Transco

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…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Bid to Stop Transco Expansion in PA
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Question for THE Delaware Riverkeeper: What address should Williams send you the $1,125,000 bill because you blocked their tree cutting for a FERC-approved pipeline extension in Luzerne County? That’s how much it ended up costing Williams after THE Delaware Riverkeeper found a judge in Washington, DC who stopped Williams from clearing trees along the path of the pipeline expansion starting March 11 (see Dela. Riverkeeper Halts Transco Pipeline Upgrade with Lawsuit). Riverkeeper was hoping they could run the clock out because Williams can’t cut those trees from April through October, just in case an endangered Indiana bat decides to roost in a tree. Riverkeeper knows that and wanted to screw with the tree cutting schedule, hoping to buy an additional seven months to mount more legal challenges. The Riverkeeper legal shenanigan cost Williams real money (see Dela. Riverkeeper Leidy Lawsuit Costing Williams $125K per Day). It ended up being 9 days total, until a judge ruled last Thursday that Williams could resume their tree cutting (as we knew they would). Nine days at $125K per day is $1,125,000. Since Riverkeeper lost their case, we think they should pay the bill…
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Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide MD | Transco | Williams

Williams Gets FERC Approval for 11-Mile Pipeline in NE Maryland
March 20, 2015March 20, 2015

Good news! Williams announced yesterday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved their Transco pipeline application to expand the Transco system and construct an 11-mile pipeline lateral connecting Transco to an electric power generating facility in Cecil County, Maryland. The “Rock Springs expansion project” will transport 192,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s soon-to-be-built Wildcat Point Generation Facility. Wildcat will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity–enough to power 390,000 homes in the region…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Dela. Riverkeeper Leidy Lawsuit Costing Williams $125K per Day
March 19, 2015March 19, 2015

The clock is ticking. As we told you on Monday, THE Delaware Riverkeeper–Maya van Rossum–is using her bags of money from the William Penn Foundation to try and stop the FERC-approved expansion of the Transco pipeline in northeastern Pennsylvania (see Dela. Riverkeeper Halts Transco Pipeline Upgrade with Lawsuit). The project, known as the Leidy Southeast expansion project, would add new pipeline next to existing pipeline–called looping. Williams (owner of the Transco) can only cut trees down along the path it needs to clear until April 1st. After that, they must wait until Nov. 1st to begin cutting again in order to avoid cutting down trees that may (or may not) become roosting spots for the endangered Indiana bat. van Rossum & company have gotten a sympathetic judge in D.C. to halt the tree cutting while he reviews her latest frivolous lawsuit. She’s trying to run the clock down. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was supposed to rule earlier this week. They didn’t. Every day they delay is costing Williams $125,000. We sincerely hope Williams sends that bill to van Rossum once the tree cutting begins again…
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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Research | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Atlantic Sunrise Will Pump $1.6B into Economy, Create 8K Jobs
March 17, 2015March 17, 2015

Williams pushed out a new economic analysis of their Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project yesterday. The project, if built, will cost $2.1 billion and consist of compression and looping of the Transco Leidy Line in Pennsylvania along with a greenfield pipeline segment, called the Central Penn Line, connecting the northeastern Marcellus producing region to the Transco mainline near Station 195 in southeastern Pennsylvania. Additional existing Transco facilities are being added or modified to allow gas to flow bi-directionally. The preliminary project design includes 178 miles of new greenfield pipe (Central Penn North & Central Penn South), two pipeline loops totaling about 12 miles (Chapman Loop, Unity Loop), 2.5 miles of existing pipeline replacement, two new compressor facilities in PA, and other facility additions or modifications in five states (PA, MD, VA, NC, SC). There’s been some push back by small groups of anti-drillers in places like Lebanon County and Lancaster County (PA) where a phony Indian tribe claims the pipeline will run through ancient burial grounds (see Convicted Lancaster Protesters Taunt Williams After Court Date). Meanwhile, the adults at Williams continue to make progress. The analysis they released yesterday shows the Atlantic Sunrise project will pump $1.6 billion into the economies of the states where it’s built, and create 8,000 jobs…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Dela. Riverkeeper Halts Transco Pipeline Upgrade with Lawsuit
March 16, 2015March 16, 2015

Someone needs to sue THE Delaware Riverkeeper (Maya van Rossum) the way that organization is suing legitimate and legal companies to block legitimate and legal activity in the Marcellus Shale. Delaware Riverkeeper apparently has endless bags of money, made available to them by the Park Foundation, Heinz Endowments and other anti-drilling “non-profit” groups, to file endless frivolous lawsuits. The latest is particularly insidious. Williams has just received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a few loops–extra lengths of pipeline immediately next to existing pipeline–for the Transco Pipeline in northeast PA and in NJ (see FERC Approves Williams Leidy Southeast Project in PA/NJ). Part of the requirement by FERC is that Williams cannot cut down trees between April and October–a full seven months–to avoid “harming” the endangered Indiana bat that may (or may not) roost in those trees…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Convicted Lancaster Protesters Taunt Williams After Court Date
February 9, 2015February 9, 2015

It’s kind of funny how eight anti-drillers can conflate themselves to seem as if they represent untold thousands. They get themselves arrested for a lawless act and they’re actually proud of it–like they’ve accomplished something with their lives. We’ve been following the somewhat bizarre story of the “Conestoga 8” in Lancaster County, PA who are trying to stop the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. One of the eight is supposedly a Native American (i.e. Indian) who goes by the name of Chief Carlos Whitewolf (see Indians on the War Path Against Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA and Indians on the Anti-Pipeline War Path – Part 2). Except his last name isn’t really Whitewolf–it’s Rivera. Huh. A “Native American” with a very Hispanic first and last name. That’s a new one. Anywho, Chief Whitewolf-Rivera is protesting on behalf of the Conestoga people–who have been extinct for generations. He’s asking the United Nations to step in and stop the pipeline, on behalf of the long-dead Conestogas (see Lancaster, PA Antis Request United Nations Interfere in Pipeline). Chief Whitewolf-Rivera and the other small band of ne’er do wells had their day in court, and then they went on a field trip to the local Williams office straight from court to see if they could get arrested again…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Transco Pipeline Hits New Record High in January
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

As MDN pointed out last week, Williams is spending $100 million per month in the northeast (see Williams Spending $100 million Per Month in the Marcellus/Utica). Some of that money is spent to expand/extend/enhance the might Transco pipeline–a 10,200-mile pipeline that runs from South Texas to New York City. It is one of the most important natural gas pipelines in the country. Williams recently reported the might Transco hit another new record high in early January for the amount of gas it flows…
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Allegheny County | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Williams Spending $100 million Per Month in the Marcellus/Utica
January 14, 2015January 14, 2015

There’s an excellent regional television program in Pittsburgh called “Our Region’s Business” hosted by veteran reporter Bill Flannigan. On December 7, Jim Scheel, Senior Vice President for Northeast G&P for Williams, appeared in a segment on the program (video embedded below). Scheel shared some eye-popping statistics about the Marcellus/Utica, and about Williams and their commitment to the region. Scheel said, among many things in the short 7-minute segment, that in 2014 Williams spent an astonishing $100 million per month on pipeline projects in the northeast region. They currently employ 750 people in the northeast and over the next year or so expect to add another 160 people to the payroll. What an exciting, dynamic company! Here’s a few more stats Scheel mentioned…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Reporter Falls for Delaware Riverkeeper Anti-Pipeline Bamboozle
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

THE Delaware Riverkeeper and anti-driller, Maya van Rossum, continues her bamboozling ways. van Rossum finds conspiracy and evil intent behind every new pipeline project (or shale well) she hears about–and she’s only too glad to spread FUD–fear, uncertainty and doubt–about every announced project. The latest “angle” by van Rossum is to say when a huge pipeline company like Williams plans expansions to its largest pipeline system, the mighty Transco (10,200 miles of interstate pipelines), if Williams doesn’t combine all of those expansions in different geographic locations into one big, massive project, they’re trying to hide something. They’re trying to game the system. They’re trying to downplay the so-called environmental impacts all of those projects collectively will have on Precious Mother Earth. It’s just more fast talking by van Rossum…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Lancaster, PA Antis Request United Nations Interfere in Pipeline
January 6, 2015January 6, 2015

Anti-drillers and anti-pipeliners (typically one and the same) will do just about anything to further their cause–including asking a foreign power to intervene to stop the activity they don’t want. Eight people were arrested yesterday for trespassing as part of an anti-Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline protest in Lancaster County, PA. The eight were part of a group of 30 or so antis who showed up with the intention to stop Williams from breaking ground on the pipeline in that area. One of the eight arrested was Carlos Rivera, chief of the Northern Arawak Tribal Nation. Rivera says Williams should not be allowed to lay pipeline across Native America (i.e. Indian) land located in Lancaster County. So Rivera is filing a request with the United Nations, claiming the land is protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Good luck Carlos…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

FERC Approves Williams Leidy Southeast Project in PA/NJ
December 22, 2014December 22, 2014

Since January 2013, Williams has been working on a project called Leidy Southeast that will create several new loops in northeast Pennsylvania and in New Jersey (including new compressor stations) to bump up the capacity of the Williams Transco interstate gas pipeline (see Williams Takes Next Step with Transco Leidy Pipeline Expansion). In August, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said there would be no significant impacts to the environment, a good sign that the project would get the green light (see FERC Says “No Significant Impact” from Leidy Southeast Pipeline). The green light came last Thursday when FERC gave final approval for the project…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Yet Another Williams Transco Expansion: Western Marcellus Project
September 5, 2014September 5, 2014

Pipeline (infrastructure) projects keep getting announced fast and furiously–we can hardly keep up! Williams has announced yet another upgrade to their Transco Pipeline–this one called the Western Marcellus Pipeline Project. We get details about the new project from an open season announcement from Williams posted yesterday. The Transco is one of the country’s largest interstate natural gas pipelines–a 10,200-mile pipeline system that extends from South Texas to New York City. In February Williams announced an $2.1 billion expansion of the Transco to carry PA Marcellus gas to the Eastern seaboard, what they call the Atlantic Sunrise project (see Williams Plans $2.1B Transco Pipeline Expansion, 100% Sold Already). Last week we told you about another expansion of the Transco, called Diamond East, that will beef up capacity on the Transco from Lycoming and Luzerne counties in northeast PA all the way to Mercer County, NJ, a $500-$800 million project (see Williams to Expand Transco Pipeline Again, More Marcellus to NE). Yesterday Williams announced the Western Marcellus Pipeline project, a project that will give western PA Marcellus and eastern OH Utica producers a way to get their gas to markets in the southeast (Louisiana and Texas) and even to Florida…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

PA Gov Corbett Makes Political U-Turn on Pipeline Project
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Last week Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett waded into the thorny issue of whether or not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should approve the Williams Tranco pipeline expansion project. Dubbed the Atlantic Sunrise project, the $3 billion project which reaches far beyond just PA, would carry PA Marcellus Shale gas to the East Coast and to southern states (see Williams Open House Sheds more Light on Transco Atlantic Sunrise). Last week Corbett sent a letter to FERC asking the feds to look carefully at the Atlantic Sunrise expansion project because he’s hearing a lot of noise from voters about it. He also requested FERC to zoom out and look at the big picture–consider all of the proposed pipeline projects for PA and whether as a whole it makes sense–and not just look at each project individually…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Williams to Expand Transco Pipeline Again, More Marcellus to NE
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

There’s no doubt that Williams is a major midstream player in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Williams is in the process of growing–massively–by purchasing Access Midstream (see Big News: Williams Partners Buying Access Midstream for $6B). Williams is also the owner of the Transcontinental (or Transco) pipeline, a 10,200-mile pipeline system, extending from South Texas to New York City. Williams wants to further expand the Transco with it’s Atlantic Sunrise project to bring Marcellus gas to the northeast and southern states (see Williams Plans $2.1B Transco Pipeline Expansion, 100% Sold Already). Yesterday Williams announced an open season (period of time when new customers can sign up) for yet a another expansion of the Transco, this time to bring more Marcellus Shale gas to places like New Jersey and New York City. This newest expansion is being called the Diamond East Project and Williams expects to pony up $500-$800 million to make it happen by 2018…
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Columbia County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Lycoming County | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

FERC Says “No Significant Impact” from Leidy Southeast Pipeline
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Williams is one very important step closer to beginning construction–this fall–on their Transco Leidy Southeast Expansion project. Last fall Williams filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to proceed with the project, a $610 million project designed to increase the Transco pipeline’s capacity by 525,000 decatherms per day–enough natural gas to serve 2 million homes (see Williams Takes Next Step with Transco Leidy Pipeline Expansion). The expansion will pipe cheap, abundant NEPA Marcellus Shale gas to points from New York City to the southeastern U.S. The project includes construction of approximately 30 miles of additional pipe segments, called loops, in PA and NJ, in addition to modifying some existing compressor stations and valve sites. Earlier this week FERC reported the proposed changes would have “no significant impact” on the environment. What does that mean?…
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