Pot Shot: PennEast Partner Seeks to Stop New England Pipeline
In September 2014, PSEG (Public Service Enterprise Group) Power–New Jersey’s largest utility company–became the fifth company to become a partner in the much-needed PennEast Pipeline, the $1 billion pipeline project that would flow cheap, abundant and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from northeast Pennsylvania all the way to Trenton, New Jersey (see NJ’s Largest Utility Becomes 5th Partner in PennEast Pipeline). You know the travails PennEast has had in trying to get the project approved. Nutjobs like THE Delaware Riverkeeper, funded by the William Penn Foundation, Heinz Endowments and others, has continually harassed and sued PennEast. One of Riverkeeper’s favorite tactics is to write gajillions of letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission telling FERC that PennEast isn’t needed and isn’t wanted. So we found it a tad hypocritical to read that PSEG Power has turned around and filed their own letter with FERC–telling FERC another pipeline project, Spectra Energy’s much-needed Access Northeast pipeline which will bring more Marcellus gas to New England, isn’t needed and isn’t wanted…
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The lawless Attorney General in New York, Eric Schneiderman, and his philosophical twin in Massachusetts, AG Maura Healey, are refusing to obey a subpoena issued by Congress for copies of their communication records that would show the two (along with other AGs) have been unethically (perhaps illegally) colluding with Big Green groups in targeting Exxon Mobil over the issue of so-called global warming. As MDN previously reported, Schneiderman, Healey and several other far-left radicals made fantastical claims that Exxon “knew” that burning their evil, filthy, nasty oil and natural gas is causing Mom Earth to warm up, so the AGs served subpoenas to Exxon to turn over every piece of communication the company has ever had. Why? So the AGs could try to build a case against Exxon’s expression of free speech (see 
A small group of ignorant children (look the photo) preened and pretended to actually know something when they marched outside of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery in South Philly where PES would like to expand by leasing an extra 200 acres at the Southport facility. The children blocked traffic causing a backup, making drivers unhappy. The kids also prevented trucks from entering and exiting the facility–for about 10 minutes. Philly police watched and did nothing. Sycophantic media (StateImpact) claimed there were “around 100” but a picture of the event shows nine (that we can see), none of whom appear to be old enough to drink beer. PES is pushing the concept of making Philadelphia an “energy hub” and they (PES) want to ship Marcellus Shale gas from the Southport facility location after piping it there from other parts of PA. A number of people are bidding on the property and it’s not at all a foregone conclusion that PES will get it (see 
As we reported yesterday, last Friday Williams and the Constitution Pipeline filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend their application to build the Constitution Pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY (see 
Yesterday ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabian petrochemical giant SABIC announced they have formed a joint venture partnership and are evaluating (and plan) to build yet another ethane cracker plant complex along the Gulf Coast–in either Texas or Louisiana. The Gulf Coast has numerous such plants already in operation. The northeast has (so far) none. Why the two companies are not looking to the northeast is beyond us. In their announcement the companies said they want to locate along the Gulf Coast “near natural gas feedstock.” Why is this an MDN story? Because (a) pipelines are planned from the Marcellus/Utica region to the Gulf Coast, and this cracker, if built, will be yet another new market for our gas, and (b) because it will likely compete with the crackers that do get built in the northeast. Shell has committed to building one in Pennsylvania, and PTT Global Chemical will make a final investment decision in 2017 on a planned cracker in Ohio. A new Exxon/SABIC cracker will compete for our gas supplies, we have no doubt. Here’s yesterday’s joint announcement…
It’s not the place of a news organization, the “fourth estate” and watchdog of the government, to whore itself to a major political party. But that’s exactly what Bloomberg News has done. Shame on them. Yesterday in Philadelphia, at the Democrat National Convention, Bloomberg News sponsored a meeting of radicals in the Dem party to discuss the myth of man-made global warming–and how the Dems can force autocratic action down the throats of all Americans in the name of so-called climate change (the euphemism for global warming, something that hasn’t happened now for 20 years). Does anyone care anymore that our mainstream news services have sold their souls to the Democrat Party? Apparently not…
A group of rabidly left “environmental” groups–including Oil Change International, Appalachian Voices, Bold Alliance, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Earthworks, Environmental Action, Sierra Club (national), 350.org, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Protect Our Water/Heritage/Rights (Virginia & West Virginia), Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter, and Friends of Water (West Virginia)–recently published a piece of fiction titled, “A Bridge Too Far: How Appalachian Basin Gas Pipeline Expansion Will Undermine U.S. Climate Goals” (full copy below). As indicated by the title, these Nazi-like groups want to stop all new pipeline construction, repairs to existing pipelines, ANYTHING to do with a pipeline that flows natural gas or other fossil fuels. Why? They’re true believers that the earth is catastrophically heating up (it isn’t), and that mankind is causing it by burning fossil fuels (we aren’t). Their answer is to take the human race back to the Stone Ages when we burned cow dung and wood, apparently. One thing is for certain–you can’t even build windmills and solar panels without fossil fuels–so their so-called precious renewables aren’t an option. We wonder if they ever listen to themselves actually talk…
Although he still wants to tax the Marcellus Shale industry out of his state, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (with the dubious title of “most liberal governor in the U.S.,” see 
In June Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf was forced to accept half a loaf–he agreed to reject new drilling regulations for the conventional drilling industry in the state, if lawmakers would allow his administration’s rework of shale drilling regulations to take effect (see 
You’ve heard of “whitewashing” before. How about “title washing?” No, we hadn’t either. But this funny sounding practice has a great deal to do with mineral rights in Pennsylvania, with possible implications for landowners and drillers. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a 5-0 ruling last week that upholds the practice of title washing in the Keystone State. What in the world is it, and how does it affect landowners and drillers? In the case of Herder Spring Hunting Club v. Keller there had been a tax sale in 1935 for a property in Centre County, PA where the mineral rights had previously been separated. Prior to 1948 if mineral rights that had been separated were not properly recorded (it was incumbent on the owner of the subsurface rights to ensure the sale was recorded at the assessor’s office), and the surface land was later sold, both the mineral rights (subsurface) and the surface land became part of the sale. That, in essence, was title washing. After 1948 a law prevented this from happening, so such cases only apply to land sold before 1948. The legal beagles at Babst Calland have a good overview of what the practice of title washing is, and how the Court’s decision affects Pennsylvanians. We also have a copy of the decision embedded below…
One of the important new markets that Marcellus and Utica Shale drillers have been salivating over is Canada. Indeed, flows of natural gas, via pipelines, have increased to Canada over the past several years (see