In FERC’s Game of Musical Chairs, NEXUS Pipeline Left Standing
When reporting on the flurry of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approvals from last Friday, before Commissioner Norman Bay resigned in a huff over losing the chairmanship of the agency (and leaving the Commission with only two Commissioners, not enough to vote on more projects), we noticed there was one major Marcellus/Utica pipeline project that didn’t receive a final approval: the NEXUS Pipeline project. NEXUS is a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada. It is a critically needed pipeline to move Utica and Marcellus Shale gas from an over-saturated market in the northeast to markets in the Midwest and Canada. It is a joint venture between DTE Energy and Spectra Energy. In December FERC issued a positive final Environmental Impact Statement (see FERC Approves NEXUS Pipeline, Project on Track for 2017). The only thing left is for FERC to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity, to begin construction. That didn’t happen on Friday, which means the project is now delayed until at least one more FERC Commissioner is nominated and approved by the U.S. Senate so the Commission regains a voting quorum. In a sense, FERC could only rush through so many projects at the last minute, and in a game of musical chairs, the music stopped and NEXUS was left standing–without a chair. Is lack of a FERC decision last week an indicator that the project is in trouble? What happens now?…
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Looks to us like Donald Trump’s faith in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur was well-placed. As we previously noted, Trump has put LaFluer in charge of the agency as Chairman, which caused the existing Chairman of FERC, Norm Bay, to resign in a huff (see 
According to rumors floating around the Pennsylvania environmental wacko movement, today is the day the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) will issue the final permits needed by Sunoco Logistic Partners to begin construction of the Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline that will stretch across the entire state. Neither Sunoco nor the DEP would confirm the rumor, but the wackos are agitated and saying their “inside sources” (of which they appear to have many) are telling them it’s today. And what if it happens? According to Maya van Rossum (THE Delaware Riverkeeper), the antis will employ their two favorite tactics: Sue in court, and whip up the more radical folks in the movement into a frenzy so they “rise up in protest.” You know, like the “protesters” (i.e. criminals) did in North Dakota–the ones who fired shots at police officers, burned tires, and engaged in illegal actions to stop work on the Dakota Access Pipeline (see 
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Midstream and utility giant Dominion issued their fourth quarter and full year 2016 update yesterday. Just to give you an idea of the depth and breadth of the company, Dominion has ~26,000 megawatts of power generation, 14,400 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and some 6,500 miles of electric-transmission lines. They are “a producer and transporter of energy.” Among the key projects we keep an eye one: the Cove Point, Maryland LNG export facility (under construction), the Greensville Power Station (under construction), and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (soon to be under construction). The numbers are looking good. Revenue for Dominion in 4Q16 was $457 million, up $100 from 4Q15. Full year revenues were $2.1 billion, up from $1.9 billion in 2015. Below we have yesterday’s update, along with select portions of a conference call by Dominion’s muckety mucks and their comments about projects like Cove Point and Atlantic Coast Pipeline…
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