The Risberg Line, a 60-mile pipeline from Crawford County, PA to Erie County, PA and from there across the border into Ashtabula County, OH, went into service on Friday with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and a literal turning of the valve by Ohio Lt. Governer Jon Husted. Pop the cork on the champagne!
Read More “Risberg PA-to-OH Pipeline Starts – Flows Marcellus Gas to OH”
In Nov. 2017 the Ohio Attorney General’s office under then-AG Mike Dewine (RINO swamp dweller, now governor) sued Energy Transfer at the prompting of the Ohio EPA claiming the company’s Rover Pipeline project was guilty of “polluting state waters while constructing a natural gas pipeline across Ohio” (see OH EPA Director Manipulates Atty General to Sue Rover Pipeline). A Stark County judge threw the case out in March of this year (see OH Judge Tosses AG’s Lawsuit Against Rover Pipe Enviro Violations).
Read More “Ohio AG Lawsuit Against Rover Pipe Tossed by Appeals Court”
Although the Marcellus (and Utica) is known worldwide as a “gas play”–meaning methane (CH4) production–a number of producers in southwestern PA, eastern OH and northern WV value the two plays for other hydrocarbons, NGLs (natural gas liquids). While methane or “natural gas” prices have gone low and stayed low, NGLs, which also come out of the ground along with methane, fetch much higher prices, and can make the difference between profitability and unprofitablity. But for M-U drillers there’s a problem with NGL production.
Read More “M-U Drillers Face Ongoing Challenge re More NGL Production”
The husband and wife team of Mark and Melinda Clatterbuck are at it again–getting themselves arrested for illegal trespass and disorderly conduct at a pipeline site. They previously got themselves arrested in Lancaster County, PA when protesting the Williams Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project (see Lancaster Pipeline Protesters ‘Do the Hokey Pokey’ & Get Arrested and 2 Lancaster Radicals Arrested Stopping Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Work). Now that Atlantic Sunrise is built and in the ground and flowing gas, they’ve moved on to protesting against Energy Transfer’s Mariner East 2 project near Philly.
Read More “Antis Arrested for Trespass Near ME Pipe Claim “Intimidation””
In October MDN told you Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) had been bullied by the Attorney General in Virginia into agreeing to pay a $2.15 million fine and subject itself to stricter monitoring–an ongoing anal exam–as they complete construction of the pipeline in the state (see Fed Court Suspends Mountain Valley Pipe Permits; $2.15M Fine). MVP construction is currently on hold and is due to restart in 2020. Although the AG and MVP both agreed to the outrageous fine and oversight plan in October, it’s not official until a judge signs off–which happened on Wednesday.
Read More “Mountain Valley Pipeline Settles Lawsuit, Pays Virginia $2.15M”
Columbia Gas of Ohio says it can’t build local natural gas delivery pipelines fast enough to meet the demand for new customers. “We’re adding new customers, commercial, industrial, residential, in every quadrant of the region” according to Columbia Gas President Dan Creekmur. And he doesn’t it see it stopping any time soon. So the company is spending big bucks (nine figures) to build new local gas pipelines–this year!
Read More “Columbia Gas of Ohio Investing $100M to Flow More M-U Gas”
On Wednesday, President Trump presided over the swearing in of Dan Brouillette to serve as the 15th U.S. Secretary of Energy. Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office. President Trump nominated Brouillette in November following the announcement of former Secretary Rick Perry’s resignation. He was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 70-15. The second day on the job as Secretary, Brouillette came out swinging–at both New York and Russia.
Read More “2nd Day on Job New Energy Sec. Blasts NY for Blocking Pipes”
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear a case that challenged a ruling in the Hoopa Valley Indian Tribe case–a ruling/case that has HUGE implications for Williams’ Constitution Pipeline running through New York State. The Supreme Court rejection is a crushing defeat for Big Green groups Trout Unlimited and California Trout, and very good news for the Constitution project.
Read More “Ruling Stands: States have 1 Calendar Yr to Review Water Permits”
Williams, the pipeline giant, held its annual analyst day in New York City last Friday. The company’s top brass was there to wow and woo investors with the company’s plans for 2020 and beyond. In reading about the session, we picked up on some startling statistics. Stats like Williams now provides 30% of all LNG feed gas in the U.S. And most of that (all of it?) comes from the Marcellus/Utica.
Read More “Williams Currently Sends 1.5 Bcf/d of M-U Gas to Gulf Coast LNG”
Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) previously filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that judicially creates a new law stipulating pipelines can’t cross under the Appalachian Trail without (no kidding) an Act of Congress. The clown judges of the Fourth Circus (our name for that court) revoked a permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service. A list of 21 business and oil/gas industry groups filed a “friend of the court” brief yesterday supporting ACP, asking the Supremes to reinstate the Forest Service permit for the project.
Read More “21 Industry Groups Ask US Supreme Court to Restore Pipeline Permit”
For a number of years MDN has tracked an LNG export plant planned for the eastern shore of Nova Scotia–the Bear Head LNG project (see our Bear Head LNG stories here). In 2017, an official from the project said it was “shovel-ready” and could begin at any time (see Nova Scotia’s Bear Head LNG Sees Surge of Interest). However, not one shovelful of dirt has been turned. The project recently asked for and was granted permission to extend permits set to expire at the end of this year.
Read More “Nova Scotia Bear Head LNG Gets Lifeline – App. Extended to 2022”
Here we go again. In August a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had the right to approve Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project, including the right to use eminent domain to build it before details are finalized over compensation to landowners (see DC Court Upholds FERC Authority in Approving Atlantic Sunrise Pipe). The Sierra Club and other Big Green groups, with endless mountains of money from people like Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, kept pushing and finally convinced the entire DC Circuit (all of the judges, call “en banc”) to rehear and reconsider the case already decided by three of their number.
Read More “DC Court to Rehear Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Eminent Domain Decision”
Last week Equitrans subsidiary EQM Midstream Partners (formerly EQT Midstream) canceled a contract with Texas-based Trinity Energy to build portions of the now-stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. You may recall that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stopped all new construction on MVP in October, until a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit that passes muster with the courts can be issued (see FERC Shuts Down All Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction). We’re not sure what Trinity was doing in the meantime with a shutdown of construction in place, but Trinity reps expressed surprise that their MVP contract has now been canceled.
Read More “Equitrans Cancels Trinity Energy Contract re Mountain Valley Pipe”
Earlier this week MDN told you the great news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has green lighted construction of a compressor station in Weymouth, Mass., and that Enbridge (the builder) said they will begin construction any day now (see Stop Press! Enbridge to Begin Construction on Weymouth Compressor). Indeed, crews are at the site getting things ready, and that brought out “more than two dozen” (according to a CBS report) anti-fossil fuel protesters. Some of the protesters couldn’t help themselves and tripped over into committing a crime by blocking the entrance to the facility so crews could not come and go with equipment. Typical.
Read More “2 Dozen Antis Protest at Weymouth Compressor Site – 4 Arrested”
Today wraps up the Hart Energy Marcellus-Utica Midstream Conference being held in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately MDN editor Jim Willis could not attend this year. But Pittsburgh Business Times‘ ace reporter Paul Gough did attend, and he’s reporting some interesting comments at yesterday’s sessions. Pipeline companies offered frank and sobering comments. Times are not good for Marcellus/Utica drillers right now due to low low prices, and that translates into times being not good for pipeline companies too. But, “we’ve been here before” said one speaker, and better days are ahead…when prices once again increase.
Read More “M-U Drillers Tell Pipeline Companies to Lower Fees, or Else”
Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) previously filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that judicially creates a new law stipulating pipelines can’t cross under the Appalachian Trail without (no kidding) an Act of Congress. The Supremes get 8,000 such requests each year, and accept maybe 80 (or 1%). Lightning struck. The ACP case was accepted by the Supremes in October (see U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Atlantic Coast Pipeline Case). Briefs by ACP and the Trump administration were filed on Monday.
Read More “Gov’t & Atlantic Coast Pipe File Briefs with U.S. Supreme Court”