Will Mass. Gov. Healey Sell Out Her Supporters and Allow Gas Pipes?
We came across an interesting article from the left-leaning Bloomberg. What’s interesting about the article is that it assumes New York Gov. Hochul has cut a deal with Trump and is now on board with building the Constitution Pipeline and possibly the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project, as we reported last week (see Trump Deal Trades NY Offshore Wind for Constitution, NESE Pipes). The assumption is that it’s a done deal, even though Hochul (and Trump) have not confirmed it. The Bloomberg article says that with Hochul’s sellout (our words, the author’s sentiment), the “fight” to build new pipelines now shifts to Massachusetts and its equally leftist thug governor, Maura Healey. Read More “Will Mass. Gov. Healey Sell Out Her Supporters and Allow Gas Pipes?”
President Donald Trump’s pro-energy policies were meant to speed the construction of the United States’ next generation of energy infrastructure, but many oil and gas pipeline operators would still rather buy than build their way to expansion due to a host of factors impeding large projects. The proposed 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from northeastern Pennsylvania into and through New York State is a perfect example. Williams canceled the project in 2020. Trump wants it revived and built. Will Williams or someone else build it? More importantly, will it get built at all? 
The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through a pipeline that is 1,131 miles long. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. As we told you in September 2023, Enbridge conducted an open season to gauge interest in expanding Algonquin’s capacity to flow more gas into New England—mainly from the Marcellus/Utica—called Project Maple (see 
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is looking to overhaul repair requirements for natural gas and carbon dioxide pipelines. The PHMSA is asking the industry (and the public) how to make standards that have remained unchanged for more than 40 years more cost-effective. This effort marks the second in a series of high-priority PHMSA actions to implement the President’s “Unleashing American Energy” Executive Order. 
It is “The Art of the Deal” with Donald J. Trump. Only DJT could pull off such a miracle. We are referring to a deal just struck (on Monday) with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Trump will allow New York to blow $5 billion on an idiotic offshore wind project (off the coast of Long Island) in return for Hochul allowing the construction of two long-stalled pipeline projects: The Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project, part of the Transco pipeline system. We had no idea NESE was on the table as part of a potential deal! 
The Marcellus/Utica region is the United States’ top natural gas production area, accounting for about one-third of the country’s daily output. Natural gas production in the M-U has soared from 2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) to over 33 Bcf/d today in the past 15 years. Growth has slowed in recent years due to pipeline constraints, but new pipeline projects, rising Gulf Coast LNG demand, and in-basin data center development could drive a resurgence. Despite past challenges like canceled pipelines and a focus on the Permian, our region’s vast potential and improving infrastructure suggest a breakout, according to RBN Energy. However, low gas prices and regulatory hurdles remain big concerns, though data centers and LNG exports could boost demand significantly. 
In February, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) creating the National Energy Dominance Council, directing the new council to move quickly to increase domestic oil and gas production (see 
Investment firm ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, announced it has acquired an additional 25% interest in Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL). As a result of the transaction, ArcLight will become the largest owner of NGPL with a 62.5% economic ownership interest, alongside partner Kinder Morgan, Inc., which continues to own a 37.5% economic interest and operates the pipeline. NGPL is the largest transporter of natural gas into the Chicago-area market, as well as one of the largest interstate pipeline systems in the country. It is also a major natural gas transporter to large LNG export facilities and other markets on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. Most importantly, Marcellus/Utica molecules flow into NGPL. 
Coterra Energy, formed by the merger of Cabot Oil & Gas (drills for natural gas in the Marcellus) and Cimarex Energy (drills for oil in the Permian and Anadarko basins), issued its first quarter 2025 update last week. There was a lot of news coming from the update. However, two things stood out for us: (1) Coterra confirmed that talks to revive the Constitution Pipeline project are underway now, and (2) the company is drilling again in the PA Marcellus and may add another $50 million to 2025’s planned $300 million budget for the Marcellus. 
During last week’s first quarter update from Williams, management announced a new project called the Transco Power Express expansion. The project will expand Transco capacity by a whopping 950 MMcf/d (nearly a full Bcf) to flow more Marcellus/Utica molecules to the power-hungry Virginia market. The Virginia market is power hungry because of the data centers already built there, and the many more planned for the state. The Power Express project, if built, is expected to go online in the third quarter of 2030 (five years from now). 
In December 2022, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved permission for New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to build a pipeline regulator station in Holmdel, New Jersey. What does a regulator station do? It reduces pressure on the existing underground natural gas pipelines in the area, which run underneath Holmdel Township and throughout Monmouth County. Ultimately, a regulator station will ensure the reliability of the pipelines and the gas that flows in the area. The new station will replace a currently operating temporary regulator station. Yet the “leaders” of Holmdel voted in 2023 to appeal the BPU decision to court, allocating up to $20,000 of taxpayer money for legal fees, which turned out to be a fruitless attempt at overturning the BPU decision (see 
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out why people (and companies) choose to “bite the hand that feeds them.” Here’s a case in point. Last Friday, a group of electric and gas utilities urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to launch an inquiry to consider options for improving gas pipeline reliability. That is, utility companies, fed natural gas by pipeline companies, are asking FERC to tighten regulations on those pipeline companies in order to make it more expensive and harder to do their job. Why? 
Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County (in southern Virginia) is part of the Transco pipeline network, the nation’s largest-volume interstate natural gas pipeline system. CS 165 is also the endpoint of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which carries 2 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA. Williams, the owner of Transco, replaced an aging fleet of engines at CS 165 with new turbines that decreased emissions and took up far less space. Enbridge, another major midstream company, is replacing hundreds of flow meters with newer models, which deliver much better information to the company in real-time.