Columbia Gas Already 80% Done Replacing 48 Miles of Exploded Pipes
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) continues to try and recover from a series of explosions in its local delivery pipelines north of Boston in mid-September (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas–for months. In early October, Columbia said it would replace all ~48 miles of natural gas mains, and all 6,100 affected service lines, by Nov. 19 (see Columbia’s Master Plan to Restore Gas Service in Mass. by Nov 19). To Columbia’s credit, 80% of the mains are already done, and over half of the service lines.
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A recurring theme (broken record) over the past few months has been, “Natural gas storage is too low, far lower than last year and far below the five-year average–prices will have to skyrocket any day now!” That’s been the meme by traders and industry watchers. We keep saying things have fundamentally changed–that drillers can open the spigots any time they want and let it flow. Don’t believe us? Then maybe you will believe the American Gas Association.
Once again it seems environmentalists in Kentucky have won–stopping yet another NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline. On Wednesday Kinder Morgan, one of (perhaps the) largest pipeline companies in North America, announced it is canceling plans to convert part of its Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) that currently flows natural gas from the Gulf Coast to the northeast, to reverse the pipeline and flow natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the Marcellus/Utica region to the Gulf Coast. The project, called Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline (UMTP), would have cost $4 billion. Instead, Kinder says it will still seek to reverse a big portion of TGP, but will instead flow M-U natgas south, instead of NGLs.
Year after year New England sees historic price spikes and shortages of natural gas during the winter. It got so bad last year that several LNG cargoes from Russia were delivered (see 
In July MDN told you that Dominion Energy had decided, at least unofficially, to abandon a plan to build a compressor station across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon–the home and estate of our illustrious first president, George Washington (see 
Que the music with dramatic drums, cymbals and trumpets. Camera A, zoom in on Secretary McDonnell. The whole state is watching. It’s time for the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to announce the winners of PA’s Hunger Games-style contest to grab a piece of the $12.6 million “fine” paid by Sunoco Logistics Partners for “permit violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project” (see 
Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project of EQT Midstream, continues to work on constructing its 303-mile long project from West Virginia into Virginia–despite a recent court order overturning some of the permits for the project (see 
In September the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) lifted a stop-work order for the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project that stretches from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina (see 
It’s one thing for mud and sediment to wash away from a pipeline drilling site due to heavy and relentless rains–as we have experienced in the northeast these past few months. But it’s another thing entirely when actual sections pipeline sitting at the construction site float away! That happened in Franklin County, Virginia last Thursday. The landowner, who was (and is) opposed to the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline from slicing through his property, has complained repeatedly about erosion and sediment from the construction path spilling over onto his farmland. Friday morning he woke up to MVP pipes washed onto his cornfield following torrential rains and wind, the leftovers of Hurricane Michael.
Here’s a project we have not actively tracked in the past–but recently popped up on our radar. Virginia Natural Gas’ “Southside Connector” project is a roughly 9-mile pipeline from Norfolk, VA to Chesapeake, VA that company officials say will fill a gap between two main supply lines. A 24-inch pipe will be installed at least 3 feet deep and cross under the Elizabeth River, which has prompted the owner of a shipyard on the river to object. As is typical of these things, antis are involved. Virginia Natural Gas’ president has responded to that opposition (i.e. lies) with a letter to the editor to defend what is the final leg of a 200-mile project begun back in 1992.
Hey Andy Cuomo: Your days of blocking pipeline projects are numbered. There’s momentum building in Washington, D.C. to address the issue of rogue politicians like Cuomo from blocking federally-approved interstate pipeline projects, as Cuomo has done with several such projects (Constitution Pipeline, Northern Access, Millennium). There’s talk among Team Trump to fix this problem (see 
