Energy Services

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Rockland County

Antis Convince Rockland County, NY Legislators to Oppose Pipe Proj.
May 22, 2025May 22, 2025

The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through a pipeline that is 1,131 miles long. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. As we told you in September 2023, Enbridge conducted an open season to gauge interest in expanding Algonquin’s capacity to flow more gas into New England—mainly from the Marcellus/Utica—called Project Maple (see Enbridge Open Season to Expand Algonquin Pipe in New England). Since that time, anti-fossil fuel nutters (like Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, and others) have mounted a coordinated attack against the project (see our Project Maple stories here). Here we are, almost two years later, and the antis finally have a sliver of support—from the emasculated legislators of Rockland County, NY. Read More “Antis Convince Rockland County, NY Legislators to Oppose Pipe Proj.”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Williams

Trump Deal Trades NY Offshore Wind for Constitution, NESE Pipes
May 21, 2025February 3, 2026

It is “The Art of the Deal” with Donald J. Trump. Only DJT could pull off such a miracle. We are referring to a deal just struck (on Monday) with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Trump will allow New York to blow $5 billion on an idiotic offshore wind project (off the coast of Long Island) in return for Hochul allowing the construction of two long-stalled pipeline projects: The Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project, part of the Transco pipeline system. We had no idea NESE was on the table as part of a potential deal! Read More “Trump Deal Trades NY Offshore Wind for Constitution, NESE Pipes”
Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Nat’l Rig Count Down 2 @ 576; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Adds 1 @ 11
May 19, 2025May 19, 2025

The U.S. national rig count lost two more rigs last week, going from 578 to 576, tying January 24th of this year as the lowest national rig count in the past 12 months. Rigs targeting the Marcellus layer remained the same with 25 rigs last week, while the Utica (in Ohio) picked up one rig and now operates 11 rigs for a combined total of 36. Pennsylvania was static with 18 rigs, Ohio moved up from nine to ten rigs, and West Virginia remained the same with eight rigs. Read More “Nat’l Rig Count Down 2 @ 576; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Adds 1 @ 11”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Washington County

PA DEP Approves MarkWest Processing Plant Expansion in SWPA
May 19, 2025May 19, 2025

Last November, MDN brought you the great news that MPLX (aka MarkWest Energy) would file to build an expansion at its existing Harmon Creek facility in Smith Township, Washington County, PA (see MPLX to Build New Harmon Creek III Gas Processing in PA Marcellus). MPLX wants to add a 300 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) processing plant and 40,000 bbls/d (barrels per day) de-ethanizer to the facility. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced via last Saturday’s PA Bulletin that it has issued the necessary air permit for the project. Read More “PA DEP Approves MarkWest Processing Plant Expansion in SWPA”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Williams

What are the Odds that Trump Can Resurrect Constitution Pipeline?
May 16, 2025May 16, 2025

In February, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) creating the National Energy Dominance Council, directing the new council to move quickly to increase domestic oil and gas production (see Trump Signs EO Establishing National Energy Dominance Council). During the signing ceremony, Trump said (out of the blue) that his administration would oversee building the Constitution Pipeline (see Stop Press! Trump Pledges to Revive PA-to-NY Constitution Pipeline). Since that time Trump, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright have all made public comments about building the Constitution Pipeline, pledging to do so and get it underway *this year* (see Feds Will “Step In” to Build Marcellus-to-New England Pipeline and DOE’s Wright Says “Highly Likely” Constitution Pipe Work in 2025). What are the realistic chances it will get built? Read More “What are the Odds that Trump Can Resurrect Constitution Pipeline?”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Williams Makes Pitch to Add 28 Miles of Transco Pipe in NC Triad
May 16, 2025May 16, 2025

Transco Pipeline

Last November, Williams officially filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build an expansion of its mighty Transco pipeline system in the southeastern U.S., a project called the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (see Williams Files with FERC to Expand Mighty Transco Pipe in Southeast). The SSE project will add 1.6 million dekatherms per day (1.6 Bcf/d) of natural gas transportation capacity, equivalent to what is needed to serve approximately 9.8 million homes. Yesterday, Williams representatives were in the Triad area of North Carolina to pitch a small piece of the project to residents—building 28.4 miles of looping pipeline next to the existing pipeline in the same right-of-way. Read More “Williams Makes Pitch to Add 28 Miles of Transco Pipe in NC Triad”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | NRG Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

NRG Buys 18 Gas-Fired Power Plants, Including 5 in PA, for $12B
May 15, 2025May 15, 2025

map showing the location of the power plants being purchased by NRG (click for larger version)

NRG Energy agreed to acquire LS Power’s portfolio of natural-gas power plants in a deal valued at roughly $12 billion, including debt, that will expand NRG’s footprint in Texas and along the East Coast. NRG said the acquisition would give it 18 more natural-gas-fired facilities in nine states—including five in Pennsylvania and one in Ohio—doubling its generation capacity to about 25 gigawatts (GW). The PA acquisition includes the Springdale natural gas power station in Allegheny County, the Armstrong plant in Indiana County, the Gans plant in Fayette County, the Chambersburg plant in Franklin County, and the Ironwood plant in Lebanon County. Read More “NRG Buys 18 Gas-Fired Power Plants, Including 5 in PA, for $12B”
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FERC Grants Request to Extend Lake Charles LNG Construction by 3 Yrs
May 14, 2025May 14, 2025

Energy Transfer’s (ET) Lake Charles LNG project is in the news again. In April, we told you that ET had landed a new partner to help pay for the project, MidOcean Energy, which will cover 30% of the cost of building the plant (see MidOcean Partners with Energy Transfer on Lake Charles LNG Exports). Not long after that news, ET filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to add an extra three years to the permit to get the facility built and online (see ET Asks FERC to Extend Lake Charles LNG Construction Extra 3 Years). FERC just responded in the affirmative. Read More “FERC Grants Request to Extend Lake Charles LNG Construction by 3 Yrs”
DT Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | TC Energy/TransCanada

Millennium Pipe Open Season for Expanded Capacity in NY, New England
May 13, 2025May 13, 2025

click for larger version

The Millennium Pipeline, which stretches 263 miles from Corning, NY, to just outside New York City, delivers Pennsylvania Marcellus and Utica gas to utility and power plant markets across New York State and New England. Several companies jointly own the pipeline, which operates under its own corporate structure. In 2022, DT Midstream became the majority owner with 52.5% (see DT Midstream Becomes Majority Owner of Millennium Pipeline). The minority owner, TC Energy (47.5%), is the pipeline operator. On a conference call with analysts to discuss first quarter results, DT Midstream discussed something we were unaware of: Millennium is conducting an open season to gauge interest in expanding the pipeline’s capacity to deliver more M-U molecules to New York and New England markets. UPDATE: We have a copy of the official open season document below.
Read More “Millennium Pipe Open Season for Expanded Capacity in NY, New England”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Pipeline Giant Williams Getting New President/CEO
May 13, 2025May 13, 2025

Chad Zamarin – Williams’ new CEO

Williams is arguably the biggest and most important pipeline company in the Marcellus/Utica. Williams is the owner of the 10,000+ mile Transco pipeline that carries M-U molecules to the South and Southwest. It owns a major gathering system in northeastern Pennsylvania. Williams continues to innovate, replacing compressor stations along its pipelines with more efficient, lower emissions technology. Much of the credit for these accomplishments goes to the company’s CEO, Alan Armstrong, who began his tenure with Williams some 40 years ago as an engineer. Armstrong announced he is leaving the day-to-day responsibility of running the company, stepping down (or is it up?) from CEO to become the chairman of the board. Read More “Pipeline Giant Williams Getting New President/CEO”
Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Nat’l Rig Count Down 9 @ 578; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Down 3 @ 10
May 12, 2025May 19, 2025

We’re catching up on two weeks of changes in the rig count, and wow! Things changed. And NOT in a good way. The national count lost nine rigs over the past two weeks, going from 587 on April 25 to 584 on May 2 and then down to 578 on May 9. But it was the Marcellus/Utica that caught our attention. Two weeks ago, for the May 2 Baker Hughes rig count, Ohio dropped three rigs in a single week, going from 12 on April 25 to nine on May 2. The Ohio count remained at nine on May 9. Consequently, the combined M-U count went from 38 two weeks ago to 35 and has remained at that level. Both Pennsylvania and West Virginia kept their same counts of 18 and 8, respectively. Read More “Nat’l Rig Count Down 9 @ 578; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Down 3 @ 10”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Transco | Virginia | Williams

Williams Announces Transco Expansion to Flow More M-U to Virginia
May 12, 2025May 12, 2025

During last week’s first quarter update from Williams, management announced a new project called the Transco Power Express expansion. The project will expand Transco capacity by a whopping 950 MMcf/d (nearly a full Bcf) to flow more Marcellus/Utica molecules to the power-hungry Virginia market. The Virginia market is power hungry because of the data centers already built there, and the many more planned for the state. The Power Express project, if built, is expected to go online in the third quarter of 2030 (five years from now). Read More “Williams Announces Transco Expansion to Flow More M-U to Virginia”
Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Dominion Seeks to Build Lines for Gas-Fired Power to Va. Data Center
April 29, 2025April 29, 2025

Dominion Energy and its operations in Chesterfield County, Virginia (near Richmond) are in the news again, but not for the same reason you may think. We previously told you about Dominion’s project to build a “peaker” electric generating plant in Chesterfield (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes—to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. Dominion now wants to run several “seven-mile-long high voltage lines” in western Chesterfield County to serve a planned hyperscale data center. Read More “Dominion Seeks to Build Lines for Gas-Fired Power to Va. Data Center”
Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Nat’l Rig Count Adds 2 @ 587; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Even @ 13
April 28, 2025April 28, 2025

The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count crept up again last week, adding two more rigs after adding two in the prior week. The U.S. count now stands at 587 active rigs. The M-U rig count remained the same at a combined 38 last week—the second week in a row. We are at the highest combined M-U count since May of 2024. The Marcellus kept its 25 rigs across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The Utica kept its 13 rigs across the same three states, mainly in Ohio. PA had 18 active rigs for the second week — the highest number it has had since last August. OH operated 12 rigs for the second week in a row, the most active rigs in the Buckeye State in over a year. WV dropped maintained eight rigs for a second week, the lowest number of active rigs in the Mountain State since last September. Read More “Nat’l Rig Count Adds 2 @ 587; Marcellus Even @ 25, Utica Even @ 13”
Duke Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues

Duke Energy Secures Deal for 11 GE Vernova Gas-Fired Turbines
April 25, 2025April 25, 2025

We spotted a press release that caught our attention. Duke Energy, owner of electricity utility companies serving 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, has just sealed a deal with GE Vernova to buy up to 11 7HA gas turbines to power new gas-fired power plants. That’s in addition to eight 7HA turbines Duke has already purchased from GE Vernova. While the timing for deliveries was not specified, the announcement implies that Duke is getting its turbines sooner rather than later, which is saying something because lately there has been a years-long waiting list for these types of turbines. And yes, there is a connection to the Marcellus/Utica. Read More “Duke Energy Secures Deal for 11 GE Vernova Gas-Fired Turbines”
Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

New Equipment, AI Lowering Emissions in the M-U Midstream
April 24, 2025April 24, 2025

Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County (in southern Virginia) is part of the Transco pipeline network, the nation’s largest-volume interstate natural gas pipeline system. CS 165 is also the endpoint of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which carries 2 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA. Williams, the owner of Transco, replaced an aging fleet of engines at CS 165 with new turbines that decreased emissions and took up far less space. Enbridge, another major midstream company, is replacing hundreds of flow meters with newer models, which deliver much better information to the company in real-time. Read More “New Equipment, AI Lowering Emissions in the M-U Midstream”