TC Energy Sells 40% Interest in Columbia Pipeline to Investor GIP
TransCanada Corporation, which renamed itself TC Energy in 2019, bought out/merged in U.S.-based Columbia Pipeline Group (now Columbia Gas Transmission) in 2016 (see TransCanada and Columbia Pipeline Tie the Knot Today). TransCanada paid $13 billion for Columbia, including the assumption of $2.8 billion of debt. Yesterday TC Energy announced it is selling a 40% stake in Columbia for US$3.9 billion (C$5.2 billion) to investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). TC will retain majority ownership and operate the Columbia assets, which include 11,899 miles of pipeline extending from New York state to the Midwest and Southeast, along with dozens of storage fields in multiple states.
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A group of Pennsylvania State Senators are (once again) trying to expand the swampy bureaucracy of the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). A group of six Democrat state senators issued a co-sponsorship memorandum last Thursday to say they want to expand the DEP’s power to reject “facilities such as incinerators, landfills, and sewage plants” based on the premise that such facilities are typically built in communities where there are minorities or poor people–and they are just too poor (or too dumb) to “fight back” against such projects. That is, the DEP can reject anything it wants for “environmental justice” reasons. The very premise of the bill is, itself, racist!
In January 2016, Invenergy announced its intention to build a natural gas-powered electric plant in Elizabeth Township, in Allegheny County, PA (see 
Christopher Lewis, who trades Forex (foreign exchange), calls himself “The Trader Guy.” Lewis, writing for DailyForex, is calling attention to charts that (in his opinion) signal natural gas will “likely” reach the $3/MMBtu level soon. With only one or two brief exceptions, the Henry Hub price has traded below $3 since February. For most of the last five months, we’ve been range-bound, with the price of gas trading between $2 and $2.50/MMBtu. It’s lousy! We have eagerly watched for signs and signals the price would go higher. We notice the odd analyst or trader who predicts it, but nothing seems to come of it. Will this time be different? Is the price ready to break through and stay above $3?
The Bidenistas are coming for ALL of your household appliances. It began with natural gas stoves. It moved to dishwashers. Now its new regulations for water heaters (both electric and gas water heaters). And they’re not done. The Bidenistas are moving forward with rules impacting dozens more appliances, including consumer furnaces, pool pumps, battery chargers, ceiling fans, and dehumidifiers. Let’s not forget coffee pots! These people are out of control.
The Weymouth compressor station, online and operating safely since early 2021, was the final piece of the $452 million Atlantic Bridge expansion project that was years in the making. Built by Enbridge, the Weymouth compressor can pump an extra 132,705 Dt/d (132.7 million cubic feet per day) of Marcellus gas through Enbridge’s Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline from receipt points in New York and New Jersey. The gas is pushed through the mainline all the way to Maine and (potentially) Nova Scotia, Canada. The radical environmental left (which hates all fossil fuels) has been fighting this compressor station for years. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) dismissed two remaining petitions against the project.
Although Shell maintains flaring and accidental emissions from its new multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, have not violated state and federal air standards, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they have–on numerous occasions. Shell didn’t argue the point, and in May, the company agreed to pay nearly $10 million in fines and “contributions” to benefit the local community (see 
It is so maddening and frustrating to live and (if you are a business), operate in New York State. We have one-party rule: The radical leftwing of the Democrat Party. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (a lecher and liar) and current Gov. Kathy Hochul (Lt. Governor under Cuomo) are completely controlled by the radical environmental movement. Cuomo/Hochul’s latest target is to block the expansion of two compressor stations along the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline, preventing an additional 125 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of Marcellus/Utica gas flowing into New York City and New England.
Better late than never. Last week U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (liberal Democrat from West Virginia) filed an amicus curiae “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to show his support for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in its fight against the actions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (see 
For the second week in a row and the 11th time in the last 12 weeks, the U.S. active rig count lost rigs. Last week the number decreased by six rigs, after falling five rigs the week before (see 
An Exxon Mobil executive told the Nikkei news service his company is looking to nearly double the volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) it is handling to more than 40 million tons per annum (MTPA) by 2030. Exxon currently handles roughly 22 MTPA now. The company plans to invest in LNG projects, offshore oil in Guyana and South America, and in U.S. shale (the Permian). What about the Marcellus/Utica?
Long-range forecasts for hot weather and a lighter-than-predicted storage report for natural gas led to a 6% spike up in the price of the NYMEX Henry Hub yesterday, closing at $2.76/MMBtu. The National Weather Service released modeling yesterday that shows hot temps will get hotter for the end of July and the beginning of August. Also, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly storage report yesterday, showing 41 Bcf was injected into storage for the previous week–lower than a predicted mid- to upper-40s Bcf. That was enough for traders to bid up the NYMEX price.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (liberal Democrat from West Virginia) filed an amicus curiae “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to show his support for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in its fight against the actions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (see 
Kimmeridge Energy, a private investment firm focused on the energy sector, yesterday published a white paper entitled, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” The thesis of the Kimmeridge report is that there are still too many (and too small) drillers in the shale sector. Kimmeridge believes we need consolidation into fewer, and bigger, companies. Why? There are not enough investors to go around, according to the report. As a result, the valuation of existing too-many public companies is too low. The fix is for fewer and bigger shale drillers.