CNG/LNG

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…
Read More “Canadian LNG Project Woos Europeans with Promise of Marcellus Gas”
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?…
Read More “Top U.S. Coal Exporter Plans to Export Marcellus Shale Gas”
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…
Read More ““Peaceful” Protesters Removed from LNG Export Hearing in Philly”
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?…
Read More “Cove Point LNG Plant STILL Waiting for Final DOE Approval?!”
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…
Read More “Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled”
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…
Read More “Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Liberty Says “Non-Fracked” Trinidad Gas Better than Marcellus Gas
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

For some time a controversy has been brewing in (where else?) New York State. But this controversy isn’t about fracking–at least not directly. Liberty Natural Gas filed a plan back in 2010, prior to the Marcellus Shale revolution, to construct an off-shore LNG import (not export) facility off the coast of New York and New Jersey–in the ocean. A floating LNG facility. A pipeline would run from the off-shore terminal to Jones Beach, NY and from there would connect to a Transco pipeline lateral. But something happened on the way to the forum–the Marcellus Shale boom. There is no longer a need for the terminal. Anti-drillers (anti-fossil fuelers, really) are dead set against it. The Marcellus revolution caught a lot of people by surprise, including Liberty. So did Liberty acknowledge the project is no longer needed? Nope. They’re trying to convince anti-drillers the project is still needed because it will bring in “non-fracked” gas from places like Trinidad. That is, they’re shooting the very industry they belong to right in the head, and attempting to appease the nutters on the other side that will never be appeased. Not a very smart move by Liberty…
Read More “Liberty Says “Non-Fracked” Trinidad Gas Better than Marcellus Gas”
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Stimulation

GASFRAC Bankruptcy Dims LPG Waterless Fracking; LNG Fracking Debuts
March 25, 2015March 25, 2015

In an effort to minimize the impact of shale drilling on the environment, perhaps the biggest prize of all is to figure out a viable alternative to using water in fracking. As MDN has pointed out numerous times–there’s nothing wrong with using water, as long as you recycle it and/or properly dispose of it. Water is used because it’s economical to do so, and it’s one of the best fluids to get the fracking job done. But still, there are locations, like the western part of the country, that are water-constrained. Plus, it would sure be nice to reduce all of those truck trips to the well pad. One technology that seemed to hold promise was liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fracking, pioneered by Canadian company GASFRAC. The problem is, GASFRAC is close to the end of being sold off in bankruptcy court (see Bankrupt Waterless Fracking Co GASFRAC Sold to “Third Party”). Does the end of GASFRAC also mean the end of waterless fracking? Perhaps not. An intriguing new LNG (liquefied natural gas) fracking technology is now on the horizon…
Read More “GASFRAC Bankruptcy Dims LPG Waterless Fracking; LNG Fracking Debuts”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Lots of Interest in Building LNG Facility at PGW’s Philly Port
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Could LNG (liquefied natural gas) fed by Marcellus Shale gas one day be exported from Philadelphia to Europe? That’s the hope being offered by one company to the struggling Philadelphia Gas Works. Another company also wants to beef up the LNG operation at Port Richmond (owned by PGW), but their plan would be to sell LNG domestically–for use here in the U.S. Now that the corrupt Philadelphia City Council has quashed plans for PGW to be sold and privatized (see Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal), it seems everyone has a “great idea we’d like to run by you” for PGW to consider…
Read More “Lots of Interest in Building LNG Facility at PGW’s Philly Port”
CNG/LNG | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Does New England Really Need a New Natgas Pipeline?
March 12, 2015March 12, 2015

Don’t look now, but we actually read a pretty fair and balanced report on pipelines to New England…published by PBS! We predict a reporter who will soon be out of a job. The article (which we quote from below) frames up the arguments against and for new natural gas pipelines coming to New England this way: Those against say electric generation that requires natgas really only demands an extra supply in the dead of winter–typically 30-45 days. Because of that heightened demand, it drives electric prices through the roof because the plants have to buy the gas on the spot market. The rest of the year that kind of intense demand is not there–meaning you’ll spend billions on pipelines to solve a 30-45 day problem. And the rest of the year? Some of that gas will go to Canada and likely get exported. Better to use the existing LNG terminal in Boston and import (!) liquefied natural gas, instead of using cheap, abundant Marcellus gas from a few hundred miles away, and use more LNG at electric generation plants. Those who favor building the pipelines see it differently…
Read More “Does New England Really Need a New Natgas Pipeline?”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Canada’s 1st LNG Export Facility Gets Green Light; Marcellus Gas?
February 19, 2015February 19, 2015

The Bear Head LNG export facility in Nova Scotia, Canada has just taken another huge step forward. You may recall last August when we outlined the $2.2 billion project proposed by Australian company Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, or LNGL (see Deal to Purchase Site for Nova Scotia LNG Plant Advances Quickly). On Tuesday, the company reported they have received necessary Canadian regulatory approvals to move forward with the project. Why are we going on about an LNG plant in Nova Scotia? Because Marcellus Shale gas will feed it…
Read More “Canada’s 1st LNG Export Facility Gets Green Light; Marcellus Gas?”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Repsol Accelerates Plan for Canadian LNG Exports Fed by Marcellus
February 12, 2015February 12, 2015

Spanish oil giant Repsol loves North American shale. In December, Repsol purchased the troubled Canadian company Talisman Energy for $8 per share (see Spanish Respol Buys Marcellus E&P Talisman Energy for $8/Share). That deal is awaiting regulatory approval before it becomes official. Repsol is also contemplating building an LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility along the coast of Saint John, Newfoundland. Those plans, according to new filings with Canada’s National Energy Board, have been accelerated. Part (much?) of the gas that will feed the Saint John LNG operation will come from, yes, the Marcellus and Utica Shale…
Read More “Repsol Accelerates Plan for Canadian LNG Exports Fed by Marcellus”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Canadian LNG Exports, New England Pipelines & the Marcellus
February 4, 2015February 4, 2015

Let’s return to the topic of exporting Marcellus/Utica Shale gas. You may recall MDN did a roundup of potential export facilities for Marcellus/Utica Shale gas back in August. Most of those facilities are located in Canada (see List of LNG Export Projects for Marcellus/Utica Shale Gas). The biggest hurdle to feeding those projects is not technical but instead is political/philosophical. Anti-fossil fuelers in New England are vigorously opposing new pipelines to the region from the Marcellus even though it would deliver cheap, abundant, clean-burning natural gas that would ultimately lower their own electric rates. Must be they like paying 2-3 times for electricity what everyone else across the country pays. Sprinkle in talk of using some of the gas that would flow through those pipelines for export and they go berserk. However, that’s not to say they don’t have some (minor) points that need to be considered. Let’s delve into the specifics of how (and why) northeast gas should flow to Canada, how much, and whether or not it would affect the price New Englanders ultimately have to pay for electricity…
Read More “Canadian LNG Exports, New England Pipelines & the Marcellus”
CNG/LNG | Economic Impact | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Statewide PA

PA-Based Air Products Wins Another Gulf LNG Plant Contract
January 30, 2015January 30, 2015

Air Products is a Wilkes-Barre, PA manufacturer that builds huge rocket-looking “production trains” or “heat exchangers”–pieces of equipment that turn natural gas into liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Last September, Air Products signed a deal to produce two heat exchangers for an LNG export plant in Texas (see Air Products Wins Contract for TX LNG Plant, Marcellus Connection?). They’ve done it again! Air Products announced Wednesday they’ve signed another agreement–this one is to produce three heat exchangers for the Cameron LNG Liquefaction Project, located in Hackberry, Louisiana. As with the Texas plant, we believe there’s a connection to the Marcellus in this new sale…
Read More “PA-Based Air Products Wins Another Gulf LNG Plant Contract”