Energy Services

Chesapeake Utilities | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Chesapeake Utilities Completes $59M Purchase of OH Midstream Co.
April 9, 2015April 9, 2015

In February MDN told you about Chesapeake Utilities, a diversified energy company with businesses in natural gas distribution, transmission and marketing, electricity distribution, propane distribution and wholesale marketing (nothing to do with Chesapeake Energy) purchasing a small midstream company in Ohio–Gatherco, Inc (see Chesapeake Utilities Buys OH Midstream Co, Targets Shale Industry). Part of the motivation is to target the Utica Shale industry in Ohio by building gathering pipelines. Last week Chesapeake Utilities announced the deal is now done and Gatherco has been renamed and merged with Chesapeake subsidiary Aspire Energy of Ohio…
Read More “Chesapeake Utilities Completes $59M Purchase of OH Midstream Co.”
Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Halliburton | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Halliburton Shotgun Divorce – Forced to Sell Certain Divisions
April 8, 2015April 8, 2015

Some interesting news from Halliburton concerning their takeover of Baker Hughes (see Halliburton & Baker Hughes Vote to Approve Shotgun Wedding). It seems the table has been turned on Halliburton. In order to avoid anti-trust violations, Halliburton will, grudgingly, sell off several profitable divisions: Fixed Cutter and Roller Cone Drill Bits, Directional Drilling and Logging-While-Drilling (LWD)/Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD). Yesterday Halliburton said they will likely have the merger with Baker Hughes done before selling off those divisions. They stressed it will be business as usual for customers while the divorce, er, sale proceeds…
Read More “Halliburton Shotgun Divorce – Forced to Sell Certain Divisions”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps
April 8, 2015April 8, 2015

ET Rover is a now 711-mile (down from 830-mile) Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will serve mostly U.S. customers that will cost $3.7 billion (down from $4.4 billion) to build and run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada (see ET Rover Pipeline’s 800-Mile Journey Begins with FERC Filing). As with all Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects, ET Rover hasn’t been without its detractors and legal issues (see OH Law Firm Asks FERC to Stop ET Rover Pipeline Eminent Domain). Yesterday Energy Transfer Partners, the company that will build ET Rover, announced a new website. They also provided updated maps to county libraries along the proposed path of the pipeline’s route…
Read More “ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Williams

Williams Buys Out EVEP Interest in Utica East Ohio Midstream for $575M
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

In early February, MDN told you that EV Energy Partners, a company with a huge amount of leased acreage in the Ohio Utica Shale region, was looking to sell its 21% interest in Utica East Ohio (UEO)–a midstream/pipeline company operating in Ohio (see EVEP Wants to Sell Interest in Utica East Ohio/More Utica Acreage). Yesterday EV announced they found a buyer–none other than Williams, EV’s partner in UEO. Williams currently owns 49% of UEO and is paying EV $575 million in cash to relieve them of their 21%, for a grand total operating interest of 70% ownership…
Read More “Williams Buys Out EVEP Interest in Utica East Ohio Midstream for $575M”
Energy Services | Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Rig Counts Drop More than 14% in 1Q15
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

How much is drilling slowing down across all U.S. shale plays? This little statistic may illustrate it. Patterson-UTI operates (leases out) drilling rigs for shale and conventional drilling. They are one of the biggest rig firms in the Marcellus/Utica. If you were to average the first three months of the year–January through March–Patterson-UTI operated an average of 165 rigs in the U.S. and 8 rigs in Canada. But if you looked at just the month of March, Patterson UTI operated an average of 142 rigs in the U.S. and 4 rigs in Canada. That’s a pretty steep drop in numbers over the course of just a few months–more than 14%…
Read More “Patterson-UTI Rig Counts Drop More than 14% in 1Q15”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services

UGI to Feed Jessup, PA Electric Plant with Marcellus Shale Gas
April 6, 2015October 17, 2015

As MDN has previously chronicled, Chicago-based Invenergy hopes to build what will be the largest (to date) electric generating plant in the state of Pennsylvania powered by natural gas (see Public Hearing on NEPA Proposed Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant). Invenergy hopes to build the 1300-megawatt plant (incorrectly listed as 1500 megawatts in the excerpt below) in the borough of Jessup (Lackawanna County), near Scranton. The project has it’s opponents, some of whom make some outrageous claims (see Gas-Powered Electric Plant to be Built “on Thousands of People”). There’s been some important progress with this project. UGI, the local electric and gas utility company, has just announced they will upgrade 19 miles of pipeline and build 3 miles of new pipeline to feed the proposed plant with yummy, cheap, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas…
Read More “UGI to Feed Jessup, PA Electric Plant with Marcellus Shale Gas”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Researcher Uses Official UVA Email to Oppose Dominion Pipeline
April 6, 2015April 8, 2015

UPDATE 4/7/15: Rick Webb provided a response to this MDN article, which we’ve included below.

The $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project is scheduled to pass from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina bringing cheap, abundant Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to the southeast (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). Many Democrats support the project, including Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. But not all Dems support it. As with all proposed pipeline projects in the northeast/mid-Atlantic area, there are fossil fuel haters (global warmists) who oppose it simply because it’s a fossil fuel. One of those organizations is The Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition, a group set up and run by a retired University of Virginia environmental scientist Rick Webb. Although Rick retired last year, he continues to participate in supporting several research projects at UVA, including the Shenandoah Watershed Study (SWAS) and the Virginia Trout Streams Sensitivity Study (VTSSS). Rick recently sent MDN (and other media outlets) an email from his official UVA email account to promote his anti-Atlantic Coast Pipeline group. We wonder if UVA supports Rick’s anti-pipeline activities and knows that he is using his UVA email account (with an implied connection that UVA supports what he’s doing) to denigrate Dominion?…
Read More “Researcher Uses Official UVA Email to Oppose Dominion Pipeline”
Buckeye Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide MI | Statewide OH

Buckeye Partners Expanding MI/OH Refined Products Pipeline East
April 6, 2015April 5, 2015

Buckeye Partners, headquartered not in Ohio but in Houston, TX, launched an open season for an expansion of a pipeline that we somehow missed, on January 30. Called the Michigan/Ohio Pipeline Expansion Project, the expanded pipeline project is for flowing “refined petroleum products” (things like gasoline, kerosene and heating oil) and will run from Woodhaven and Detroit, Michigan, and from Toledo and Lima, Ohio, to destination points in both Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Buckeye reports the open season is now closed and was successful and they plan to move forward with expansion plans, slated to be complete by the second half of 2016. Does the expansion include building any new pipeline?…
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Allegheny County | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Halliburton | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

CONSOL Begins Fracking at Pittsburgh Airport, Using New Tech
April 2, 2015April 2, 2015

Yesterday CONSOL Energy began fracking operations on Pad #2 at the Pittsburgh International Airport. That’s a pretty big deal in and of itself–the fact that fracking has begun under airport property. You may recall that CONSOL paid the airport a $50 million signing bonus and when everything is done, they will drill 47 wells on 6 pads (see CONSOL Energy Reveals Drilling Plan for Pittsburgh Airport). After royalties come in, the airport says it will make upward of a staggering $1 billion in revenue from the deal. This is a high profile project for CONSOL, so they’re pushing the technology to ensure environmental impacts are as absolutely minimal as they can be–including air emissions. The big news coming from yesterday, aside from the fact they’ve begun to frack, is HOW they’re doing the fracking. CONSOL is using oilfield services company Halliburton (cue sinister sounding music and flash a picture of Dick Cheney with horns). Halliburton is using brand new equipment to perform the fracking that is “fully compliant with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 Tier 4F emissions standard for non-road, high-horsepower engines.” That is, it’s really really efficient and low-emissions equipment that will reduce air pollution from the operation by an estimated 36%…
Read More “CONSOL Begins Fracking at Pittsburgh Airport, Using New Tech”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

FERC Will Not Oversee UTOPIA NGL Pipeline Project in Ohio
April 2, 2015April 2, 2015

In December 2013, MDN told you about Kinder Morgan’s new NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline cleverly named UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access). UTOPIA is a $500 million, 210-mile, 10-inch pipeline from Harrison County, Ohio to Riga, Michigan and from there connecting with another pipeline heading into Windsor, Ontario (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). Kinder has held an open season and in January 2016 they will file a full application and target November 2016 to begin construction. What we didn’t know, or realize (until today) is that all of the new pipeline that needs to be constructed for the project will happen within Ohio. No new pipeline is needed in Michigan or indeed into Ontario. Why is that important? Because newly constructed pipeline doesn’t cross state lines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will not be involved with approving or overseeing construction for the project. Because it’s all within Ohio, the lead agency for approval and oversight will be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with an assist from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (an agency drunk on its own power)…
Read More “FERC Will Not Oversee UTOPIA NGL Pipeline Project in Ohio”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Sad Day: Worker Killed at Marcus Hook Refinery NGL Project
April 1, 2015April 4, 2015

It’s always a sad day when we report a death related to the Marcellus/Utica industry. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often, but the fact it happens at all is almost too much to bear. We know it’s not realistic to expect no fatalities, but still… On Monday afternoon around 2:30 pm a worker at the former Marcus Hook refinery–which is being converted into a natural gas liquids terminal–was killed after a pylon fell on him. The worker’s name has not yet been released, but it is reported he was in his 50s and from New Jersey and worked for engineering firm AECOM, a contractor working at the site. In a profoundly inappropriate manner, a member of the anti-drilling group Protecting Our Waters jumped on the death as an opportunity to push her anti-drilling message…
Read More “Sad Day: Worker Killed at Marcus Hook Refinery NGL Project”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time
April 1, 2015April 1, 2015

In March 2014 MDN wrote about Williams spreading money around with local fire departments and other non-profit organizations in communities where they want to build the much-needed Constitution Pipeline (see Constitution Pipeline Payments to Groups – Donations or Payola?). The Constitution ended up paying out more than $1 million in grants to local groups. Our point at that time was maybe Williams should wait until the pipeline is approved and built before they hand out money. It just seemed to us like a not-so-transparent attempt at influencing (buying?) support for the project. Do we need that support? Sure! But wait until the pipeline is approved and built, and THEN help out those communities and be a good corporate citizen. Seems our advice fell on deaf ears. PennEast Pipeline is now trying the same tactic. Yesterday PennEast announced another round of community grants–handing out $70,000 this time around. PennEast is giving $5,000 each to 14 different organizations, most of them fire & ambulance departments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey…
Read More “PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time”
Braxton County | Doddridge County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lewis County | M3 Midstream | Momentum | Pipelines | Statewide WV | West Virginia

M3’s New Stonewall Gathering System Extends Existing AGS in WV
April 1, 2015April 1, 2015

All the way back in 2011 MDN told you about M3 Midstream’s Appalachia Gathering System (AGS), a local gathering pipeline system to serve dry gas production areas in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania (see New Marcellus Shale Pipeline Coming to Southwestern PA, Northern WV). AGS was slated to be approximately 130 miles of large diameter gathering pipeline spanning Washington and Greene counties (in PA), and Monongalia, Marion and Harrison counties (in WV). Since that time we haven’t heard much–the project has flown mostly under the radar. It has, however, popped back up in the news in WV, so we thought it would be a good time to give you an update on the project…
Read More “M3’s New Stonewall Gathering System Extends Existing AGS in WV”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

It’s Official: Williams Files with FERC for Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
April 1, 2015April 1, 2015

It’s finally time for the sun to rise on Williams’ Transco Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project. It seems like we’ve covered the story of Atlantic Sunrise forever–a $2.1 billion project consisting of compression and looping of the Transco Leidy Line in Pennsylvania along with a greenfield (brand new) pipeline segment of 178 miles, called the Central Penn Line, connecting the northeastern Marcellus producing region to the Transco mainline near Station 195 in southeastern Pennsylvania (see Atlantic Sunrise Will Pump $1.6B into Economy, Create 8K Jobs). We’ve covered many of the anti-drilling nutball antics in opposing the pipeline (see Convicted Lancaster Protesters Taunt Williams After Court Date). Even though Williams has conducted countless meetings and filed reams of paperwork–it was only yesterday that Williams filed the full, complete, and official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking FERC to approve the project…
Read More “It’s Official: Williams Files with FERC for Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Power Lines and Pipeline Corrosion – A Quick MDN Primer
April 1, 2015April 1, 2015

MDN told you yesterday about a story in the anti-drilling Albany Times Union newspaper that seeks to spread FUD–fear, uncertainty and doubt–about the proposed Kinder Morgan Northeast Extension Direct pipeline (see Albany Times Union Says Electric Lines will Corrode NED Pipeline). The meme trying to be spread by the TU is that if Kinder moves forward with a plan to co-locate the pipeline along miles and miles of high voltage power line corridors, the power lines will eat away the pipeline and turn it into a ticking time bomb that will one day explode. That’s our words, not the TU’s words, but that’s clearly the impression the TU reporter attempts to convey in the article. We poked fun at the notion that electric lines corrode pipelines. However, it does happen! No less than three sharp MDN readers, one of them from the federal government, emailed with information about the phenomenon of pipeline corrosion from AC power lines. The upshot is that a) this is a known issue, b) there are ways to safely mitigate any potential corrosion from AC power lines, and c) pipelines have been co-located along power line corridors for decades–safely…
Read More “Power Lines and Pipeline Corrosion – A Quick MDN Primer”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Albany Times Union Says Electric Lines will Corrode NED Pipeline
March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

In an effort to bend over backwards, forwards and in any direction that will help, Kinder Morgan continues to have multiple talks with multiple communities in an effort to build their $6 billion extension to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a project called Northeast Energy Direct (NED). The pipeline would stretch from New York State through Massachusetts into New Hampshire before re-entering Massachusetts and terminating near Boston. It aims to bring desperately needed natural gas to New England. Yesterday we told you about the gutsy move by a local gas utility in MA that said if the pipeline isn’t built, no gas new customers (and no new gas appliances for existing gas customers) would be allowed–indefinitely (see Guts: No New Pipeline in MA? Then No New Natgas for Utility Customers). One of the ways Kinder hopes to minimize the project’s impact is by running the pipeline through existing rights of way where electric power lines are run. But ninny nanny anti-drillers have a counter argument even for that. Get this (it’s really quite funny): The anti-drilling Albany Times Union is reporting that the presence of power lines way up in the air will corrode pipelines deep under ground–so say “numerous scientific studies.” The TU refers to just one such study, written for Israel (not even a North American study). We’d say the TU is diggin’ deep in their propaganda advocacy to prevent shale drilling and pipelines…
Read More “Albany Times Union Says Electric Lines will Corrode NED Pipeline”