CNG/LNG

CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | UGI Energy Services | Wyoming County (PA)

UGI Building LNG Plant in NEPA, Local Marcellus Gas to Feed It
May 15, 2015May 15, 2015

We think this is very cool, and forward looking. UGI Energy Services, a subsidiary of northeast PA utility giant UGI Corporation, announced yesterday they will spend $60 million to build a new LNG production plant in Wyoming County, PA (northeast part of the state). The facility will liquefy locally produced Marcellus Shale gas–with a capacity of up to 120,000 gallons of LNG per day. There will also be a storage facility on site. UGI says the market for LNG is rapidly growing. Not only do trucking fleets, like UPS, use it, but drillers use it to power rigs and industrial plants use it in locations where there are no natural gas pipelines. UGI sees a rosy future for LNG in northeast PA…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

DOE Grants Cove Point LNG Final Approval, Earthjustice Sues
May 8, 2015May 8, 2015

We have two big pieces of news to share with you today about the Cove Point, Maryland LNG export facility being built by Dominion. The first is that yesterday, after a years-long process, the Obama Dept. of Energy finally gave Dominion their final stamp of approval to build the facility. Last month we pointed out this last piece of the puzzle still had not fallen into place (see Cove Point LNG Plant STILL Waiting for Final DOE Approval?!). It now has. There is nothing else in the way to stop the project. Except, possibly, a lawsuit–which is the second big piece of news. On Wednesday we told you that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had finally, this week, responded to a request for a re-hearing on the facility demanded by anti-drilling groups. FERC declined (see FERC Says “No” to Anti’s Request for Cove Point LNG Re-hearing). As we explained on Wednesday, the groups needed an official response from FERC on a re-hearing before they could launch yet another frivolous lawsuit. As we predicted on Wednesday, they’ve now filed a frivolous lawsuit in another last-gasp attempt to stop the Cove Point export facility from becoming reality…
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CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Rex Energy

Rex Energy 1Q15: Production Up 61%, Revenue Down 33%, Gulf Coast Deal
May 6, 2015May 6, 2015

Rex Energy, focused on both the Marcellus/Utica and Illinois basins, released their first quarter 2015 update yesterday. Among the positive highlights: Rex’s first quarter production in 2015 grew 61% over the first quarter of 2014; the company is on track to grow production 25% in full year 2015 vs full year 2014; they recently signed two agreements to ship a total of 130 million cubic feet of gas to the Gulf Coast for the Freeport LNG plant; and they’ve increased production by using a lot more sand. On the negative side, revenue was down 33% (due to the lower price of natural gas), and after expenses the company lost $17.8 million for the quarter, vs 2014 when they gained $8.8 million. Here’s the details from Rex…
Read More “Rex Energy 1Q15: Production Up 61%, Revenue Down 33%, Gulf Coast Deal”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

FERC Says “No” to Anti’s Request for Cove Point LNG Re-hearing
May 6, 2015May 6, 2015

In December MDN told you about the latest strategy from the anti-fossil fuel nutters at Allegheny Defense Project and Wild Virginia–an attempt to get another hearing on Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility (see Anti Groups Ask FERC to Stop Construction on Cove Point LNG Plant). Before the two can file yet another frivolous lawsuit with the aim of tying up progress on the plant in legal knots, they must first apply for a “rehearing.” They did so and requested the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have Dominion stop work on the plant in the meantime. FERC said “no” to stopping construction, and “we’ll get back to you in our own good time” on the rehearing. Five plus months later (yesterday) FERC responded, and as we predicted, they handed Allegheny Defense Project and Wild Virginia a big, fat “no” to the rehearing request. You can bet the frivolous lawsuit will get filed within the next few days…
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CNG/LNG | Dauphin County | Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania

UPS Adds 64 New LNG Tractor Trailers to Fleet in Harrisburg, PA
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Two years ago we tipped our hat to UPS, the worldwide package delivery service, for their commitment to growing their natural gas fleet with a plan to add 700 new LNG (liquefied natural gas) tractor trailers to the fleet (see UPS to Grow NG Fleet with Additional 700 LNG Tractor Trailers). Good news: UPS has done it again. The company announced last week they are adding another 64 new LNG tractor trailers to the fleet–this batch based in Harrisburg, PA. No doubt cheap, abundant Marcellus Shale gas had something to do with that decision…
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

2nd LNG Export Terminal for Marcellus Gas Advances – in Maine!
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

Click image for larger version

You may have heard about the Cove Point, Maryland LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility along the shoreline of Maryland that Dominion is beginning to build. Although Dominion received both FERC and Dept. of Energy (DOE) approval and has begun construction, they are still waiting on a final final final final approval from the DOE (see Cove Point LNG Plant STILL Waiting for Final DOE Approval?!). Cove Point was, as far as we knew, the only LNG export project on the East Coast of the U.S. that would be fed by Marcellus Shale gas. That is, until we spotted a second LNG export project that’s making serious headway–in Maine. The Downeast LNG project began life in 2005 as an LNG import project, but last year, after getting preliminary approval for the import project from FERC, Downeast amended its application to become both an import AND export LNG terminal. And yes, the gas they plan to export is Marcellus Shale gas…
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

LNG Insider Shares His List of Which Export Projects Will Get Built
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

Yesterday MDN told you about one of the five potential LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects in Canada that would use Marcellus Shale gas, *if* it gets built (see Canadian LNG Project Woes Europeans with Promise of Marcellus Gas). Today we published a companion story about a proposed LNG export facility planned for Maine–the Downeast LNG facility (see 2nd LNG Export Terminal for Marcellus Gas Advances – in Maine!). However, there is talk in certain quarters about the unlikelihood that many (most?) of the 30 proposed projects will actually get built, including both the Canadian and the Maine projects (see Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled). We have another such story–this time from an LNG insider. Freeport LNG Development CEO Michael Smith says in addition to the four import projects currently being reworked to export, there are another four facilities that might “move forward” and see the light of day. As for the rest of the 30 proposed projects–Smith says the future for the others is “cloudy.” So which four are getting built now, and which four are on Smith’s short list of the best prospects to get built?…
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CNG/LNG | Electrical Generation | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

IHS CERAWeek Prediction: Marcellus will Produce 30 Bcf/d by 2035
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

A useful update and prediction on how much natural gas will be produced in the Marcellus by the early 2020s and eventually, by 2035 at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston last week. In addition, another analyst outlined the pipeline/midstream situation in the northeast. You’ll want to read what they had to say about how much gas will be produced in the Marcellus, and where it will get used/sold…
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CNG/LNG | Electrical Generation | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

Navigant: US Natgas Output Will Rise to 110 Bcf/d by 2035
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

The energy practice for global consulting firm Navigant recently published a new report titled “North American Natural Gas Market Outlook, Year-End 2014” that examines the state of the natural gas industry and provides forecasts for supply and demand through 2035. Among the highlights: Navigant says U.S. natural gas supply will increase from 72 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2015 to nearly 110 Bcf/d by 2035. Navigant says the big users of all that extra production will be LNG export facilities and electric generating plants that will be built new or converted from burning coal…
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CNG/LNG | Commodity Price | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Canadian LNG Project Woos Europeans with Promise of Marcellus Gas
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

You may recall MDN has tracked the issue of potential LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports from Canada that would use, in part, Marcellus Shale gas. There are five such possible LNG projects, four of them based in Nova Scotia (see List of LNG Export Projects for Marcellus/Utica Shale Gas). You may also recall the article we brought you in which Moody’s Investors Service said the vast majority of LNG projects, including the ones in Canada, will not get built (see Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled). Don’t tell that to Pieridae Energy Canada, the company with plans to build the Goldboro LNG project in Goldboro Industrial Park in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The US$8.6 billion (C$10 billion) project is 5-6 years away from beginning operation according to a presentation by Pieridae’s CEO Alfred Sorensen to a delegation of economic counsellors from the European Union in Halifax on Monday. One of the keys to the project giving it a “high probability of success” will be Marcellus gas delivered via the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, according to Sorensen…
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Frackless Nova Scotia Wants to Sell Fracked U.S. Gas to Europe
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

On Monday a delegation of European Union economic counsellors visited Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) to hear, among other things, about potential LNG exports from a plant proposed by Pieridae Energy Canada (see today’s companion story). Pieridae’s CEO Alfred Sorensen told the visitors about multiple sources of natural gas they can use to liquefy and export–chief among them gas from the Marcellus. Also with Sorensen on the dais was Nova Scotia’s energy minister Michel Samson, there to reassure the Europeans that Pieridae Energy’s Goldboro LNG project has the full backing and support of Nova Scotia. Which we find kind of hypocritical. Last November Samson’s liberal government banned fracking in Nova Scotia. So NS is happy to liquefy and sell fracked gas coming from the U.S., but they won’t allow fracking in their own province. We wonder if the Europeans know about Nova Scotia’s rank hypocrisy? Or if it bothers them if indeed they do know it? We also wonder how truly supportive NS is when it comes to these projects since the fickle liberal government has an anti-drilling streak running through it…
Read More “Frackless Nova Scotia Wants to Sell Fracked U.S. Gas to Europe”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Top U.S. Coal Exporter Plans to Export Marcellus Shale Gas
April 23, 2015April 23, 2015

Xcoal Energy & Resources is the largest exporter of coal in the United States. But Xcoal’s CEO, Ernie Thrasher, says coal is in decline and natural gas is ascending. So Thrasher is forming a new company: XLNG Energy & Resources. Thrasher hopes to begin exporting LNG from the Marcellus/Utica no later than 2018. Which is an interesting boast, given the only way to export (so far) would be the as yet uncompleted Cove Point, Maryland plant being built by Dominion. However, 100% of the LNG exporting from that plant is already spoken for. So what is Thrasher thinking?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

“Peaceful” Protesters Removed from LNG Export Hearing in Philly
April 17, 2015April 20, 2015

Another example of a “peaceful, non-violent” protest occurred yesterday in Philadelphia. City Councilman David Oh organized a meeting to discuss the feasibility of locating a facility inside city limits to liquefy and export natural gas. The city owns Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the largest municipal-owned utility in the country. PGW already has a small LNG facility in the city, but currently it’s set up to import LNG, not export it. Councilman Oh wanted to explore the possibility of converting the site to export LNG. You may recall the corrupt Philly City Council nixed a potential deal to sell PGW to UIL Holdings (see Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal). Since that time, City Council members like Oh have tried to save face and figure out how they might turn around the near-bankrupt PGW. One of the most promising ideas is to set up a small exporting operation. A meeting to discuss that idea was held on the campus of Drexel University. A meaningful portion of those attending were anti-drilling nutters who wouldn’t shut up and had to be escorted out by Drexel security personnel. Yep, just more of your “peaceful, non-violent” types out to make a point…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Cove Point LNG Plant STILL Waiting for Final DOE Approval?!
April 17, 2015April 17, 2015

Something a tad strange caught our eye. Yesterday America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) released a white paper (copy below) and held a conference call to step up pressure on the Obama Dept. of Energy–with pleas to do the right thing and grant final approval for a list of LNG export projects currently on the list. Some of those projects have been waiting years for a final approval. We knew all of that–but one of the projects named by ANGA on the call and in the white paper is Cove Point. Which made us scratch our head. We thought Cove Point was already was already fully approved by the plethora of government agencies, including DOE, that need to approve it. We reported that Dominion began construction of the facility last October (see Dominion Breaks Ground on Cove Point, MD LNG Export Facility). Just last month Dominion threw a big party to celebrate the project’s approval and future prospects with no less than the Japanese ambassador attending (see Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG). But now here’s ANGA saying the DOE needs to provide a “final” approval for Cove Point. What gives?…
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled
April 9, 2015April 9, 2015

The analysts at Moody’s Investors Service have turned decidedly bearish on the plethora of proposed LNG (liquefied natural gas) export plants in both the U.S. and Canada. There are nearly 30 LNG export plants proposed in the U.S., 18 proposed projects in western Canada, and 4 in eastern Canada. One of them–Cove Point, Maryland, being built by Dominion–is right now in the midst of construction. The Cove Point plant will export Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to Japan and India. A number of the other LNG plants would also export Marcellus/Utica gas–in particular the four proposed plants in Nova Scotia (see Canadian LNG Exports, New England Pipelines & the Marcellus). However, according to Moody’s, the “vast majority” of proposed LNG projects, including the four in Nova Scotia, will never happen…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Dominion hosted a party yesterday and anti-drillers weren’t invited. Dominion’s party sported the Japanese ambassador the U.S., Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and other dignitaries–international, state and local–to celebrate the fact that the Cove Point LNG export facility is now under construction. Japan and India have together spoken for 100% of all the natural gas that can be liquefied and pumped through the new facility once it’s built and begins operations in 2017 (see Dominion’s Cove Point LNG Facility Achieves Important Milestones). As near as we can tell this was a party just to have a party. That is, there was no particular portion of the project completed or other “milestone” reason to celebrate. They just wanted to celebrate and (judging from the language in the announcement below) needle anti-drillers (the “doubters” who said it couldn’t be done) to point out that Dominion has won–and they have lost–despite their best efforts to scuttle the project…
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