Last week MDN told you about a $23 million taxpayer incentive under consideration by the city of Jacksonville, Florida in order to attract a $542 million LNG export plant (see Jacksonville, FL Considers Tax Break for Eagle LNG Export Plant). We spotted another story about this project that sheds more light on Jacksonville and its role in attracting the plant.
Read More “Jacksonville, FL Welcomed LNG Export Plant “With Open Arms””
We know, we know! You’re tired of MDN hammering man-child Andrew Cuomo, the tinpot dictator who styles himself “governor” of New York State, over his role in blocking pipelines and causing a natgas shortage crisis in the greater New York City area. But stick with us. If you read MDN (and Tom Shepstone’s Natural Gas Now website) you will have read all of the arguments in a blow-the-doors off article appearing in the New York Post, written by Bob McManus, former editorial page editor for the Post.
Read More “NY Post: Andrew Cuomo Stands with America’s Energy Enemies”
The International Gas Union (IGU) recently released its Global Gas Report 2019 (full copy below). According to the report, “The past year has been exceptional for natural gas. Prices at key regional natural gas hubs have reached multi-year lows. Both natural gas production and consumption have grown at record rates. And international trade infrastructure – in the form of LNG and pipeline capacity – is growing at the fastest rate in a decade.” What else does the report say? Plenty…
Read More “IGU Report: 2019 was “Exceptional” for Natural Gas”
The U.S. is on track to overtake both Qatar and Australia to become the top LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporter by 2024. However, our reign at the top may be short-lived. Qatar announced last week it will boost LNG production by 64% by 2027.
Read More “More Competition for LNG Exports Coming from Qatar”
WOW, what a reversal of fortune! Barely a month ago MDN told you that two natural gas utility companies, National Grid and Eversource, had cut the legs out from under Enbridge by declaring they no longer need the Weymouth (Mass.) compressor station to supply them with incrementally more natural gas supplies for the Greater Boston area (see 2 Utilities Cut Enbridge Off at Knees re Mass. Compressor Station). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Black Friday granted Enbridge a final go-ahead to begin construction anyway. Christmas came early!
Read More “Stop Press! Enbridge to Begin Construction on Weymouth Compressor”
The Risberg Line, a 60-mile pipeline from Crawford County, PA to Erie County, PA and from there across the border into Ashtabula County, OH, began construction in February. Risberg cost roughly $86 million to build and will flow 55 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas from the PA Marcellus to the northern tip of Ohio in Ashtabula County. In mid-November, RH energytrans, the builder, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to start it up by Dec. 1 (see Risberg PA-to-OH Pipeline Project Ready to Start Dec. 1). FERC granted permission and as near as we can tell the pipeline is now up and running.
Read More “FERC Authorizes Startup for Risberg PA-to-OH Pipeline”
When bullies get away with their bullying, as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has done with natural gas utility National Grid (see Andrew “Don Corleone” Cuomo Extorts National Grid, Wins Pipe Battle), they turn around look for more “marks” to bully. That’s how bullies behave. That’s how Cuomo is behaving since his big “win” in bullying National Grid to give up on its plan to get new gas supplies via pipeline. As we told you last week, sometimes the bad guys win. This is one of those times.
Read More “Cuomo Now Threatening to End Con Edison’s NatGas Franchise”
Last week MDN told you about a law firm fishing for Energy Transfer shareholders to join its class action lawsuit against the company over rumors of corruption in obtaining permits to build the Mariner East 2 pipeline project (see Shareholder Lawsuit Filed Against ET/Sunoco re Mariner East Pipe). A second law firm is now trying the same tactic–a second shareholder lawsuit based on unproven rumors.
Read More “2nd Class Action Lawsuit Against ET/Sunoco re Mariner East Pipe”
An interesting Ohio Supreme Court ruling from last week caught our attention, thanks to the legal beagles at Vorys. As with most of these cases, this one is complex. But we want to highlight *why* it’s important right up front: Landowners (or mineral rights owners, usually the one and the same but not always) have a longer period of time, 21 years, to bring an action to reclaim their severed mineral rights than the previously thought 15 years–in certain situations. That was the upshot in Browne v. Artex Oil Co.
Read More “OH Supremes Rule Landowners have 21 Yrs to Claim Lease Expiration”
Even the most hardened anti-fossil fuelers can’t deny that science has not yet caught up to our capacity to store electricity generated by so-called renewable sources like wind and solar. Sometimes the wind doesn’t blow and last time we checked, the sun doesn’t shine at night. But sometimes the wind does blow, a lot, and the sun shines a lot, and produces far more electricity than the grid can handle. It would be nice to store that extra electricity for use later–but batteries don’t cut it. Not yet. So how can you store extra electricity from wind and solar aside from batteries?
Read More “Maine Eyes Turning Excess Renewable Electricity into…NatGas?!”
Last November Equitrans (nee EQT Midstream), filed plans with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project *another* 70 miles south, into North Carolina, called the MVP Southgate project (see EQT Makes it Official, Files with FERC to Extend MVP into NC). The Southgate project has been under review at FERC since that time. The original schedule called for FERC to issue a final environmental impact statement (EIS) on Dec. 19. That date has just been pushed back.
Read More “FERC Pushes Back Deadline to Review MVP Southgate to Feb 2020”
It’s the end of the road for some not-so-nice folks in Nicetown, a Philadelphia neighborhood. In 2016, Philadelphia’s SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) announced plans to build a Marcellus gas-powered electric plant to provide electricity to SEPTA’s northern Regional Rail lines and a bus garage (see Antis Plan to Shut Down Philly Transit Meeting re NatGas Powergen). Antis, making wild claims of “racism,” opposed the plant because it will burn an evil, nasty, vile “fossil fuel.”
Read More “Philly’s Nicetown Marcellus-Fired Plant Wins Appeal, Online Soon”
MDN previously reported on the rumor that ExxonMobil is sniffing around southwestern Pennsylvania looking for a site to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant (see Exxon Mobil Sniffing Around SWPA to Build Second Cracker Plant). We then told you Exxon is not only looking in Beaver County (where Shell is building its cracker) but also in nearby Washington and Greene counties too (see Exxon Widens Search to Build SWPA Cracker Plant to Other Counties). But what’s this? We now read about another rumor–that Exxon is also considering southeast PA, the Philadelphia area!
Read More “ExxonMobil Considers Philadelphia Area for Ethane Cracker Plant”
Speaking of the Mariner East (ME) pipelines and the NGLs (primarily ethane, but also propane and butane) they flow, why isn’t the organized business community (i.e. Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce) doing more to stick up for the ME pipeline projects? MDN friend Garland Thompson, a gifted reporter/writer who covers energy and technology issues for US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine, recently penned an open letter to the Philly Chamber challenging them to get off their collective butts and defend ME and the jobs it will create in the greater Philly region.
Read More “Time to Defend the Mariner East Pipe Projects – Garland Thompson”
For years (maybe a generation) we’ve heard the refrain that America needs to become “energy independent.” But what does that phrase actually mean? It means we produce enough of our own energy (oil, natural gas, nuclear, renewable, etc.) that if push comes to shove, we could actually survive if the rest of the world decided to cut us off from all sources of outside energy. Can you actually measure such an amorphous concept? Turns out you can.
Read More “U.S. Set to Officially Become Energy Independent Early 2020”
Some 33 industry associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute, sent a letter to White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Mary Neumayr last Friday asking the agency to “expeditiously proceed” with efforts to “modernize” National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. What is NEPA and why should you care?
Read More “33 Energy Groups Ask Trump Admin to Finish Energy Reg Overhaul”