Constitution Pipe Asks FERC for Speedy Rehearing, 2020 Deadline
Seems like a week doesn’t go by that MDN isn’t asked (by someone from Pennsylvania), “Is there any hope of building the Constitution Pipeline through New York?” Our standard response is this: The only way it gets built is (a) NY elects a new governor favorable to the industry–about a 1% chance of that happening, (b) President Trump issues an Executive Order overriding Cuomo’s blockade of Constitution (and other pipeline projects)–maybe a 10% chance of that happening, or (c) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reconsiders a decision to not overrule NY’s move to block the project–maybe a 15% chance. The U.S. Supreme Court in April refused to consider the Constitution Pipeline case, closing that door (see Supreme Court Rejects Constitution Pipe Request to Overrule NY). In January of this year, FERC turned down Constitution’s request to overrule NY (see Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC). But then Constitution (i.e. Williams) asked FERC to reconsider their ruling, to “rehear” the case as it’s called, in Feburary (see Constitution Pipe Files for FERC Rehearing, Then Back to Court). In March, FERC gave themselves a little more time to think about rehearing the decision, but since that time, the agency has been silent. Yesterday Williams/Constitution filed a request with FERC asking them to urgently, speedily, quick-like-a-bunny, pretty-please with a cherry on top hurry up and reconsider/rehear their earlier decision, this time hopefully overruling NY. Could it happen? Sure, it could. Will it? Doubtful, but hey, hope springs eternal! Williams/Constitution also filed an official request yesterday with FERC to extend the deadline to build the Constitution project–from this year to 2020. If FERC grants the extension, then maybe there is a glimmer of hope that FERC will change its mind, or that FERC somehow sees a way that Constitution can still get built…
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Last Thursday EQT held its annual shareholder’s meeting. By all accounts it was a sleepy affair with few people attending–inside at least. Even the current interim CEO, David Porges, didn’t bother to show up, sending along CFO Rob McNally to be the official face of the company. McNally spoke about the past few years as hectic, going from “one transaction to the next.” McNally said “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel” for things to now settle down–once the company splits in two later this year (into upstream and midstream). However, a handful of Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) protesters showed up to mouth off–marching outside EQT HQ where the annual meeting was held. McNally said, in so many words, protests of MVP are no big deal. The company thought there would be protesters, and they even planned for illegal protests in the construction timeline (people chaining themselves to bulldozers, etc.). Just one more day in the life of a fossil fuel company that deals with nutters all the time…
The insidious and well-funded Sierra Club has scored another temporary legal victory in stopping Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction throughout West Virginia. One month ago we reported that the Clubbers had claimed a temporary victory in stopping construction work of MVP at four river crossings in WV. At that time (in May), the Clubbers and a mishmash of other radicalized groups filed a motion asking the Fourth District U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that allows MVP to construct the pipeline across streams and rivers in the Mountain State (see 
In 2013 so-called environmentalists protested, agitated and lobbied to prevent an electrical generating power plant in Tompkins County, near Ithaca, NY, to switch from burning coal to burning natural gas–because they’re afraid it will mean more fracking (see 
At a big ceremony in 2015, none other than Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo joined the CEO of Invenergy to announce the Clear River Energy Center–a 900-1,000 megawatt electric generating plant that runs on natural gas (see 
There is nothing “bipartisan” about Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania. He’s a hard-left partisan all the way. Yet this year, for the first time since taking office, he signed a “bipartisan” budget on time–before the June 30 deadline. Wolf practically genuflected before the Republicans who control both the House and Senate in PA. This is the first budget Wolf has signed at all. The previous three annual budgets adopted during Wolf’s tenure were done so without his signature. So why did Wolf practically fall over himself to sign a budget that does NOT include a new severance tax, as he has requested each year since taking office? Simple: He’s running for reelection and wants to appear as if he’s actually governing. He’s attempting to smear a little lipstick on the pig of his awful tenure in office. Question is, will it work? Do people have the attention spans of gnats? Or will they remember the pain and suffering he inflicted by dragging out previous budgets for months? Pennsylvanians should understand that Wolf’s nicey-nice with the budget this year will completely evaporate next year (if he’s reelected). Back will be the hard-left partisan who lives under the lipstick…
Yet another wild, totally false “study” has been published by Duke University and University of Missouri researchers that finds when you pump rats full of chemicals, some of which may (or may not) be used in fracking, dosing the rats at many multiples of times more that any human would ever be exposed to, it makes the rats gain weight. And voila, a new meme in mainstream faux media is born: fracking makes you fat. How do “researchers” actually get jobs after publishing this kind of garbage? Who would hire them? Perhaps the Heniz Endowments or William Penn Foundation. This is the same “research” team that tried to connect shale drilling to impaired immune systems, low sperm counts, ovarian follicle problems and pre-cancerous mammary gland lesions, in previous fictional studies. More of the same with this study…
Once again we’re talking about strippers. Uh, stripper *wells* that is. In 2012 Pennsylvania passed the Act 13 drilling law that includes an impact fee on wells targeting shale layers, including the Marcellus. Snyder Brothers, headquartered in PA, drills mostly conventional (vertical only) wells in southwestern PA. In 2011-2012 they drilled 45 vertical-only wells targeting the Marcellus. All 45 of the vertical-only wells were fracked. Initially those wells produced more than 90 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/day), but by December of the year in which they were drilled, the wells produced less than 90 Mcf/day. The way the 2012 Act 13 law is written, if a well produces less than 90 Mcf/day during “any” month it is considered a stripper well and exempt from paying the impact fee. The state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) assessed the fee anyway because for 11 months the wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day, arguing the word “any” is not a get-out-tax-jail-free card. Snyder Bros. sued and after an appeal of the case, Snyder Bros. won the case in March 2017, exempting those wells from paying impact fees (see 
Is this the sad end to a noble cause? In 2015 MDN told you about an Allegany County, NY attorney/landowner who filed a lawsuit against the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) over their infamous and politically-motivated ban on fracking (see 
Another fake study is leading to a plethora of fake news stories–from the usual sources. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) used to be, once upon a time, at least somewhat reasonable. Out of the crop of environmentalist wackos, they were the best. People you could have a rational conversation with about fossil fuels. People you could carry on a civil debate with. No more. For the past few years the organization has taken a hard left turn and never looked back. Their latest annual “methane is leaking/the sky is falling” report is proof of that. Over the past six years the EDF has published study after study estimating methane leakage from gas drilling/pipelines/delivery systems somewhere between 1.2% and 1.5%. We all know that some methane leaks out–it’s inevitable. Gas companies are in the business of ensuring it doesn’t happen–it’s the commodity they sell! But sometimes it leaks–out of valves, or pipeline connections, etc. Methane is, as the false-but-popular meme goes, a “far more potent greenhouse gas” than carbon dioxide. Warmists say it so often to themselves, it’s like a mantra. “Methane is worse that CO2.” But the newest EDF “study,” which isn’t really new, pulls new numbers out of the air and now claims 2.3% of methane leaks out of the system. The EDF study is published in the so-called journal Science (which should be renamed Political Science), giving mainstream leftist news sources like the New York Times, Bloomberg and others permission to trumpet headlines that “methane leaks are far worse than the EPA, and we all, thought.” Even if we accept EDF’s new, much higher number of 2.3% leaking (which we don’t accept, but let’s pretend), even at that “high” number, EDF’s own warmist kindred admit extracting and burning natgas to generate electricity is STILL more beneficial for the climate than burning coal (Princeton University says the threshold is 3.2% leakage where natgas is no longer “good” for the climate). So while this is a big story in the leftist media echo chamber, it’s really no story at all…
Here’s a bold prediction: The Age of Natural Gas will replace the Age of Oil–within our lifetimes. That’s the thought running through our head as we read a new report from analytics/consulting powerhouse IHS Markit titled, “The Shale Gale Turns 10: A Powerful Wind at America’s Back.” IHS Markit expects natural gas production to rise by almost 8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), more than 10%, in 2018 alone. Altogether, U.S. production is expected to grow by another 60% over the next 20 years, according to the report. Additionally, IHS Markit now estimates that approximately 1,250 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of U.S. supply is economic below $4 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). That’s up from a previous estimate of 900 Tcf in 2010. “To say that the ‘Shale Gale’–as IHS Markit originally coined it in 2010–has been anything but a veritable revolution would be an understatement,” says Daniel Yergin, vice chairman, IHS Markit and co-author of the report. “It represents a dramatic and largely unanticipated turnaround that dramatically changed both markets and long-term thinking about energy.” Indeed. Here’s more about the report…
CNX Resources announced Tuesday that the company has signed a long-term contract with Evolution Well Services to use Evolution’s 100% natural gas-fueled electric pressure pumping equipment. That is, CNX will use electric fracking equipment, with the electricity generated by burning natural gas (instead of diesel). According to Evolution, their “next generation” equipment saves drillers “up to 95 percent on fuel costs.” Whoa! If that claim is true (we have no reason to disbelieve it), it certainly changes the economics of fracking. Using natgas to generate the electricity, instead of diesel, also has the benefit of cleaner air. And here’s the coolest part: The natural gas used to power the electric generator comes from other other CNX wells in the area, i.e. “field gas.” Look ma, no more endless truck deliveries of diesel fuel! Here’s the exciting news that CNX is a “first-mover” on this new technology…