Maryland Loses Fight to Block Tiny Pipe Under Potomac River
We finally have some good news to share concerning Columbia Gas’ project to build a tiny 3.37-mile, 8-inch pipeline under the Potomac River from Maryland to West Virginia. The project, called the Eastern Panhandle Expansion, has been blocked repeatedly by leftwing wackos in Maryland (see Fed Judge Upholds Maryland Decision to Block Pipe Under Potomac). Maryland used the same flawed legal argument that New Jersey used to block the PennEast Pipeline — that eminent domain can’t be used against land owned or controlled by a state. PennEast won its case against NJ in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 (see PennEast Pipeline Squeaks Out 5-4 Supreme Court Victory Over NJ). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) ruled on Wednesday, using the PennEast case as precedent, that Maryland could not claim immunity from eminent domain.
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The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. 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 two weeks ago, Enbridge is conducting 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 
In 2015, Kelsy Warren and his Energy Transfer Equity (now just Energy Transfer) company pursued Williams, wanting to merge Williams into its operation. Williams initially fought ET tooth and nail, but in the end, caved and cut a deal (see 
Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, wants to extend the pipeline by an extra 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric generation. The extension is called MVP Southgate. In typical fashion, Democrats oppose it (see 
In August 2022, MDN brought you the news that Hearthstone Utilities, a Naperville, Illinois-based company, was planning to move its corporate headquarters to Morgantown, West Virginia (see 
The left thought it had won the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) battle with three colluding (corrupt) and sympathetic judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit). But then Congress, under the leadership of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, passed the “debt ceiling” bill that forces the completion of MVP (see 
Summit Midstream Partners, formed in 2009 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, operates natural gas, crude oil, and produced water gathering (pipeline) systems in several unconventional shale plays, including the Marcellus and Utica. On Tuesday, the company issued an operational update based on third-quarter results (no financials, just operations). The company saw significant quarterly volume growth across nearly every segment, including 19% volume growth in its Northeast (Marcellus/Utica) segment. However, the big news from the update is that the company has received overtures to buy some or all of the entire company. The Summit board is now actively considering those offers.
TransCanada Corporation, which renamed itself TC Energy in 2019, bought out/merged in U.S.-based Columbia Pipeline Group (now Columbia Gas Transmission) in 2016 (see 
TRC Capital Investment Corporation has sent an unsolicited “mini-tender” offer to Dominion Energy stockholders looking to purchase up to 2 million shares of Dominion’s common stock at an offer price that is 4.47% lower than the current share price. TRC Capital is looking to pick up Dominion shares on the cheap and turn around and flip them at a higher price. Dominion is warning stockholders they should not agree to the deal.
The Enbridge Gas Dawn Parkway System is one of the most robust pipeline systems in North America and provides for the movement of natural gas from Enbridge Gas’s Dawn Hub located near Sarnia, Ontario, to the Greater Toronto Area, where it interconnects with other downstream pipelines serving eastern Canadian and northeast U.S. markets. Marcellus/Utica molecules help feed the Dawn Hub via the Rover and NEXUS pipelines. Enbridge Gas is holding a new capacity open season for an extra 300 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of natural gas along the Dawn Parkway System. Let’s move more M-U molecules!
Yesterday, Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, a regional electric utility, announced its updated 20-year plan to provide reliable, affordable, and resilient energy to its customers. The plan calls for investment in new on-demand energy sources (two new gas-fired power plants) to ensure the long-term stability of the energy grid and accelerated deployment of renewable energy generation. Even though the plan is loaded with all sorts of so-called new renewable electric generation, anti-fossil fuel zealots have latched onto the two new gas-fired power plants and are stroking out. By the way, those two gas-fired plants will get their molecules from the Marcellus/Utica.
According to analysts writing for S&P Global Commodity Insights, the long-range forecast from the U.S. National Weather Service calls for milder temperatures in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region this winter. Warm temps equal less natural gas usage. Williams’ Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project will partially come online in October, flowing an initial 450 MMcf/d (out of 829 MMcf/d) of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland. More supply with less demand is a classic economic prescription for lower prices in New York, New Jersey, and the Mid-Atlantic region. So says the S&P analysts.
The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. 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. Enbridge is conducting 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.