Energy Services

Energy Services | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | UIL Holdings

Mayor Nutter, State PUC Attempt CPR on Dead PGW Deal
October 31, 2014October 31, 2014

The corrupt Philadelphia City Council killed the sale of the municipally-owned Philadelphia Gas Works earlier this week (see Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal). PGW is bleeding money and rates for residents are sky high, in no small part because they still buy their gas from the Gulf Coast instead of getting it from the nearby (and super cheap) Marcellus region in their own state! What’s next in the process? Philly’s Democrat Mayor, Michael Nutter, along with the state Public Utility Commission (PUC), haven’t quite given up on the deal–not yet. They’re bringing enormous pressure on council members to at least take a vote, something Council President Darrell Clarke has been unwilling to do. The PUC had been waiting to conduct hearings on PGW because of the impending sale. With the sale off, the PUC is turning up the heat and will hold hearings in the next two weeks to demand answers from PGW (and Council) on how they’ll fix the mess they’ve created…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Pipelines

NiSource 3Q14: A Lot of Irons in the Fire, Spending Billions
October 31, 2014October 31, 2014

NiSource, owner of the Columbia Pipeline Group (with lots of projects cooking in the northeast) issued its third quarter 2014 update yesterday. We have a fair bit of news in the release about their midstream activities in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. They also update progress on their massive modernization project in replacing a lot of existing pipeline in the northeast–to the tune of $12-$15 billion over the next 10 years. The update highlights progress for the recently announced Leach and Rayne XPress projects, the WB XPress, Mountaineer XPress and the Washington County Gathering project. There’s a lot in there!…
Read More “NiSource 3Q14: A Lot of Irons in the Fire, Spending Billions”
Energy Services | Mahoning County | Ohio | Pennant Midstream

First Energy Completes New Power Line for Pennant Midstream in OH
October 31, 2014October 31, 2014

FirstEnergy, an electric utility company operating in the northeast, announced yesterday they have completed the installation of 3.5 mile, 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Mahoning County, OH that runs to the Pennant Midstream natural gas processing facility in Springfield Township. The new line cost $3 million and replaces “temporary equipment” (i.e., jury-rigged) installed previously so the Pennant plant could begin operations. The new line allows for future expansion at the facility. This is not the first shale-related project for FirstEnergy. Earlier this year FirstEnergy announced a $36 million electric substation for a MarkWest processing plant in WV (see FirstEnergy Builds Electric Substation for MarkWest WV Plant). Here’s the details for their latest project…
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Accidents | Blue Racer Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines

Blue Racer Condensate Pipeline Ruptures/Burns in Monroe County, OH
October 30, 2014October 30, 2014

A Blue Racer Midstream condensate pipeline caught fire early Tuesday morning near Cameron (eastern part of Monroe County, OH). Condensate is lighter than crude oil but heavier than natural gas liquids. Think of it as really light oil. Blue Racer’s condensate pipeline runs from Utica wells in eastern Ohio to Blue Racer’s processing plant in Natrium, WV. According to officials, the rupture in the 8-inch pipeline burned for several hours and burned several acres of surrounding woods before burning itself out. Fortunately it was a remote area where the accident occurred and no one was injured…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Mariner East NGL Pipeline Begins Tests in Lebanon, PA
October 30, 2014October 30, 2014

It’s funny how reading anti-drilling media reports you get the impression that projects like Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East Pipeline may be in jeopardy. The pipeline runs 300 miles from the western edge of Pennsylvania (and beyond) to southeastern PA in the Philadelphia area–to the Marcus Hook refinery. The pipeline, which will flow ethane and propane (natural gas liquids) is already in the ground except for a few miles in western PA. The only thing needed is approval to build 18 pump stations and 17 valve control stations in 31 municipalities along the route. Some of the municipalities are resisting by throwing up legal roadblocks (see West Goshen’s Legal Shenanigans Try to Block Mariner East Pipeline). Meanwhile, Sunoco plows ahead and has started testing the pipeline, to get it ready to go. In other words, this is not a question of if, it’s a question of when…
Read More “Mariner East NGL Pipeline Begins Tests in Lebanon, PA”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide PA | UGI Energy Services

Spectra Energy Becomes 6th Partner in PennEast Pipeline Project
October 30, 2014October 30, 2014

The more the merrier. The quintet of companies who are partnering to build the 100-mile PennEast Pipeline from northeastern PA to Trenton, NJ has turned into a sextet. Large regional utility company UGI has been/continues to be the lead company building the pipeline (see 3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ). The other original investors were AGL Resources, NJR Pipeline Company (subsidiary of New Jersey Resources) and South Jersey Industries. In September, the four original partners were joined by PSEG Power, New Jersey’s largest utility (see NJ’s Largest Utility Becomes 5th Partner in PennEast Pipeline). Now it’s partner number six: Spectra Energy…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

MDN is Outraged at Massachusetts Anti-Pipeline Outrage
October 29, 2014October 29, 2014

We’re outraged at the outrage of hypocritical anti-drillers. An article from Massachusetts begins this way: “Gas pipeline opponents throughout the state of Massachusetts are outraged about a new pipeline support coalition that has formed because the group not only has ties to the company trying to put the pipeline in place, but is also putting big businesses before residential concerns.” That set us off! Here’s what we’re outraged about…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | UIL Holdings

Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal
October 28, 2014October 28, 2014

There’s a reason Philadelphia has the reputation of being one of the most corrupt cities in America–because it is. We have proof. Back in March of this year, after a long, hard process, the Democrat Mayor of Philly, Michael Nutter, announced a deal to sell the municipally-owned (and bleeding money) Philadelphia Gas Works to UIL Holdings Corporation, a Connecticut-based investor-owned gas and electric utility holding company (see Phila. Gas Works Deal for $1.86B – Marcellus/Utica One of Keys). The deal would have injected $424 million into the city’s failing pension fund. It was a win/win all the way around. What did the corrupt City Council do? Diddle around, giving special interests time to mount opposition (see Philly City Council Continues to Diddle Around on PGW Sale). Yesterday the corrupt City Council announced they were killing the deal Nutter, one of their own, worked so hard to negotiate…
Read More “Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Texas Gas Seeks to Reverse Flow of Pipeline from OH to LA
October 28, 2014October 28, 2014

Texas Gas Transmission owns an extensive natural gas pipeline system with about 6,100 miles of pipelines. Some 690 miles of that system runs from the Gulf Coast in Louisiana all the way to southwest Ohio (see map below). Earlier this month, Texas Gas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reverse the flow on their 690-mile segment and begin to carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from the northeast to the south. Actually, what they want to do is turn the pipeline into a bi-directional flow–so the gas can go either way. The project is called the Ohio-Louisiana Access Project and no new pipeline is needed–just modifications of yard and station piping at four existing compressor stations along with building one new compressor station (project cost of $115 million). Here’s the details…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

NC Regulator Vote Means $5B Atlantic Coast Pipeline Moves Forward
October 28, 2014October 28, 2014

An important milestone has been achieved on the way to building the $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline–a project that will run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). The important milestone that just happened is the approval of North Carolina regulators that will allow Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas to make contracts between their utilities and commercial divisions for gas transportation on the proposed pipeline. That is, by unanimous vote, the regulators just gave these companies permission to do business with themselves. Let us explain…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Union Calls Sen. Markey/Warren Pipeline Opposition “Vulgar”
October 28, 2014October 28, 2014

Last week MDN told you that both Massachusetts U.S Senators–Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren–have turned against Kinder Morgan and their planned expansion of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline across the state (see Both Mass. Senators Oppose TGP Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline). Both Senators are, unsurprisingly, Democrats. So it was with some surprise that we noticed a schism among the Democrats on the pipeline. The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) is calling comments by Markey and Warren to FERC “a vulgar attempt to politicize our nation’s energy regulatory agencies.” Them’s fightin’ words–especially coming from a normally Democrat stronghold (a labor union). Here’s some even stronger words from LIUNA…
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Access Midstream Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams

Deal Details for Williams/Access Midstream Merger – TTV of $50B!
October 27, 2014October 27, 2014

One of the biggest–perhaps THE biggest–midstream stories of 2014 is the buyout of Access Midstream by Williams (see Big News: Williams Partners Buying Access Midstream for $6B). Access Midstream, formerly Chesapeake Midstream, has a big footprint in the Marcellus/Utica region. Yesterday (Sunday night) Williams and Access issued a joint statement that the merger plan is now done. The deal outline is settled–and now it’s down to the lawyers and approvals from the government. They expect the completed merger/takeover by Williams to be done “by early 2015.” Yesterday’s announcement (below) gives the blow by blow of the negotiated deal. It also outlines the roles that Access’ corporate officers will play in the newly combined company. As MDN said initially, this deal has the makings of creating a worthy challenger to Kinder Morgan, the nation’s largest midstream company. We originally estimated the combined value of Williams and Access combined would be around $38 billion. According to the announcement yesterday, the “total transaction value” (TTV) of this deal will be ~$50 billion!…
Read More “Deal Details for Williams/Access Midstream Merger – TTV of $50B!”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Williams

Constitution Pipeline Gets FERC Final Environmental Approval
October 27, 2014October 27, 2014

A VERY key piece of the puzzle for building the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA north all the way to Schoharie County, NY fell into place late last week. On Oct. 24, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued final environmental review of the proposed pipeline, being built by Williams (with major partner Cabot Oil & Gas, whose gas will flow through it). The final environmental impact statement (EIS) issued by FERC says the pipeline can be built with a minimum impact to the environment. What potential obstacles now remain? Very few. FERC will issue a final “Order” to authorize the pipeline and is expected to do so by Jan. 22, 2015. Game over for anti-drillers on this one. They lost…
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Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Anti-Drillers Protest Steelers Game Over Breast Cancer Donation
October 27, 2014October 27, 2014

How small and mean, and frankly stupid, can anti-drillers get? Pretty small and mean and stupid. On Sunday, a handful of anti-drillers protested outside of Heinz Field where the Pittsburgh Steelers were set to play the Indianapolis Colts–there to protest oilfield services company Baker Hughes handing over a check for $100,000 at half-time to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research (the world’s foremost such organization). We wrote about these nutters previously (see Liberal Group Calls Baker Hughes Breast Cancer Effort “Pink Sh*t”). There is no connection between shale drilling and breast cancer, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a good protest, right?…
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Energy Services | EnLink Midstream

EnLink Midstream’s Primary Focus in the Marcellus/Utica is…
October 24, 2014October 24, 2014

EnLink Midstream, the newly combined Crosstex Midstream + Devon Energy midstream division, has announced a “drop down transaction”–which means on paper they transferred assets from one corporate entity to another–both entities owned by EnLink. That is, they sold themselves their own assets. On paper, the “transaction” is valued at $192 million and includes E2 Appalachian Compression, LLC and E2 Energy Services, LLC, both subsidiaries with operations in the Marcellus/Utica. Beyond the financial mumbo jumbo in their announcement, MDN found one line of interest that talks about what, exactly, EnLink’s “primary focus” in the Marcellus/Utica is…
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Energy Services | MarkWest Energy

MarkWest Energy 3Q14: Nearing Full Capacity in the Marcellus
October 24, 2014October 24, 2014

MarkWest has over 20 drillers as customers in the Marcellus/Utica, and the northeast continues to be the company’s main area of focus, according to their third quarter 2014 operational update. If you take all of their (many) processing facilities in the Marcellus, MarkWest says utilization rates went from 79% in 2Q14 to 84% in 3Q14. That means out of a theoretical 100% maximum capacity, 84% of it is now being used. In the Utica the utilization rate went from 56% in 2Q14 to 63% in 3Q14. Here’s more on what’s happening in the northeast for MarkWest…
Read More “MarkWest Energy 3Q14: Nearing Full Capacity in the Marcellus”