Antis: Sunoco Damaged Own Equipment to “Change Conversation” re ME2
Last week MDN reported that two pieces of heavy equipment being used by Sunoco Logistics Partners to build the Mariner East 2 pipeline in Chester County, PA had been severely, intentionally damaged (see Criminal Antis Vandalize Sunoco ME2 Pipe Construction Equipment). As Sunoco pointed out, there is no doubt who perpetrated the crime: Someone(s) who oppose the ME2 project. Antis who tipped over into engaging in a criminal act in their misguided, twisted attempt to save Mother Earth from the evils of fossil fuels. Sunoco is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Antis know darned well it was one of their own who did the crime–either a local or (more likely) someone from out-of-state, an imported radical who couldn’t help himself. Wackos. Antis are now trying to focus attention away from their own criminal element by having the gall to allege Sunoco may have damaged their own equipment as a way of “changing the conversation.” Antis are offering their own $10,000 reward in order to shift the focus away from themselves. This is really sick stuff…
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The biggest oil play in the United States is the Permian, located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. In March, MDN warned readers that natural gas in the Permian, which is a byproduct of the oil wells drilled there (i.e. “associated gas”), is increasingly competing with Marcellus/Utica gas (see 
Propane is one of the NGLs (natural gas liquids) that come out of the ground along with natural gas and oil–especially in “wet gas” areas like southwestern PA, eastern OH, and the northern panhandle area of WV. Ethane and propane have been flowing through the converted Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline for more than year–hauling propane (and ethane) from southwest PA all the way to the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia. At Marcus Hook, the propane is loaded onto ships and sent around the world. The world is an important market for our propane. However, ME1 was suddenly switched off on March 3 by order of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) after a sinkhole opened up under the pipeline, exposing some of the bare steel to the open air (see 
Attendees at yesterday’s Utica Midstream conference at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio got an earful about pipelines and processing plants. Perhaps the biggest news coming from the event (for us, anyway), is that MarkWest Energy, now part of Marathon Petroleum, plans to build another six natural gas processing plants and another three fractionation plants in the Marcellus/Utica THIS YEAR. MarkWest plans to spend a whopping $2 billion in the region this year! That’s in addition to building two new processing plants and three fractionation plants last year. A processing plant accepts raw hydrocarbons coming out of shale wells and separates out the methane from everything else–“cleaning up” the methane so it’s pipeline-ready. Fractionation takes what’s left after the methane is removed and separates those other hydrocarbons into their discrete molecules–ethane, propane, pentane, butane, etc. According to MarkWest, M-U moving butane to new markets will be a major focus this year. We also learn that MarkWest’s Sherwood facility (in WV) is now the fourth largest gas processing plant in the U.S.–and by the end of this year, it will be #1! In addition to MarkWest, there were a number of other top notch speakers at yesterday’s event, including Rick Simmers from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources. Rick mentioned in passing there’s a shale well pad in southeast Ohio with a whopping 28 wells on it. Below is a summary of what was said at yesterday’s event…
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the $6.5 billion Dominion Energy/Duke Energy pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina has had a few setbacks, but that isn’t stopping construction on the pipeline–in all three states where it runs. On Monday we reported on the latest setback–news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is refusing to extend tree cutting season for the pipeline (see 
Here’s the latest update in the ongoing story of “protesters” who are trying to stop progress in cutting trees for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which will run from West Virginia into Virginia. We previously reported on illegal tree-sitters that judges and law enforcement refuse to remove (see 
You’ve got questions about major pipeline projects planned or under construction in West Virginia? The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection has answers. WVDEP has just launched a website to help residents learn more about five major interstate natural gas pipeline projects: Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline, Mountaineer Gas Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, Mountaineer Xpress Pipeline, and Rover Pipeline. The website includes maps of pipeline routes, a searchable database for information such as inspection and enforcement actions and permit modifications, public hearing transcripts, and news releases. It’s all in there! Head on over to 
We’ve read warnings about the potential for cyber (computer) attacks on the U.S. energy industry for several months. We understand how such an attack might affect a nuclear plant, or perhaps the electric grid. Screw up the computers managing and running a nuke plant or a significant portion of the electric grid and you have a class-one serious situation on your hands. However, we didn’t really think about pipelines. Did you know that pipeline networks, like electric grids, are monitored and controlled by computers and those computers can be compromised? We have to admit it was not on our radar screen. But that has now happened–and it affects not only pipeline systems in other parts of the country, but right here in the Marcellus/Utica. Energy Transfer Partners uses a third party service called Energy Services Group to manage all of its pipelines–a massive nationwide network. Energy Services provides EDI (electronic data interchange) services that reportedly cut costs and increases the speed with which companies exchange documents that used to be paper-based. Documents like those used in buying and selling natural gas at various trading hubs along major pipelines. On Monday, Energy Services was attacked electronically, knocking the service out of commission until further notice. Note that gas flowing through pipelines has not been affected. The affected computers don’t turn valves on and off. However, the ability to know who’s gas is flowing through the pipeline (who bought and who sold) has been slowed–on all of ET’s pipelines, including the newly-minted Rover Pipeline…