Pipelines

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Trump Admin Releases Updates to National Environmental Policy Act
July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

In January President Trump announced a list of proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in an effort to strip away some of the governmental red tape that has built up over the years like plaque in an artery, preventing important infrastructure projects like pipelines, dams, bridges, and roads from getting built (see Trump Seeks to Speed Up Pipeline Projects by Tweaking NEPA Law). Over the past 20 years or so the left has become adept in their use of NEPA to block new projects, claiming environmental harms. Trump wants to reverse that trend. Yesterday the final version of the Trump Administration’s tweaks to NEPA was released, setting off a firestorm of protest from the more radical elements of the “environmental” movement.
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation

Riverkeeper Lawsuit Challenges Trump Changes to Water Permits
July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

In April 2019, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to review Section 401 of the Clean Water Act–the section that grants states (and tribes) the right to have a say in pipeline projects (see Trump Signs Executive Order Making it Harder to Block Pipe). In keeping with the EO, the EPA issued a draft new rule in August 2019 tightening up standards used in Section 401, creating new boundaries so states like New York and Washington can’t continue to “color outside the lines” by rejecting pipelines for political reasons, as they have both done (see EPA Issues Proposed New Rule for Section 401 Water Permit). A final version of the new rule was released on June 1 (see EPA Issues Final Rule to Prevent States from Blocking Pipelines). On Monday, extreme leftist group THE Delaware Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit challenging the new rule.
Read More “Riverkeeper Lawsuit Challenges Trump Changes to Water Permits”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines

North Carolina is Biggest Loser re Canceled Atlantic Coast Pipe
July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

Some 12 days ago Dominion Energy announced it is throwing in the towel and canceling the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project that would have stretched from West Virginia to North Carolina. The company also announced it is selling its pipeline business to Warren Buffett (see Dominion Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipe, Sells Pipe Biz for $9.7B). The cancelation of ACP is a major blow to Marcellus/Utica drillers, but it’s an even bigger blow and more impactful for another group…
Read More “North Carolina is Biggest Loser re Canceled Atlantic Coast Pipe”
Empire Pipeline | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Niagara County | Pipelines

Federal Judge Overrules NY Town to Allow NFG Compressor Station
July 15, 2020July 15, 2020

click for larger version

National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) $500 million Northern Access Pipeline project aims to build 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern Pennsylvania up to Erie County, NY to flow PA Marcellus fracked shale gas into the Empire State. The project also calls for 3 miles of new pipeline and a compressor station in Niagara County, NY. The Town of Pendleton, where the compressor station will be located, has refused to issue a permit for the station. Yesterday a federal judge overruled the town and said NFG can move forward with construction of the compressor station when it’s ready to do so.
Read More “Federal Judge Overrules NY Town to Allow NFG Compressor Station”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

10 Democrat Senators Ask Warren Buffet to Invest in WV NatGas
July 15, 2020July 15, 2020

Waaaiiit just a minute. Did we just slip through the looking glass? Ten Democrat State Senators from West Virginia sent a letter earlier this week to Warren Buffett asking the billionaire to consider investing in natural gas projects in the Mountain State. The letter states their sadness that Atlantic Coast Pipeline was canceled, but expresses hope that Buffett’s purchase of Dominion’s other pipeline assets augurs a bright future. We could have sworn this letter was sent by conservative Republicans!
Read More “10 Democrat Senators Ask Warren Buffet to Invest in WV NatGas”
Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Snyder County

PA PIPE Grants to Extend Gas Pipelines in Monroe, Snyder Counties
July 15, 2020July 15, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (or PIPE) grants cover part of the cost for building new natural gas pipelines to connect homes and businesses, typically in rural parts of the state, to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many of the more-than-a-dozen (so far) PIPE grant projects in the past (see our PIPE stories here). Two more PIPE grants totaling over $1 million have just been awarded–one in Synder County, the other in Monroe County.
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Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide WV | TC Energy/TransCanada | West Virginia

Mountaineer Xpress Pipe Back Online After Unplanned Maintenance
July 14, 2020July 14, 2020

Whew. We can now breathe a sigh of relief. On July 7 TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission subsidiary announced an unplanned outage (for maintenance work) for the Mountaineer XPress (MXP) pipeline in West Virginia–near Leach, Kentucky (see Mountaineer XPress Unplanned Maintenance Knocks 2 Bcf/d Offline). The “force majeure” outage knocked nearly 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of gas flows offline. On Saturday, July 11, TC Energy brought Mountaineer XPress back online–two days earlier than forecast.
Read More “Mountaineer Xpress Pipe Back Online After Unplanned Maintenance”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines

After Killing ACP, Antis Attempt to Do Same to MVP Southgate
July 13, 2020July 13, 2020

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Anti-fossil fuel nutters, emboldened by the cancelation of the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (see Dominion Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipe, Sells Pipe Biz for $9.7B), have turned their hopes and dreams and desires on defeating a much smaller project–the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate pipeline.
Read More “After Killing ACP, Antis Attempt to Do Same to MVP Southgate”
Accidents | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

NJ DEP Stops Construction of Southern Reliability Link Pipe
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Southern Reliability Link map (click for larger version)

New Jersey Natural Gas’ (NJNG) $130 million, 22-mile natural gas pipeline project called the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline project to connect NJNG’s distribution system serving customers in Ocean, Burlington and Monmouth counties (in NJ) has been under construction for a year. Construction has continued even during the virus pandemic (see Pipeline Thru NJ Scrub Pines Continues Building During COVID-19). The odious Sierra Club (anti-fossil fuel nutters) has finally succeeded in convincing the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection to shut down construction on the project–at least temporarily.
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Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Weymouth Compressor Continues Construction Despite Judge’s Ruling
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Weymouth compressor station construction (credit: Patriot Ledger)

The Weymouth compressor station is the last piece of Spectra Energy/Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge pipeline project–a project which took years to build. In July 2019 the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted an air permit for the final piece, the Weymouth compressor station (see Mass. DEP Issues Air Permit for Weymouth Compressor Station). Last month (a full year later!), Obama Judge William Kayatta from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned the state permit, telling the DEP to do it all over again (see Obama Judge Overturns Air Permit for Weymouth, MA Compressor Stn). We’re delighted to see the judge’s ruling has not stopped construction on the project.
Read More “Weymouth Compressor Continues Construction Despite Judge’s Ruling”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | TC Energy/TransCanada

Mountaineer XPress Unplanned Maintenance Knocks 2 Bcf/d Offline
July 8, 2020July 8, 2020

Can a single pipeline suddenly going offline in the Marcellus/Utica cause the biggest daily drop in natural gas production across the country–ever? Apparently it can. Yesterday TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission subsidiary announced an unplanned outage (for maintenance work) for the Mountaineer XPress pipeline in West Virginia (near Leach, Kentucky). The “force majeure” outage knocked nearly 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of gas flows offline until at least next Monday, July 13.
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Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Equitrans’ Mountain Valley Pipeline Becomes Belle of the M-U Ball
July 8, 2020July 8, 2020

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On Monday MDN brought you the tremendously sad news that Dominion Energy has canceled plans to build the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina (see Dominion Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipe, Sells Pipe Biz for $9.7B). However, there is a silver lining in that news and other news from this week for a somewhat competitive project, Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
Read More “Equitrans’ Mountain Valley Pipeline Becomes Belle of the M-U Ball”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Actions by “Environmentalist” Groups are Harming the Environment
July 8, 2020July 8, 2020

Environmentalist groups don’t get a pass here on MDN for their so-called good intentions. Groups like the Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, National Resources Defense Council, and others are actually *harming* the environment with their actions to block natural gas and oil pipelines. They are demonstrably making the environment worse! Why does mainstream “media” allow them to get away with harming the very thing they profess to love and want to protect?
Read More “Actions by “Environmentalist” Groups are Harming the Environment”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines

Supreme Court Restores Nationwide 12 Permits for MVP, Other Pipes
July 7, 2020July 7, 2020

In May a Montana federal judge appointed by Barack Obama capriciously blocked the use of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit (NP) 12 for all pipeline projects across the country (see Obama Judge Blocks New Pipe Projects that Use NP12 Permit). In June the Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the judge’s ban (see Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Lift NP12 Permit Ban). Late yesterday the Supremes did just that–lifted the ban. NP12 can now be used for pipeline projects other than the Keystone XL project.
Read More “Supreme Court Restores Nationwide 12 Permits for MVP, Other Pipes”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Biggest Casualty in Canceling ACP is Stunted M-U Growth; MVP Helps
July 7, 2020July 7, 2020

Brian Lego, research assistant professor in the West Virginia University (WVU) Bureau of Business and Economic Research, says while canceling the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project is a blow to WV because of lost jobs, the even bigger impact will be less new markets for Marcellus/Utica gas, meaning growth in M-U drilling will be stunted.
Read More “Biggest Casualty in Canceling ACP is Stunted M-U Growth; MVP Helps”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Why Chesapeake Likely Won’t be Able to Cancel Pipe Contracts
July 7, 2020July 7, 2020

On Sunday, June 28, Chesapeake Energy, with major operations in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, filed for bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). As part of the filing, the company asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to break existing, legal, enforceable contracts with several pipeline companies (see Chesapeake Asks Court to Break Pipeline Contracts, Including M-U). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is saying “not so fast, you need our blessing first” before those contracts can be altered.
Read More “Why Chesapeake Likely Won’t be Able to Cancel Pipe Contracts”