Industrywide Issues

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Northampton County Wants Jury Trial re PennEast Eminent Domain
March 7, 2018March 12, 2018

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PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile pipeline from near Wilkes-Barre, PA to near Trenton, NJ., is in the unenviable position of having to sue a few holdout landowners who refuse to negotiate in good faith to allow the federally-approved pipeline from crossing their property. Northampton County, PA is one of those landowners. PennEast Pipeline will traverse Northampton-owed conservation easements along its route. Northampton wouldn’t negotiate, so PennEast sued. Northampton wants a jury trial, supposedly to stop PennEast–but we think it’s really because they want more money for the conservation easements, something they appear to admit in a recent article…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater

Federal EPA Approves Permit for Plum, PA Wastewater Injection Well
March 6, 2018September 5, 2018

Plum, PA

As MDN reported last July, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency in charge of approving oil and gas wastewater injection wells, was actively reviewing an application and plan from Penneco Environmental Solutions (division of Penneco Oil Co.) to convert a plugged gas well into a brine (wastewater) injection well in Plum, PA–in Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh (see New Frack Wastewater Well on the Way in Allegheny County, PA). The good news is that the EPA has given its final approval for the project. However, Penneco has miles to go (a lawsuit & state permits) before they begin retrofitting the well…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

PA Natural Gas Production Hits Another All-Time High in 4Q17
March 6, 2018June 1, 2018

Pennsylvania ended 2017 with a bang–at least with respect to natural gas production. Yesterday, the PA Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released their latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for Oct-Dec 2017 (full copy below). It shows natgas production rose 9.8% compared to the same period last year. It also shows the number of producing wells is up 9.2% from last year. Total natural gas production volume was 1,401.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and the number of producing wells in 4Q17 was 8,268…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

FERC Grants Cove Point LNG Permission to Begin Commercial Ops
March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

As MDN reported last Friday, the very first cargo of LNG (liquefied natural gas) left the Cove Point LNG export facility in Lusby, Maryland (see Cove Point Ships First LNG Cargo – But Not M-U Gas). However, as we accurately surmised, that first shipment did not contain Marcellus/Utica gas molecules, but instead the gas aboard was previously shipped in from Nigeria by Shell, used in the commissioning process to test the facility. Now that the commissioning process is complete, Dominion Energy, operator of the plant, requested (on Friday) a full-blown kiss of approval from FERC to begin real, commercial operations–chilling and liquefying Marcellus gas for export. On Monday, FERC granted its big, sloppy, wet kiss of approval. Cove Point is now up and running “for real”…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Secretary on Senate Hot Seat During Budget Hearing
March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

Patrick McDonnell – Secretary, DEP

Last Thursday Pat McDonnell, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), appeared before the PA Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss the DEP’s proposed budget–and to answer questions about the (unimpressive) performance of his department. Among the issues discussed: The 250% increase in oil and gas well permit fees; the proposed DRBC fracking moratorium; abandoned oil and gas wells; controlling methane emissions; and Sen. John Yudichak’s do-nothing plan to “study” enormously slow permit approvals for erosion and sedimentation–critical permits for shale drillers that are often delayed by months. Here’s some of the back and forth from last week when McDonnell sat on the hot seat…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues

Report: Russia Uses Social Media, Anti Groups to Target Shale
March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

In the ongoing effort by Democrats and their sycophantic, servile media partners to oust Donald Trump from the White House by using a concocted, false story of “Russian collusion” in the elections–the REAL Russian collusion story is missed. That story is how Russia, using social media platforms and funding American anti-fossil fuel groups, has tried its best to interfere with and change American energy policy. Specifically, the Russians have targeted shale natural gas production–hoping to curtail or even stop our prolific production of natgas from shale plays like the Marcellus/Utica. The REAL story of Russian collusion and tampering in our politics can be found in a report recently released by the United States Congress, a report ignored by the so-called press…
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Berks County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

PA DEP Issues Permits for Japanese Gas-Fired Elec Plant in SEPA
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

Birdsboro Power concept

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced last Friday it has issued all of the necessary state permits to the Birdsboro Power Marcellus gas-fired electric plant project (in Berks County, PA) for the project to begin construction. Last October the DEP held a hearing on the proposed 488-megawatt natgas-fired electric plant slated for Birdsboro, near Philadelphia (see PA DEP Public Hearing on Japanese Gas-Fired Elec Plant in SEPA). Even though the project has the state permits it needs, it still lacks final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before they can begin construction of the new plant…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Co-Tenancy Bill Passes in Senate – Now Waits for Gov to Sign
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

On Saturday, the full West Virginia Senate voted on House Bill (HB) 4268–the “co-tenancy” bill–passing the measure by a vote of 23-11. This is tremendously good news–for both landowners and drillers. Although WV Gov. Jim Justice had previously threatened to veto the bill because he wanted it tied (like a millstone) to the neck of another bill (joint development), Justice backed off that position after getting a lot of blowback, from virtually everyone (see WV Gov. Justice Gets His Head Straight, Stops Targeting Co-Tenancy). The bill now awaits his signature. Let’s hope Justice keeps his head clear enough to sign it…
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Chester County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics

3rd Sinkhole Appears Near ME2 Construction in Chester County, PA
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

In February, Sunoco Logistics Partners agreed to pay a massive (historically high) $12.6 million fine to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for “permit violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project” (see Sunoco LP Pays PA DEP $12.6M to Resume ME2 Pipeline Construction). The fine, along with a “stringent compliance review” going forward, gave the DEP enough confidence to allow Sunoco to resume construction on the ME2 project, which had been halted since January 3rd. One of the ongoing problems with the project is underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD). In one area near Philadelphia, a couple of sinkholes developed in close proximity to Sunoco’s HDD work. Not a good thing. Unfortunately for Sunoco, a third “swimming-pool-sized” sinkhole has just opened up in the same general area as two others, in West Whiteland (Chester County, PA)…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Japan Wants a Piece of WV Petchem Industry – Just Like China?
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

The Japanese recently found out more about the Marcellus/Utica and the region in the Mid-Ohio Valley called the “Shale Crescent.” In June 2016, MDN told you about an economic development group of business and government leaders from Ohio and West Virginia (the Mid-Ohio Valley) called Shale Crescent (see Group Promotes Mid-Ohio Valley for Petrochem: Shale Crescent USA). The group was two years in the making and officially launched in June at a public event in Washington County, OH. The aim of the group is to attract manufacturers–petrochemical manufacturers–to set up shop in the region. Now, nearly two years later, the Japanese are interested–particularly in West Virginia. Why?…
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Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Nor’easter Blows Train with NatGas Pipelines Off Track in SEPA
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

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A mighty nor’easter storm blew up from the south and hit the Mid-Atlantic and northeast states late last week. The storm prevented your faithful MDN editor from flying home for 36 hours, due to some 20 inches of snow in the Greater Binghamton area. In other states, the storm didn’t manifest as snow but instead as torrential rain and high winds. In fact, a story we spotted related to the storm was so unusual (and connected to our industry), we thought we would highlight it. We’re suckers for a good train story. The East Penn Railroad, a “shortline” train operating 109 miles of track in southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, had two of their freight cars blown off the tracks by the high winds from the nor’easter. There were reported wind gusts reaching 60-70 miles per hour. The cars blown off the tracks carried materials being used for natural gas pipeline construction…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines

2 Important Pipeline Cases Go Our Way – Thank God
March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

We recently dodged a couple of legal bullets with respect to building pipeline projects. A recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case brought by anti-fossil fuelers against the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) would have gutted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) ability to grant eminent domain powers to pipeline companies. Whew, dodged that bullet. In Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, THE Delaware Riverkeeper and other antis tried to upend the centuries-old principle that federal law trumps state law, and state law trumps local law. Riverkeeper argued local laws should stop the Mariner East 2 project. Whew, dodged that bullet too…
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Industrywide Issues

List of Winners for 2018 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards
March 5, 2018March 6, 2018

Last week MDN editor Jim Willis had the pleasure of moderating two panels at the 2018 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards’ Northeast Industry Summit. As in the past, we enjoyed the opportunity to meeting the pros in our industry, to say hello so a number of MDN subscribers, and in general soak up knowledge about this great industry. The evening was a gala ceremony to recognize and announce this year’s winners of the 2018 O&G Awards. A hearty congratulations to all of the winners. We have the full list of who won…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

Cove Point Ships First LNG Cargo – But Not M-U Gas
March 2, 2018March 5, 2018

Earlier this week MDN told you the ship that would carry the very first cargo of LNG from Cove Point LNG had docked (see Ships Line Up for Cove Point LNG – 1st Ship Docked). LNG tanker Gemmata, as we reported, docked earlier this week at the Cove Point terminal. We assumed (incorrectly) that it would carry Marcellus/Utica gas when it left…
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CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Regulation

Elba Island LNG Wants to Start Up in Q3 This Year
March 2, 2018March 2, 2018

Southern LNG, a unit of Kinder Morgan, filed a request with the Dept. of Energy yesterday asking the DOE for “blanket authorization” to export LNG from the Elba Island LNG plant in Georgia beginning in the third quarter of this year…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov. Justice Gets His Head Straight, Stops Targeting Co-Tenancy
March 2, 2018March 2, 2018

Well looky at this. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has pulled his head out of his…political fugue…and has reversed course on his opposition to the existing co-tenancy bill that’s near final passage. Justice previously threatened to veto the bill if it should hit his desk…
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