Energy Services

Chemung County | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Pipelines

Millennium Pipeline Looks to Move More Marcellus Gas with Dominion
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

The story of the northeast: Too much Marcellus Shale natural gas, not enough pipelines to move it all to market. More pipelines are on the way like the Constitution, but in the meantime, how to move the enormous amount of gas already flowing?

On Friday, the Millennium Pipeline, a major transmission pipeline that traverses New York State from Steuben County in the western part of the state to Rockland County in the southeastern part of the state, announced a binding open season through September 13 on a proposal to ship more Marcellus gas by creating an interconnect between Dominion Transmission’s pipeline and the Millennium at or near Horseheads, NY (close to Elmira)…
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

Federal Approval for Barging Frack Wastewater Very Close
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

Has there been movement at the federal level to approve barge shipments of fracking wastewater? Going by the recent comments of John Jack, vice president of business development and operations for GreenHunter Water, we would say the answer to that question is very much a “yes”. MDN has told you about GreenHunter’s fracking wastewater recycling/barge facilities–now seven of them in the Marcellus/Utica region. The most recent such facility to win approval (and now being built) is in Wheeling, WV (see Wheeling, WV Approves GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Facility).

The holdup on barging frack wastewater down the Ohio River to locations where there are injection wells for permanent disposal has been an alphabet soup of federal government agencies who need to approve it, including the EPA, OMB, DOE, DOT and Coast Guard (see The Long (Federal) Road to Approve GreenHunter’s Barge Terminals). Going by John Jack’s recent comments, the long wait is almost over…
Read More “Federal Approval for Barging Frack Wastewater Very Close”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Williams

Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Hits Brick Wall in the Bluegrass State
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

In a touch of irony, the Bluegrass Pipeline–a proposed new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will stretch from the Utica/Marcellus region all the way to the Gulf Coast (see Williams, Boardwalk Announce Marcellus-to-Gulf Coast NGL Pipeline)–has hit a brick wall in the Bluegrass State–Kentucky.

Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline, co-owners of the project, maintain that because the Bluegrass Pipeline is an interstate pipeline they can (if need be) invoke eminent domain to force landowners to let them lay the pipeline under their property. Kentucky Energy Secretary Len Peters says not so fast. His team of legal beagles has researched it and they say the Bluegrass Pipeline does not have eminent domain status in the Bluegrass State. We see a legal show-down on the horizon…
Read More “Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Hits Brick Wall in the Bluegrass State”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | Williams

Williams Evaluating Pipeline “Incident” in Dimock, PA
September 5, 2013

Residents in Dimock Township, PA near Carter Road–an area made infamous by Josh Fox in his Gasland movies–had a bit of a scare last Thursday when they heard a loud noise, like “a 747 jet plane.” As it turns out, it was noise coming from scheduled maintenance of a natural gas pipeline in the area owned and operated by Williams. A Williams spokeswoman says, “The process did not go as it should have.” Oops.

According to some concerned local pro-drilling residents, this is not the first Williams mishap in the area…
Read More “Williams Evaluating Pipeline “Incident” in Dimock, PA”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Sunoco Logistics

Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Although not publicly announced by Sunoco Logistics Partners, MDN told you back at the end of July that we spotted an admission from Range Resources that the first batch of ethane had been piped from the Marcellus Shale in western PA to Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) via the Mariner West pipeline (see Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant). Was Range lying? We don’t think so–but today we noticed a small article published by Bloomberg (known to fudge the truth) that says the Mariner West pipeline will begin service in late September or early October. Huh?…
Read More “Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??”
Energy Services | Heckmann | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Nuverra Environmental Sued Over Stock Price Tumble
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

At the end of July, MDN told you (sort of tongue-in-cheek) that Nuverra Environmental Solutions (formerly Heckmann), a company that recycles and otherwise disposes of shale drilling wastewater and leftover rock and dirt from drilling, was blaming “too much success” in the Marcellus/Utica for their poor quarterly earnings report (see Wastewater Company Nuverra: Too Much Success in Marcellus/Utica). Nuverra’s rapidly expanding Marcellus operation led to more outsourcing and less profitability, it seems. It also seems Nuverra now has a much bigger problem than a bustling Marcellus–they’re being sued in a class action by investors.

The class action, filed by very active law firm Robbins Geller, alleges that Nuverra previously “issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s financial performance and future prospects.” Because of the alleged false statements, Nuverra’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices. What went up (the stock price) has now come down (see the chart below), and investors (or at least the lawyers) are not pleased…
Read More “Nuverra Environmental Sued Over Stock Price Tumble”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | UGI Energy Services | Wyoming County (PA)

UGI Victory: Judge Rules in Favor Marcellus Gate Station in NE PA
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

MDN told you back in April about UGI’s (a Scranton-area public utility) plan to build a new pipeline connector–called a gate station–so they could tap into abundant, cheap and locally produced Marcellus Shale gas to sell to its customers. UGI’s plan will lower the gas bill for thousands of its customers and use local Marcellus gas instead of gas piped in from the Gulf Coast. Fantastically, some hardened anti-drillers opposed the new gate station with claims of air pollution, dire consequences, blah blah–the usual banal excuses–even though there has been another gate station operating in the area for more than 50 years (see Anti-Drillers Try to Stop Pipeline Connector in NE PA).

Anti-drillers tried to stop the UGI gate station by invoking local zoning ordinances at the town level. Fortunately, a level-headed administrative law judge has put a stop to those efforts and has ruled that UGI may go ahead and build the new Marcellus gas gate station…
Read More “UGI Victory: Judge Rules in Favor Marcellus Gate Station in NE PA”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Hess | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Pipelines | PVR Midstream | PVR Partners | Utica Shale

PVR Partners to Build $150M Utica Shale Pipeline System for Hess
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Midstream company PVR Partners has been selected by Hess to construct 45 miles of gathering pipelines in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region. In an announcement issued today, PVR said the new pipelines will be built to cover Belmont, Jefferson and Harrison Counties where Hess holds a substantial acreage position. The new pipeline project will end up costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $125-$150 million and will be completed in 2015.

The PVR announcement:
Read More “PVR Partners to Build $150M Utica Shale Pipeline System for Hess”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NiSource | Pipelines | West Virginia

NiSource Installs 4 New Engines at Majorsville, WV Compressor Stn
August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

The natural gas compressor station located in Majorsville (Marshall County), WV has just received a major upgrade according to owner NiSource. Four really old (1956!) engines were replaced with four brand new CAT 3606 engines, which will increase throughput on the pipeline by 70-80 million cubic feet per day.

The NiSource announcement:
Read More “NiSource Installs 4 New Engines at Majorsville, WV Compressor Stn”
Access Midstream Partners | Chief Oil & Gas | Electrical Generation | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | PVR Midstream | Statewide PA

Chief Strikes Deal to Provide Marcellus Gas for Electric Plants
August 29, 2013August 29, 2013

Chief Oil & Gas announced yesterday they have crafted a deal to supply some of the Marcellus Shale gas they produce in PA to IMG Midstream. You may think IMG is a pipeline company because of the word “midstream” in its name–but you would be wrong. IMG Midstream (formerly known as Iron Mountain Generation) develops, owns, and operates small-scale electric generation plants powered by natural gas. As part of the new deal, Chief will use pipelines from Access Midstream and PVR Midstream to get the gas from their wells to IMG’s new electric plants (to be built) in northeastern PA.

With that explanation to clear up who the players are, here’s the (somewhat confusing) press release announcing the deal…
Read More “Chief Strikes Deal to Provide Marcellus Gas for Electric Plants”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

When Will DOE Approve Cove Point, MD LNG Export Facility?
August 26, 2013August 26, 2013

In early August the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) approved a project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) via a facility along the Gulf Coast–in Lake Charles, LA (see Third Houston company gets LNG export approval). No doubt the DOE’s newly minted secretary, Ernest “Hair” Moniz, had a great deal to do with it (we affectionately call him Hair, if you’ve seen his picture, you know why). So far, Lake Charles is the third LNG export facility to receive a green light from the Obama administration over the past two years–all of them along the Gulf Coast.

What about a little LNG action along the East Coast–so we can export some of this abundant (and cheap!) Marcellus Shale gas? Dominion is still waiting for a green light from the DOE for their Cove Point, MD LNG project–a project heavily protested by the likes of the Sierra Club and other anti-fossil fuel groups. Japan and India–two good allies of the U.S.–are lined up and waiting, ready to buy the entire output of the Cove Point facility when/if it starts to ship…
Read More “When Will DOE Approve Cove Point, MD LNG Export Facility?”
Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Blue Racer Gets $1B Line of Credit for More Utica Projects
August 23, 2013August 23, 2013

Blue Racer Midstream, a 50/50 midstream joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy II, was formed last December (see Dominion, Caiman in $1.5B Utica JV: Blue Racer Midstream). One of the assets that belongs to the Blue Racer jv is the newly online Natrium, WV NGL plant (see Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself).

In order to expand and fulfill their vision of becoming the leading midstream company in the Utica Shale, Blue Racer needs money to build things. They now have it. Blue Racer announced yesterday they’ve secured an $800 million line of credit with a group of banks–a line of credit which can be (under certain conditions) expanded to a whopping $1 billion. That kind of money will easily build you another couple of Natrium NGL plants…
Read More “Blue Racer Gets $1B Line of Credit for More Utica Projects”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide OH

OH Still in the Running for an Ethane Cracker? Maybe
August 22, 2013August 22, 2013

Ohio’s dream to be the future host of an ethane cracker plant is still very much alive, according to U.S. Sen. Rob Portman from Ohio. Portman, along with Greg Sullivan, area manager for MarkWest Energy, spoke at the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association meeting yesterday. According to Sullivan, a source to ship the ethane produced by their plant to when it separates the ethane from the natural gas liquid stream is “our big challenge.” MarkWest’s only current option is to ship it to Canada via the Mariner West Sunoco pipeline (see Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant). Starting next year and the year after, two more pipelines will come online to ship it to the Gulf Coast (the ATEX Express and the Bluegrass).

According to MarkWest, there is a “desperate need for a local ethane cracker.” Sen. Portman is hoping Ohio can supply that need, especially since Shell continues to “evaluate” its project to build a cracker plant in PA with no firm commitment or timeline to build it…
Read More “OH Still in the Running for an Ethane Cracker? Maybe”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Pipelines | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Landslide Causes MarkWest NGL Pipeline in WV to Rupture/Spill
August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

A landslide last week damaged a MarkWest Energy wet gas pipeline in Wetzel County, WV. The pipeline ruptured and spilled gas liquids onto the ground and into a nearby stream causing a fish kill. The pipeline connects MarkWest’s Mobley and Majorsville facilities. It was immediately shut down and will remain so for the foreseeable future until repairs are done.

The known details of the spill:
Read More “Landslide Causes MarkWest NGL Pipeline in WV to Rupture/Spill”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources

GreenHunter Water 2Q13: Revenue Way Up, Losses Way Up Too
August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

GreenHunter Resources and its subsidiary GreenHunter Water is a fracking wastewater recycler/disposal company focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. GreenHunter released their second quarter financials and operational update yesterday. Wastewater is good for GreenHunter: revenue for the first six months of this year vs. last year is up a very big 172%, albeit it’s only $17.5 million in revenue. GreenHunter recently had good news with the approval of a new recycling/barge facility in Wheeling, WV (see Wheeling, WV Approves GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Facility).

However, all is not coming up roses for GreenHunter. The company is bleeding money with an operating loss of $2.1 million as of June 30th. They’ve just hired a new senior vice president/chief financial officer to help stem the bleeding…
Read More “GreenHunter Water 2Q13: Revenue Way Up, Losses Way Up Too”
El Paso | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines

Marcellus/Utica Gas Heading South on Expanded El Paso Pipeline
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

Examples of the enormous economic power of the Marcellus/Utica to influence the entire nation’s economy keep coming–almost daily it seems. Latest example: Kinder Morgan’s El Paso Pipeline Partners announced yesterday that not only has the most recent “open season” (when buyers and sellers of natural gas commit to using a pipeline in the future when it’s built) resulted in commitments for the original proposed expansion of 600 million cubic feet of natgas per day (Mmcf/d), they also have additional demand for another 400 Mmcf/d. That’s demand to deliver 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/d) to markets in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

And where, do you think, will the extra 1 Bcf/d of gas supplies come from? You guessed it: The Marcellus and Utica Shale…
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Gas Heading South on Expanded El Paso Pipeline”