

    Last week MDN was contacted by a vendor working in the oil and gas business who is owed money by Fairmont Brine. The vendor’s question to MDN: What have you heard about Fairmont? Are they heading for bankruptcy? We’ve had our eye on Fairmont Brine Processing, headquartered in Fairmont, WV, for a number of years. We originally started writing about the company in 2010 when it was AOP Clearwater (see AOP Clearwater Plant in WV a Big Success in Treating Marcellus Shale Wastewater). New owners expanded the operation in 2014 (see New Brine Processing Plant Coming to Panhandle of WV). In early 2016, Fairmont secured a $90 million line of credit to build a new wastewater processing plant in southwest PA (see Fairmont Brine Gets $90M to Build New Wastewater Recycling Plant). And in November, we spotted the company’s name in a major Bloomberg article about Oklahoma earthquakes and how the company can help solve the problem (see WV Wastewater Co Grabs Nat’l Headlines re OK Earthquakes). We told our inquiring vendor we had not heard anything lately about Fairmont. The vendor said he’s not been paid for many months, and sent us copies of letters from the company stating the company is in a cash flow pinch and could not “fulfill its obligations at this time.” So MDN contacted Fairmont’s law firm, the venerable Babst Calland, to find out what’s going on. Here’s what what we found… Read More “Exclusive: What’s Going on with Fairmont Brine?”

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    Federal EPA Writes a PennEast Pipeline Love Letter to FERC

    Once upon a time, during the Obama reign of terror, the out-of-control Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as headed by the odious Gina McCarthy, blasted the PennEast Pipeline project (see Obama EPA, National Park Service Try to Rain on PennEast Parade). The Obama/McCarthy EPA made an outrageous claim: That building PennEast “may” end up causing arsenic in groundwater supplies. Totally bogus. And pathetic. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) didn’t fall for EPA’s arsenic and old lace. They approved the project in April (see FERC Issues Favorable Final EIS for PennEast Pipeline Project). Along with the change in the presidency has come some clear-headed thinking in Washington, DC–including at the EPA. Make no mistake–the EPA is still overly populated with Obamadroids that need to be canned. However, there’s enough of a change at the EPA that the agency has just sent what we would call a love letter to FERC, about PennEast. In it, the EPA says, “FERC’s efforts to consider and actively engage EPA to discuss comments, which resulted in improved or modified documentation provided in the [Final] EIS and improved safeguards for protection of human health and the environment.” And because of that, “many of our concerns and objections [to PennEast] have been or will be addressed.” In other words, everybody has now kissed and made up. EPA is feelin’ good about PennEast. And so are we…
    Read More “Federal EPA Writes a PennEast Pipeline Love Letter to FERC”

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    NY DEC Grants Water Permits for Atlantic Bridge Pipeline Project

    Very good news for Spectra Energy’s Atlantic Bridge project in (of all places) New York State. In January the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its final stamp of approval for Atlantic Bridge (see FERC Approves Atlantic Bridge Project for New England/Canada). Atlantic Bridge will beef up capacity on the Algonquin Gas Transmission and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline systems–to move more Marcellus/Utica gas to New England and Canada. Even though FERC “approved” Atlantic Bridge, Spectra Energy must still ask for “Mother May I?” permission to begin construction on specific, individual portions of the project. FERC granted Spectra Energy permission to begin construction on all of their requests in Connecticut in March (see FERC Grants Atlantic Bridge Pipe OK to Begin CT Construction). However, the part of the project located in New York State was stalled, waiting for a water crossing permit from the Cuomo corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Miracle of miracles–the DEC has granted those permits… Read More “NY DEC Grants Water Permits for Atlantic Bridge Pipeline Project”

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    Allentown-Based Talen Energy (Elec Generator) Laying Off Workers

    Talen Energy was birthed in June 2015–a combination of PPL Energy Supply and certain assets of Riverstone Holdings. The company, headquartered in Allentown, PA, is one of the largest competitive energy and power generation companies in North America. Talen owns or controls 16,000 megawatts of generating capacity in wholesale power markets, primarily in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the U.S. Talen has gotten into converting and building natural gas-fired electric plants, stories we’ve covered over the past few years (see our Talen Energy stories here). At one time Talen employed around 500 people in Allentown at its HQ. Last summer the company announced layoffs for 131 people. Unfortunately, the trend continues. Talen plans to layoff more people–although an exact number has not yet been released… Read More “Allentown-Based Talen Energy (Elec Generator) Laying Off Workers”

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    NFG Update – Getting “Lousy Treatment” in NY, Threatens to Leave

    National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Western New York State, is making noises (threats) that Gov. Andrew Cuomo should be very concerned about. NFG covers the full span of the oil and gas business–from upstream (with its wholly-owned drilling subsidiary Seneca Resources), to the midstream (with wholly-owned subsidiary Empire Pipeline) to downstream (NFG’s natural gas utility service to 740,000 customers in NY and PA). It’s a big company that generates a lot of jobs and revenue for New York State. Yet NY is metaphorically crapping all over NFG–and the company is signaling its willingness to retaliate by leaving. No, not move the company HQ, or sell off its gigantic utility business. Nothing of that sort (yet, anyway). But NFG CEO Ronald Tanski said on an earnings call last Friday that NFG is “getting lousy regulatory treatment in New York State” and that “Given this type of regulatory treatment in the state, we have to take a serious look at our ability to achieve any reasonable growth in New York.” Translation: We’ll stop launching new projects that invest billions in the Empire State, and instead invest that money and the jobs it creates in PA and other states. The “lousy treatment” NFG is getting is related to NY’s corrupt Dept. of Environmental Conservation decision to deny it permits to build the Northern Access Pipeline (see NFG Calls Cuomo DEC Denial of Northern Access Pipe “Troubling”). NFG has taken the Cuomo DEC to court to try and get the DEC’s capricious pipeline decision overturned. However, the damage is now done. NFG is threatening to invest elsewhere–and we take them at their word. This is not an empty threat…
    Read More “NFG Update – Getting “Lousy Treatment” in NY, Threatens to Leave”

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    TransCanada Sells Iroquois Pipeline to Itself, Part of $765M Deal

    Last week TransCanada announced they are “selling” their interest in the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline and a second pipeline, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS), to a subsidiary of TransCanada for $765 million. Every now and again big energy companies transfer some of their assets to different subsidiary companies, on paper. We say “on paper” because nothing really changes with the management of the assets–in this case two pipelines. However, money does change hands because usually there are different sets of investors for the different subsidiaries. So TransCanada “sold” themselves (different set of investors) these two pipeline systems. Iroquois is majority owned by TransCanada–in two pieces. After the drop down sale, TC PipeLines will own both pieces, representing 61.1% of the Iroquois system. Iroquois is a 416-mile interstate natural gas pipeline extending from the U.S.-Canadian border at Waddington, NY, through New York State and western Connecticut to its terminus in Commack, NY, and from Huntington to the Bronx, NY. The second pipeline part of the transfer deal is PNGTS–an interstate natural gas pipeline company providing natural gas transportation service for gas utilities, paper mills, and electric generation plants throughout New England. Here’s info about the deal, and an overview for each pipeline system… Read More “TransCanada Sells Iroquois Pipeline to Itself, Part of $765M Deal”

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    Baker Hughes April Rig Count – M-U Highest in 12 Months

    The International (non-U.S.) Baker Hughes rig count for April 2017 was 956, up 13 from the 943 counted in March 2017, and up 10 from the 946 counted in April 2016. However, the U.S. rig count for April 2017 was 853, up 64 from the 789 counted in March 2017, and up 416 from the 437 counted in April 2016. Did you catch that? The U.S. over the past year doubled its rig count. Of particular note is that Canada’s rig count went over a cliff in April, falling by 145 active rigs in one month. Not sure what that’s all about. What about rig counts in our neck of the woods–in the Marcellus/Utica? It was good news for our region. Pennsylvania’s average rig count was up by 2 (to 34), Ohio up 1 (to 22), and West Virginia up by 2 (to 12). Total rig count for the Marcellus/Utica was 68 active rigs in April–the highest in the past 12 months…
    Read More “Baker Hughes April Rig Count – M-U Highest in 12 Months”

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    Energy Transfer 1Q17 – Updates on Rover, Mariner East 2 Pipelines

    Last week Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the main operating division of Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), released its first quarter 2017 financial and operating update. ETP is the company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was finally completed after Obama was ejected from office–and is right now building the Rover Pipeline. Another division of ETE was, until last month, Sunoco Logistics Partners. In April Sunoco LP was merged into ETP (see Sunoco Logistics Partners Ceases to Exist as of Today). Sunoco LP, now ETP, is building the Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline project. So as part of last week’s update, we got mini-updates on two critically important projects for the Marcellus/Utica: Rover and ME2. The Rover chatter indicates all systems are go and they are on track to have the project completed and in-service as far as the Midwest Hub in July, and the rest of the way to Michigan in November. ME2 chatter contained an interesting question and response. An analyst’s question seems to indicate that ETP (the Sunoco Logistics part of it) is considering a joint venture arrangement for the ME2 pipeline project. President & CEO of Sunoco LP (not sure what his title is now) Mike Hennigan was quick to tamp down that speculation. He didn’t deny it, saying the company is having “conversations”–but he did say their focus right now is to finish the darned thing. Get it built…
    Read More “Energy Transfer 1Q17 – Updates on Rover, Mariner East 2 Pipelines”

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    PA Landowner Threatens to Go Up a Tree (Again) to Stop Pipeline

    Elise Gerhart has been up a tree before. You may recall our story about Elise, daughter of a Huntingdon County, PA landowner, radicalized by Big Green groups (as evidenced by her association with well known protesters previously arrested), who took to a tree on her mom’s property in order to illegally stop crews working on tree clearing for the Mariner East 2 pipeline (see PA Anti Literally Goes Up a Tree to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipeline). It ultimately didn’t matter, because Sunoco came back and cut down the few trees they need to cut anyway (see Sunoco Tricks Radicalized Protester – Returns and Cuts More Trees). Eventually law enforcement got around to arresting the daughter, and the mom (who also trespassed during tree clearing). Law enforcement also arrested a serial criminal trespasser/anti who aided and radicalized them. Unfortunately, in a miscarriage of justice, the charges against all three were dropped (see Charges Dismissed Against Tree Sitting Anti in Huntingdon County). That oversight will come back to bite law enforcement, because Elise plans to go up a tree again. Or maybe, since the trees are already cut down, she plans to chain herself to a bulldozer. Who knows. One thing is for sure: Ms. Gerhart and her mom are planning to get themselves arrested when the bulldozers show up to begin digging a trench on the Gerhart’s land… Read More “PA Landowner Threatens to Go Up a Tree (Again) to Stop Pipeline”

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    2nd NEPA County Attracting Business with Locally Produced Gas

    Click for larger version

    MDN has spotted what we believe is a rather ingenious trend in Northeastern Pennsylvania. One of the ongoing “problems” with drilling in gas-rich, rural counties like Susquehanna and Wyoming counties is that the gas gets extracted–and promptly exported out of the region via pipelines. Locals don’t have the option of tapping in to the cheap, abundant, clean-burning source that comes out of the ground beneath them. Susquehanna County has 43,000 residents (11,700 families). The largest “city” in Susquehanna County is the county seat of Montrose, population 1,600 (750 households). It’s just not all that economical to run natural gas pipelines to homes around the county–even though residents live atop an embarrassing riches of natural gas. One company, Leatherstocking Natural Gas, changed all that in early 2014 when they started to run pipelines to residences and businesses around Montrose (see PA Rural Residents Burn Marcellus Gas, Save Big Bucks on Heating). Last year Montrose held a business expo–an attempt to lure businesses to start or relocate in Montrose’s bucolic community. One of the key advantages? Hook up to cheap natural gas. It’s working. And that example is now being copied by neighboring Wyoming County, just to the south of Susquehanna County. The Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce and UGI Energy Services are working on a deal to bring locally produced natural gas to residents and businesses in Wyoming’s largest “city”–Tunkhannock (population 1,836). The Chamber is trying to get a $1 million grant from the state to help defray the cost for locals to connect to a new pipeline system that will flow local gas… Read More “2nd NEPA County Attracting Business with Locally Produced Gas”

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    PA Protesters Protest Outside Mtg to Discuss Handling Protesters

    This one has us spitting nails. We have reported, for months, about the activities of so-called protesters against Williams’ $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. In particular, there is a group in Lancaster County, PA opposing the pipeline creatively called Lancaster Against Pipelines (LAP). Some of their members previously attended and participated in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, ND–protests that turned violent and destroyed millions of dollars in equipment (see Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters Turn Violent; Coming Here Next?). In February, the chief organizer of LAP, Mark Clatterbuck, who participated in the illegal activities in North Dakota last year, announced he intends to bring that kind of mayhem to Lancaster County (see PA Anti Hopes to Bring Standing Rock Disaster to Lancaster County). Clatterbuck set his plans in motion in March (see Protesters Try to Resurrect Failed ND Pipeline Fight in Lancaster). Let’s see, thousands of protesters illegally blocking construction workers, burning equipment, and taking shots at police officers. How does that all sound for Lancaster County? Not very good, according to local State Senator Scott Martin, who organized a closed-door meeting yesterday with area first responders and police, piping in a satellite feed from North Dakota officials to discuss what Lancaster might do to prevent what happened in North Dakota (see Lancaster Forum to Focus on Handling Anarchists in Pipeline Protest). The forum was held yesterday, and protesters were there to protest the meeting about how to handle protesters (kind of meta, isn’t it?). The protesters said it was “disrespectful” and “irresponsible” to plan how to avoid the disaster of Standing Rock. Does that beat all? Are these people actually lunatics escaped from an asylum? To not plan how to handle a sizable group of people (many of whom will come from out of the area) that plan to engage in breaking the law–is the height of irresponsibility. Kudos to Sen. Martin for protecting area residents, the environment, and the workers who will build the pipeline irregardless of the temper tantrums thrown by these adult children who claim to be protesters… Read More “PA Protesters Protest Outside Mtg to Discuss Handling Protesters”

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    Dominion 1Q17 – Updates on Cove Point, Atlantic Coast Pipe & More

    Yesterday midstream and utility giant Dominion issued its first quarter 2017 update. Along with the update Dominion held an earnings call. On that call we learned new information about both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project, Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export project, and a plethora of other projects, including natgas-fired power plants and more pipelines in the works. Dominion CEO Tom Farrell shared the exciting news that Cove Point is now 89% complete and will be “in service” later this year. As for Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion has now purchased 80% of the materials they will need to build it. Farrell said the pipeline will be online in the second half of 2019. Another six pipeline projects are underway (at a cost of $700 million)–with five of the six due to be done THIS YEAR. Dominion is a happening company. Below are extracts from the earnings call, the 1Q17 update (with financials), and the newest PowerPoint slide deck used during the earnings call…
    Read More “Dominion 1Q17 – Updates on Cove Point, Atlantic Coast Pipe & More”

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    Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade

    The City of Green, Ohio, located in Summit County (south of Akron, north of Canton) seems to have no problems with spending boatloads of taxpayer money on anti-pipeline efforts. A few weeks ago Green City Council voted to give $10,000 to the anti-pipeline CORN–Coalition to Reroute Nexus. We call the group CORNballs and have written extensively about their supposed desire to just see the NEXUS pipeline routed around them, pretending to be NIMBYs (see our CORN stories here). In reality, CORN wants the pipeline stopped, period. Anti-fossil fuel nuttery. But $10K for the CORNballs is small potatoes for Green–almost a distraction. The city has just “upped the ante” by voting to spend $100,000 to hire a Cleveland law firm to file a lawsuit “aimed at stopping the pipeline from being built or stopping the project altogether.” Since when was it legal for a city like Green to squander taxpayers’ money on cockamamie anti-fossil fuel lawsuits against legal American businesses that build energy infrastructure? Will someone please investigate Green council members and their ties to Big Green groups (no pun intended)? Smells to us like somebody is getting paid off somewhere…
    Read More “Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade”

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    Patterson-UTI Huge Increase in Monthly Rig Count – SSE Factored?

    As we do every month (and have for two years), MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for rig count health in the Marcellus/Utica. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). Patterson was our “canary down the mine shaft” for discerning when the deep, dark recession in drilling would turn around. It happened in June 2016–and every single month since that time, including the month of April. In March, Patterson’s rig count jumped up by 10, to an average of 88 active rigs operating in the U.S. That has been the biggest single monthly increase since they began adding rigs again last June–until April. Last month the Patterson rig count rocketed to 115, up an amazing 27 rigs in a single month. What in the world happened? We have an answer…
    Read More “Patterson-UTI Huge Increase in Monthly Rig Count – SSE Factored?”

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    Dominion Faces Hostile Crowd in Ithaca re New Market Project

    In June 2014, MDN told you about the Dominion New Market Project–a project that will build two new compressor plants and upgrade one other compressor station in upstate New York–to help flow more abundant, cheap and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania (and beyond) into the northeast (see Dominion Asks FERC for New Compressors in Upstate NY, WV). The project is projected to cost $159 million and provide 112,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of extra natural gas capacity along ~200 miles of existing Dominion pipeline across upstate New York. The existing Dominion pipeline runs through the Horseheads, Ithaca, Syracuse and Albany areas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Dominion’s New Market Project in October 2015 (see FERC Approves Expansion of Dominion Pipeline in Upstate NY). And then a real miracle happened. The corrupt New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approved the New Market compressor stations on Dec. 23, 2016 (see Miracle! NY DEC Approves Dominion’s New Compressor Stations). Needless to say, anti-fossil fuel freaks are freaked out that the project is now a reality. The lone compressor station that will get an upgrade (not being built from scratch) is located near Ithaca, NY, home of some of the nuttiest of the nutjobs. On Monday night, Dominion personnel donned their armor and held a public meeting to answer questions by a crowd that was, by all accounts, hostile… Read More “Dominion Faces Hostile Crowd in Ithaca re New Market Project”