CNG/LNG

  • | | | | | |

    Dominion 3Q17: Cove Point LNG Coming Online, ACP Permits in Dec

    Yesterday midstream and utility giant Dominion Energy issued their third quarter 2017 update. During an analyst phone call, Dominion CEO Thomas Farrell shared some great news regarding both the Cove Point LNG export facility and Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Farrell said Cove Point will “begin generating LNG” in November, “conclude commissioning” in December and be fully operational by the end of this year. Fantastic! In response to a question by an analyst about Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Farrell said he expects water permits from West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia will all be issued by the middle of December. Again, fantastic! These two projects are HUGE with respect to the future of the Marcellus/Utica region. Christmas has come early this year. 🙂 Below is yesterday’s 3Q17 update for Dominion, along with the latest slide deck and select comments pulled from the analyst phone call…
    Read More “Dominion 3Q17: Cove Point LNG Coming Online, ACP Permits in Dec”

  • | | | | | |

    Some Rover Gas Flows All the Way to Gulf Coast LNG Export Plant

    Two weeks ago MDN brought you analysis from RBN Energy that hints at least some Marcellus/Utica gas molecules are flowing all the way to Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility (see Is Marcellus/Utica Gas Getting Exported from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass?). In part 2 of the series, the expert analysts at RBN make a compelling case that an increasing amount of Marcellus/Utica gas is going to the Sabine Pass facility via the newly-minted Rover Pipeline and the connection it has with TransCanada’s ANR pipeline. RBN connects the dots…
    Read More “Some Rover Gas Flows All the Way to Gulf Coast LNG Export Plant”

  • | | |

    Clean Energy Breaks Ground on CNG Fueling Station in the Bronx

    Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy Fuels; Mark Riley, vice president, Clean Energy; Spiro Kattan, DSNY; and Steve Tufo, Baldor Food Transportation Manager, participate in the groundbreaking of Clean Energy’s Bronx, NY. CNG station.

    Yesterday Clean Energy Fuels, the City of New York and various community leaders (i.e. politicians) held a ground-breaking ceremony to launch work on what will be the very first compressed natural gas (CNG) station in the Bronx. According to the Clean Energy press release: “The use of natural gas fuel, produced domestically in North America, reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by up to 21 percent versus diesel and gasoline. Using natural gas is one of the ways New York City can meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent the next few decades.” The New York City Department of Transportation said it is “proud to be part of this unique groundbreaking, which will benefit the Hunts Point community and all of New York City.” So why does New York’s corrupt governor, Andrew Cuomo, continue to block pipelines that will bring greenhouse gas-reducing natural gas that benefits all communities to MDN’s beloved home state? Yesterday we told you about an upcoming hearing to discuss two natural gas-fired electric microgrids coming to Albany (see Public Hearing Next Wk on Albany, NY Fracked Gas-Fired Electric Plant). Now we read of this CNG fueling station coming in the Bronx. Where will all of the gas come from to feed these projects without new pipelines? Here’s the good news from Clean Energy about the Bronx CNG station…
    Read More “Clean Energy Breaks Ground on CNG Fueling Station in the Bronx”

  • | | | |

    Is Marcellus/Utica Gas Getting Exported from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass?

    One of the reasons we periodically report, and keep a close eye on, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility in southern Louisiana is our suspicion that at least some Marcellus/Utica gas makes its way to that facility and gets exported to other countries. We’ve never been able to prove our suspicion, but we got a lot closer to proving last February when Williams confirmed that the mighty Transco Pipeline now has a direct connection to Sabine Pass (see Williams Confirms Transco Now Ships Gas Directly to Cheniere LNG). Our friends at RBN Energy have done a deep dive into this topic. Using flow data and their own knowledge of pipelines and reports about new projects coming online, RBN has determined that “there are early indications that recent pipeline takeaway and reversal projects from the producing region and the resulting connectivity are indirectly bridging the divide.” Meaning that by using indirect routes (gas passed from one pipeline to another to another), indeed some of our gas is making its way to the Sabine Pass export facility…
    Read More “Is Marcellus/Utica Gas Getting Exported from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass?”

  • | | | |

    PA DEP Offers $1M in Grants for CNG, Propane Refueling Stations

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is offering $1 million in grants to companies willing to build “alternative fuel infrastructure projects” in Pennsylvania. What the heck is that? CNG (compress natural gas) fueling stations, propane fueling stations, and electric vehicle charging stations. The catch? The fueling stations must be open and available to the general public, and must be located with the “designated alternative fuel corridors” of certain interstate highways: I-76, I-276, I-476, I-70, I-95, and I-80. PA wants to goose the use of alternative fuels. Here’s the deets on the program…
    Read More “PA DEP Offers $1M in Grants for CNG, Propane Refueling Stations”

  • | | | | | | |

    Sierra Club in Court Oct 18 Against Cove Point, 2 More LNG Plants

    The deep pockets of the radical Big Green group, the Sierra Club, continue to vex the oil and gas industry. The Sierra Club is involved in so many lawsuits against our industry, you literally need a score card to keep track. Three of the cases the Clubbers have on deck come before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in two weeks–on Oct. 18th. The three cases involve Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved LNG export projects. One of the three is Dominion’s Cove Point project, which is due to export its first shipment this month or next (see Cove Point to Begin LNG Exports in October or November!). The other two LNG projects in the Clubbers’ sights are both Cheniere Energy projects–Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi. Sabine Pass is currently the only LNG export plant in operation in the U.S. The Sierra Club lawsuit against all three projects challenges FERC’s approval of them, arguing the plants negatively affect the environment and will make Mom Earth sick. While no one expects these lawsuits to go anywhere, you never know, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on it…
    Read More “Sierra Club in Court Oct 18 Against Cove Point, 2 More LNG Plants”

  • | | | | | | |

    Broome Virtual Pipe Project in Limbo, Fenton Board Refuses to Act

    In early September, a Broome County, NY judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline” (see Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again). The lawsuit was brought by a local school district, which a Freedom of Information Act request reveals is paying approximately $40,000 in legal fees to high-priced lawyers to win the case, stopping the project (we hope Chenango Valley School District taxpapers appreciate their taxes going up to pay for it, and less money available in the budget to “educate” their precious children). NG must now resubmit the project for approval. On Tuesday night, NG did just that–re-applying to the Fenton Town Planning Board. A meeting was held at the local fire hall where some 250 people showed up. The crowd contained those both for and against the project. Unfortunately two of the seven Planning Board members were not present–possibly having resigned due to extreme pressure from bullying antis. So then there were five. Three of the five voted to become the lead agency to review the project, which is the first step in the process. However, three of seven is not a majority. Which puts the project in limbo, not able to go forward. What happens next?…
    Read More “Broome Virtual Pipe Project in Limbo, Fenton Board Refuses to Act”

  • | | |

    2 Nova Scotia LNG Export Projects Moving Forward

    Over the past few years MDN has tracked the progress of 4 LNG export plants planned for the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Two of those projects appear to have life–the Bear Head LNG project (see our Bear Head LNG stories here), and Goldboro LNG (see our Goldboro stories here). Why bother tracking LNG export facilities all the way up in Nova Scotia? Because they’re a huge potential market for Marcellus and Utica Shale gas. There are challenges to getting our gas there, to be sure. The Maritimes & Northeast pipeline will need to be converted to be bidirectional, and other pipelines connected to the Maritimes pipeline to flow the gas north. Those plans are in the works. However, the Marcellus/Utica, albeit the closest to Nova Scotia, is not the only game in town attracting the attention of these two projects. Word on the street is one of the two Nova Scotia projects is looking closely at piping gas all the way from Alberta to Nova Scotia–that is, from western Canada…
    Read More “2 Nova Scotia LNG Export Projects Moving Forward”

  • | | | | | |

    Cove Point to Begin LNG Exports in October or November!

    Glory hallelujah! Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility along the shoreline of Maryland is on the cusp of starting LNG exports. According to one speaker at a Houston conference, Cove Point will begin shipping in November. Another speaker (from analytics firm Genscape) said they believe the facility will actually begin some shipments in October! In early 2012, MDN began covering the story of Dominion planning to build an LNG facility at a location where they currently operate an import facility, in Calvert County, MD (see Japan Negotiates to Buy Marcellus Gas). We covered the news over the years, from approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Maryland, to lawsuits from the nutty Sierra Club, to everything in between. Here we are 5 1/2 years later and it’s almost upon us–the day when Cove Point begins to ship LNG to Japan and India. Wow! Here’s the exciting news that the facility is gearing up now…
    Read More “Cove Point to Begin LNG Exports in October or November!”

  • | | | | |

    Hey Broome County: Enviros Love NG Advantage’s Virtual Pipeline

    As we reported in August, a Broome County, NY judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline” (see Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again). The judge’s ruling delays the project for months, at least. NG must now resubmit the project for approval by the Fenton Planning Board. Before doing that, NG must first conduct a full environmental impact study and an aquifer study. Even with environmental studies, don’t expect the locals, who appear to have very closed minds, to accept the outcome (see 2nd Approval for Virtual Pipeline in Broome County Not Assured). Some (many?) of the locals have been unduly influenced by charlatans who swoop into town and talk about “bomb trucks” and other nonsense, and then leave town once the locals are hot and bothered and agitated. These out-of-towners are professional agitators–paid by Big Green to do what they do. In a bid to counter the lies and smears pedaled by these people, NG is spreading the news that REAL environmentally-conscious people support NG’s virtual pipeline operations. For example, a dairy farm cooperative in Vermont and a sustainable lettuce and caviar farm in eastern New York are both NG customers and sing the praises of clean-burning, sustainable natural gas deliveries to their operations. Yes, those who actually care about the environment support NG Advantage and virtual pipelines…
    Read More “Hey Broome County: Enviros Love NG Advantage’s Virtual Pipeline”

  • | | | | |

    200+ Binghamton-Area Residents Sign Petition Supporting Virtual Pipe

    Who knew there was ANYBODY who supported a virtual pipeline project in Broome County, NY?! As MDN recently reported, a Broome County judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–called a “virtual pipeline” (see Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again). The judge’s ruling delays the project for months at least. NG must now resubmit the project for approval by the Fenton Planning Board. Before doing that, NG must first conduct a full environmental impact study and an aquifer study. Even with environmental studies, don’t expect the locals, who appear to have very closed minds, to accept the outcome. Travel around the community where the project is slated to be built and almost every home within a mile has a “NO COMPRESSOR STATION” sign. Read local news coverage of the issue and you come to the conclusion there isn’t a single soul in the county (apart from MDN editor Jim Willis) who supports the project. NG is out to counter that media narrative. NG has just launched a petition to support the project. And guess what? Already over 200 local residents have signed it. Yeah, there’s likely at least that many against it, but the point is this is not a one-sided issue. People in the community are starting to speak up in support of the project. If you live in the general vicinity, here’s how you can sign the petition…
    Read More “200+ Binghamton-Area Residents Sign Petition Supporting Virtual Pipe”

  • | | | | | |

    XNG Virtual Pipe Delivering 50 MMcf/d of PA NatGas to NY Pipeline

    Iroquois Gas Transmission is not waiting for the Constitution Pipeline to get built–they’ve found a way around it. At least for some of the supply they hopped to get from the Constitution. Iroquois is a 416-mile interstate natural gas pipeline extending from the U.S.-Canadian border at Waddington, NY, through New York State and western Connecticut to a terminus in Commack, NY (Long Island), and from Huntington (on Long Island) to the Bronx, NY. It is an important pipeline in the Empire State. Iroquois was in line to receive some of the 650 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas the Constitution would flow from northeast PA to Schoharie County, NY, where the Constitution would connect to both the Iroquois and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. We’re not sure how much of the 650 MMcf/d Iroquois was supposed to get, but right now and for the foreseeable future, they’re getting nothing, thanks to a corrupt governor who has corrupted New York’s environmental agency which has denied the Constitution a necessary permit to build. Iroquois has found a way to replace at least some of that volume–by trucking it in. That is, a “virtual pipeline” which is now feeding the Iroquois, and in-the-ground pipeline. Usually it’s the other way around! Iroquois is getting up to 50 MMcf/d from Xpress Natural Gas (XNG), which is trucking the gas from a facility in northeastern PA (Susquehanna County). Here’s a story you’ll read first (perhaps only) on MDN–of how a virtual pipeline is now feeding an interstate pipeline in New York State with fracked gas from Pennsylvania…
    Read More “XNG Virtual Pipe Delivering 50 MMcf/d of PA NatGas to NY Pipeline”

  • | | | | | | |

    2nd Approval for Virtual Pipeline in Broome County Not Assured

    As we reported last week, a Broome County, NY judge ruled yesterday that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline” (see Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again). The judge’s ruling delays the project for months at least. NG must now resubmit the project for approval by the Fenton Planning Board. Before doing that, NG must first conduct a full environmental impact study and an aquifer study. Even with environmental studies, don’t expect the locals, who appear to have very closed minds, to accept the outcome. That much was clear at a Fenton Planning Board meeting last night. Residents packed the small meeting room to voice their displeasure with the project. Until now the project has enjoyed overwhelming support by the Planning Board and Town of Fenton officials. However, that may be changing. Town of Fenton Supervisor Dave Hamlin said there is “no certainty” that NG’s new, second application will get approved by the Fenton Planning Board…
    Read More “2nd Approval for Virtual Pipeline in Broome County Not Assured”

  • |

    Trinidad LNG Exports Continue to Fall – New England Shortage?

    From time to time we sound the alarm that New England’s primary supply of natural gas, which comes via LNG tankers from Tinidad & Tobago, is in danger of drying up. New England continues to pay prices 3-4 times higher than the rest of the country for their natgas–due to lack of supply. That hasn’t (and won’t) change, until more supplies make it to New England, either by pipeline or ship. Opponents of new pipelines to New England have included LNG importers in the region. Specifically, GDF Suez imports Trinidad gas at the Everett, MA LNG import terminal, near Boston (see New England Importer Received 59% of All LNG Ship Imports 1H15). LNG imports are one of the primary sources of natgas for New England. Antis holler and scream, “Forget the pipelines. If you must use gas, use LNG. There’s more than enough LNG to supply New England.” In a macro sense that may be true, the world is awash in LNG. But arranging shipments and sources for it takes months, even years. And it costs more to get natural gas via LNG shipments than it does via pipelines. Right now most of the LNG GDF Suez imports come from Trinidad. As we pointed out in an article last year, Trinidad’s natural gas sources are drying up (see Is New England Heading for Huge NatGas Price Spike this Winter?). The country is exporting less and less. We have yet more evidence of that. Trinidad’s natural gas production decreased another 9% during the first half of this year. Again we sound the alarm! New England is heading for a natgas shortage…
    Read More “Trinidad LNG Exports Continue to Fall – New England Shortage?”

  • | | | | | | |

    Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again

    A Broome County, NY judge ruled yesterday that the Town of Fenton Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline.” MDN has chronicled the project from the beginning (see our NG Advantage stories here). Yesterday’s ruling was not an indictment of the project itself by the judge–only the way in which it was approved by the local town planning board. The judge left the door open for the town to re-do it’s approval process–this time including a full environmental impact study and an aquifer study. NG’s CEO Rico Biasetti said that while he is disappointed, the company remains committed to building the facility at the Fenton location and will work with Fenton to try again…
    Read More “Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again”

  • | | | | |

    WVU Study: How CNG/LNG Vehicles Can Lower Methane Emissions

    Researchers at West Virginia University have just published a new study that looks at how to reduce methane emissions from LNG (liquefied natural gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas) fleet vehicles in coming years. Today’s heavy-duty natural gas fueled fleet is less than two percent of the total fleet. However, in the next 20 years, the heavy-duty truck fleet is expected to undergo a massive change–to as much as 50% of those vehicles powered by natural gas. That is a HUGE number! And potentially a huge new market for Marcellus/Utica gas! Natgas has a lot of advantages over diesel fuel, but folks are concerned over the mythical global warming potential of methane leaking into the atmosphere. Hence this study which looks at ways to prevent that…
    Read More “WVU Study: How CNG/LNG Vehicles Can Lower Methane Emissions”