In March MDN reported that work has restarted, after eight years, to complete an injection well in Mahoning County, OH (see Work Restarts at 8-Year Dormant Youngstown, OH Injection Well). The Ohio EPA, ever vigilant as they are, recently issued the project a notice of violation…but not for any work related to the injection well itself.
Read More “New Mahoning Injection Well Online Soon; OEPA Issues Violation”
In March, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf traveled to an elementary school in South Philadelphia with the message that only a severance tax on Marcellus Shale production stands in the way of cleaning up lead paint problems that are poisoning the little kiddies at the school (see Gov. Wolf’s Campaign of Lies re Severance Tax Continues in Philly). We were, rightly, incensed. If children are being poisoned by lead paint in Philly schools, find the money somewhere and fix the problem–NOW. It seems we weren’t the only ones thinking that way. Wolf has magically found $4.3 million to fix the problem…without a severance tax.
Read More “PA Gov Magically Finds $ to Fix Philly Schools w/o Severance Tax”
We love happy endings, and this story has one. Despite claims by anti-fossil fuelers that the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in southwestern PA would spread disease and death if it got built, it’s been up and running since last December–producing power and generating money for both its builders and the community–and everyone is just fine. Cue the Pete Seeger song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and replace “Flowers” with “Antis”…
Read More “Tenaska’s Westmoreland Gas-Fired Plant – Generating Power & Money”
Yet another cockamamie “study” (i.e. propaganda) about the negatives of fracking–this one done by the University of New Hampshire claiming a few hikers and outdoor enthusiasts in Pennsylvania will have to find someplace else to hike and enthuse…because of evil Marcellus fracking. The thing that really angers us is that Pennsylvania taxpayers paid for this “study”!
Read More “New Study Claims PA Fracking Stops Hikers from Having Good Time”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette continues to get a lot of negative reaction to its grossly irresponsible series of stories attempting to connect shale drilling to several cases of childhood cancer in southwestern Pennsylvania (see Response to Pittsburgh Newspaper Smear Campaign re Child Cancer). The founder and CEO of Steel Nation, a company deeply involved in the Marcellus/Utica shale industry, is the latest to push back against the Post-Gazette‘s irresponsible series.
Read More “Steel Nation CEO Pushes Back on Post-Gazette Cancer Stories”
PTT Global Chemical continues to behave is if it’s going forward with building a $7.5 billion ethane cracker in Dilles Bottom (Belmont County), Ohio. The latest evidence? The company is actively buying up homes close to the proposed site. Over the past two months the company has snapped up six homes and is in discussions right now with others.
Read More “PTT Buying Homes Near Proposed Cracker Plant in Belmont County”
In February 2017, Spire, a natural gas utility company based in St. Louis, Missouri, filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build the Spire STL Pipeline, a 65-mile, 24-inch diameter pipe that will flow 400 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day of yummy Marcellus/Utica gas from the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline to St. Louis (see Spire Files Plan with FERC to Flow Marcellus/Utica Gas to St. Louis). Construction on the project began this past December (see St. Louis Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Begins Construction). The project is already 97% complete!
Read More “St. Louis Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Now 97% Done, Up & Running 4Q”
Equitrans, formerly known as EQT Midstream (formerly a division of EQT), released its second quarter update yesterday. Among the things we learned: The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project is now 85% complete and will be done and online in mid-2020. EQT (the driller) remains committed to the MVP project and contrary to false rumors, EQT is not pulling out (it would cost them north of $3 billion to do so!). The project cost for MVP will be around $5 billion–a new high.
Read More “Equitrans Wants to Remain Kissin’ Cousins with EQT; MVP 85% Done”
America’s natural gas and oil industry announced “a landmark partnership” in late 2017 called the Environmental Partnership, to “accelerate improvements to environmental performance in operations across the country” (see NatGas, Oil Industry Partnership to Accelerate Methane Reductions). The first area of focus has been to reduce methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. How is it going?
Read More “NatGas, Oil Industry Partnership Reduces Methane Emissions”
Lee Wasserman is director of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a New York-based charity started in 1967 by heirs of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Wasserman is a man-causes-global-warming Kool Aid drinker, and he uses the considerable money available to him to “fight climate change.” For a smart guy he’s really, really dumb. In a New York Times editorial last week, Wasserman paraded his ignorance for all to see by declaring the petroleum industry’s continued search for oil and gas is “rampant corporate irrationality.”
Read More “Rampant Irrationality of Rockefeller Fund in Opposing Fossil Fuels”
Although some of the 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) that stretches from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA is on hold due to court delays over stream crossing permits, work continues on the project. The original project is now 80% built and will go online in 2020 according to Equitrans CEO Thomas Karam. Equitrans filed plans with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last November to extend the pipeline *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).
Read More “FERC Signals Approval for MVP Southgate Pipe to NC in Draft EIS”
Shale driller Huntley & Huntley (H&H), headquartered in Monroeville (Allegheny County), PA, leases land and drills in the Pittsburgh suburbs. They’ve picked a tough place to do business. The company works hard to win over residents who live near their shale drilling projects. The latest example is what H&H is doing to reduce truck traffic in Murrysville (Westmoreland County), PA.
Read More “H&H Bends Over Backwards to Reduce SWPA Well Pad Truck Traffic”
Stabilis Energy, based in Houston, TX, offers a complete range of fully integrated LNG fueling solutions from LNG production to LNG distribution and technical support across North America. Stabilis has just bought out and merged in another company, American Electric Technologies. And believe it or not, there IS a Marcellus/Utica tie-in.
Read More “LNG Virtual Pipe Co Stabilis Buys/Merges in American Electric”
The actions of one man seeking access to confidential risk assessments and plans for the Mariner East pipelines in the Philadelphia area will, if successful, put information into the public domain that terrorists can potentially use. Note we don’t believe it is the intent of this man to grant access to sensitive information to terrorists. But that is the consequence, the outcome, the result of his actions–if a court now reviewing the case grants his request.
Read More “Philly Anti Pushes to Make Pipe Info Public that Terrorists Can Use”
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved TC Energy’s agreements with natural gas retailers in Eastern Canada, to flow Western Canadian gas to Canada’s East Coast and New England. TC Energy (formerly called TransCanada) cooked up a plan to expand an existing pipeline in New England and connect it to a point in Quebec to flow gas from the opposite side of the continent, Western Canadian natural gas (over 1,000 miles away), into New England and from there back up into Canada (see TransCanada Plans to Move Western Canadian Gas into New England).
Read More “TC Energy Plan to Move Western Canadian Gas to East Coast Approved”
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) continues to recover (physically and reputationally) from a series of explosions last September in its local delivery pipelines north of Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas–for months. Several class action lawsuits were filed against the company. News is breaking today that Columbia has settled all of the class action lawsuits for $143 million.
Read More “Columbia Gas Pays $143M to Settle Lawsuit from Mass. Explosions”