Williams Makes Pitch to Add 28 Miles of Transco Pipe in NC Triad
Last November, Williams officially filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build an expansion of its mighty Transco pipeline system in the southeastern U.S., a project called the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (see Williams Files with FERC to Expand Mighty Transco Pipe in Southeast). The SSE project will add 1.6 million dekatherms per day (1.6 Bcf/d) of natural gas transportation capacity, equivalent to what is needed to serve approximately 9.8 million homes. Yesterday, Williams representatives were in the Triad area of North Carolina to pitch a small piece of the project to residents—building 28.4 miles of looping pipeline next to the existing pipeline in the same right-of-way. Read More “Williams Makes Pitch to Add 28 Miles of Transco Pipe in NC Triad”
During last week’s first quarter update from Williams, management announced a new project called the Transco Power Express expansion. The project will expand Transco capacity by a whopping 950 MMcf/d (nearly a full Bcf) to flow more Marcellus/Utica molecules to the power-hungry Virginia market. The Virginia market is power hungry because of the data centers already built there, and the many more planned for the state. The Power Express project, if built, is expected to go online in the third quarter of 2030 (five years from now). 
Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County (in southern Virginia) is part of the Transco pipeline network, the nation’s largest-volume interstate natural gas pipeline system. CS 165 is also the endpoint of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which carries 2 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA. Williams, the owner of Transco, replaced an aging fleet of engines at CS 165 with new turbines that decreased emissions and took up far less space. Enbridge, another major midstream company, is replacing hundreds of flow meters with newer models, which deliver much better information to the company in real-time. 
We spotted a couple of stories, one by PBS and another by the financial publication Barron’s, covering the “groundswell” of opposition to resurrecting the 124-mile Pennsylvania-to-New York Constitution Pipeline project. According to a letter signed by “233 environmental and community groups,” the proposed pipeline poses “a serious threat to state sovereignty.” Here’s the first thing to note: Enviro-lefties file paperwork to form a “group” of one or two people. It looks great on letterhead to list hundreds of organizations, implying thousands of people. However, it would be more accurate to say “233 individuals” instead of 233 groups of people. At any rate, we will repeat an observation we have made almost since beginning to write the MDN site in 2009: Many in the anti-fracking and anti-pipeline movement are old (sometimes young) hippies looking to relive the glory days of Vietnam protests. 
Yesterday, pipeline giant Williams announced the successful commissioning of two Transco pipeline projects that can flow Marcellus/Utica gas to the southeast and Gulf Coast. The Southeast Energy Connector in Alabama supports the conversion of electric power generation in Alabama from coal to natural gas. It provides 150 MMcf/d of natural gas to meet the area’s clean energy needs. The Texas to Louisiana Energy Pathway along the Gulf Coast expands Transco’s capacity in Texas and Louisiana by 364 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) to support reliability and diversification of energy infrastructure along the Gulf Coast, namely for LNG exports. 
Last week, MDN told you about three (so far) proposed Utica/Marcellus gas-fired power plants proposed for the New Albany International Business Park in Licking County, Ohio (see 
Never in our wildest dreams did we think that Donald Trump winning a second term would result in the resurrection of the 124-mile Pennsylvania-to-New York Constitution Pipeline project. Yet, that prospect appears increasingly likely. We don’t want to offer false hope, but we can’t ignore the signs favoring the Constitution’s springing back to life. The latest sign? Two prominent leftwing mainstream media outlets, none other than the Washington Post and POLITICO, ran stories yesterday all but admitting that the liberal Democrat governors of New York and New England are in the process of caving and either have or soon will support the Constitution Pipeline project. It’s absolute magic! 
Big Green is alarmed that New York Governor Kathy Hochul trooped to The White House last Friday to have a private, off-the-record conversation with President Trump about a laundry list of things, but two primary items: the Constitution Pipeline and a tax on driving in parts of Manhattan during certain hours (called “congestion pricing”). Nobody is saying anything about the meeting, but the implication is that perhaps Hochul and Trump were engaged in “horse swapping”—Trump bends on congestion pricing if Hochul bends on allowing (even endorsing) the Constitution Pipeline. The prospect of Hochul caving on the Constitution has set the environmental left’s hair on fire. 
Pipeline giant Williams, owner and operator of the mighty Transco pipeline system, deployed its top executives to speak at last week’s CERAWeek by S&P conference in Houston. On hand at the event were CEO Alan Armstrong, VP of New Energy Ventures, Jaclyn Presnal, and VP of Environmental, Regulatory and Permitting, Mark Gebbia. The three made a strong case that permitting reform is urgently needed if the country wants to deploy more natural gas for power generation and data centers. 
Last Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul went to The White House for a private one-on-one meeting with President Trump. Among the topics discussed was the Constitution Pipeline project (see 
Speaking of the Constitution Pipeline project (see today’s post, Williams CEO Supports Restart of Constitution Pipe – With Conditions), New York Governor Kathy Hochul will visit The White House for a one-on-one with President Trump today. They have a few things to discuss. One of the biggest discussion topics will be Trump attempting to convince Hochul that it’s time to allow the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA, to Schoharie County, NY, to move Marcellus gas into New York State and New England, to get built. Will he be successful? 