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…
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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 (
In our daily trawl of the news, we came across the text of a resolution by Pennsylvania State Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf. Sen. Greenleaf is looking for co-sponsors of the resolution, which urges PA natural gas producers to export natural gas to European countries in order to curtail a Russian natgas monopoly. Greenleaf said, “Copies of this resolution will be transmitted to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the President of the United States, the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.” We thought: Nice sentiment…raise the natgas flag…rah rah and all that jazz. But at the end of the day, a resolution is meaningless. It has no force of law. It does nothing. It’s purely public relations bupkis. We wondered, why would Sen. Greenleaf, from Montgomery County (near Philadelphia) introduce this now? We revisited the list of traitorous Republican Senators who voted for the state budget that includes a severance tax (see 
Fantastic news to report! Dominion has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to begin flowing feed gas (for testing purposes) to parts of the Cove Point LNG export facility. We are now getting close to startup at the facility, which is supposed to go online in the fourth quarter of this year. Cove Point sits along the coast of Maryland. Dominion began work on the $3.5 billion plant in 2015. When complete, the plant will liquefy and export 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Marcellus/Utica Shale gas to India and Japan. Currently there is only one export facility in the U.S. in operation, along the coast of Louisiana (Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass). That one facility has fundamentally changed the economics of LNG (liquefied natural gas) here at home and around the world. Just imagine what another 1.8 Bcf/d will do! And it’s ALL from our region. Here’s more about the good news that Cove Point is ready to begin testing…
Everyone wants to know where the price of natural gas will go in the future. Ask one analyst, and he/she will tell you it’s going lower. Another? Staying where it is–for a long time. And yet another will tell you the price just HAS to go higher. Of course “the price” of natural gas is not just one price. Most people refer to the benchmark Henry Hub price, used for trading futures contracts on the NYMEX exchange. All other prices where gas is bought and sold are somehow compared to or even connected with the price of gas at the Henry Hub. We spotted a speculative post on the Seeking Alpha investor’s website from someone we often read, Andrew Hecht, muses that he thinks the price of natgas is heading higher. He makes a convincing case. We boil it down and simplify it to this: an increase in LNG exports, of which we wrote about yesterday (see US Exports Now 2.4% of NatGas Production, Heading for 11% in 2019 //marcellusdrilling.com/2017/08/us-exports-now-2-4-of-natgas-production-heading-for-11-in-2019/), plus scads of new natgas-fired electric plants coming online, which we write about all the time, plus a cold snap across the country, but particularly in the northeast, would necessarily drive natural gas prices at the Henry Hub and other locations MUCH higher. Is he right?…
A sharp MDN reader recently brought to our attention some exciting news. The only export facility currently in operation is Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass facility. In July Sabine Pass (in southwestern Louisiana, right on the border with Texas) exported 2.19 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of American-produced natural gas to other countries. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that in May (most recent month available) the entire production of natural gas in the U.S. was 89.5 Bcf/d. When you run the math, you find that Cheniere alone, with that one facility, exported 2.4% of all U.S. natgas production. The EIA published an article yesterday (below) that predicts the U.S. will become a net exporter of natural gas–exporting more than we import–THIS YEAR. EIA also predicts by the end of 2019 we will be exporting 9.5 Bcf/d of natural gas. If overall production stays about the same, which is a pretty safe guess, that means we will be exporting 10.6% of the natgas we produce, to other countries. Amazing! Of course, production may increase as prices increase, so that 10.6% may be under 10%. But you get the idea. With just LNG exports alone an important new market is opening up over the next two years for our shale gas. One of those export facilities coming online (later this year) is Cove Point, Maryland, which will be exporting Marcellus/Utica gas…
For the past few years, MDN has tracked the progress of an LNG export plant planned for the eastern shore of Nova Scotia, the Bear Head LNG project (
Although we understand self-interest and wanting to protect one’s profit margin, we continue to be distressed that some of the biggest chemical companies in the world (meaning in the U.S.) are still actively trying to block approvals for more LNG export facilities. Why? They want the natural gas they buy (in very large quantities) to be as cheap as possible. In April, Big Chemical–companies like Dow Corning, BASF, Eastman Chemical and others–via their trade association Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) launched an effort to try and persuade Energy Secretary Rick Perry and the Trump Administration to create barriers to exports of natural gas, ’cause you know, it’s “America First” now baby, and we want that gas all to ourselves (see 
This week has been “Energy Week” at the White House, and yesterday President Trump (we just love saying that, “President Trump”) announced six new initiatives not to just make America energy independent, but to make America energy dominant. We love that too! Energy DOMINANT. Throughout the world. Number one. One of the six initiatives in Trump’s plan was the announcement that Sempra Energy is in negotiations with South Korea to sell them our LNG (liquefied natural gas, see more on that below). That’s a good thing! No doubt some of the gas heading to the Korean peninsula will come from the Marcellus/Utica. Another of the six initiatives announced yesterday is approval for two applications to export LNG from Louisiana. And a yet another initiative involves more offshore drilling for oil and gas. So half of the initiatives announced somehow impact or relate to natural gas (two of which also impact Marcellus/Utica). Here’s the full list of six initiatives announced yesterday in a speech by President Trump…
In reading a fascinating story about European chemical plant giant Ineos, the article took an unexpected turn when it said Ineos, indeed all of Europe’s petrochemical industry, is “vulnerable as never before because of the shale oil and gas boom in the US, which has made energy costs there just a fraction of those in Europe.” The article specifically names and credits the Marcellus with producing feedstock that is far cheaper than can be found in Europe–and chemical plants are now choosing to relocate and manufacture their products in the U.S. rather than Europe. The inescapable conclusion: if the United Kingdom (and Europe) refuses to frack, they’re hosed. Ineos, which has figured this out, has “quietly” purchased “some interesting onshore fracking licences” in the UK, and they intend to use them…
Just last week MDN told you that Pieridae Energy has signed a labor agreement to build the Goldboro LNG export facility along the shore of Nova Scotia, Canada (see 
Yesterday midstream and utility giant Dominion issued its first quarter 2017 update. Along with the update Dominion held an earnings call. On that call we learned new information about both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project, Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export project, and a plethora of other projects, including natgas-fired power plants and more pipelines in the works. Dominion CEO Tom Farrell shared the exciting news that Cove Point is now 89% complete and will be “in service” later this year. As for Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion has now purchased 80% of the materials they will need to build it. Farrell said the pipeline will be online in the second half of 2019. Another six pipeline projects are underway (at a cost of $700 million)–with five of the six due to be done THIS YEAR. Dominion is a happening company. Below are extracts from the earnings call, the 1Q17 update (with financials), and the newest PowerPoint slide deck used during the earnings call…
Big Chemical–companies like Dow Corning, BASF, Eastman Chemical and others, via their trade association, have launched a war to try and block American-made natural gas from getting exported to other countries. The reason? They want the natural gas they buy (in very large quantities) to be as cheap as possible. They recently sent a letter (copy below) to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry asking Perry to create barriers to exports of natural gas, ’cause you know, it’s “America First” now baby, and we want that gas all to ourselves. Strumming the patriotic heartstrings, the the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) says keeping all the gas here will grow more American jobs–and The Donald loves jobs for Americans. These are the same companies that, at the drop of a hat, left our shores and built plants in other countries. To play the patriotic “keep it all home” card is disgustingly hypocritical…