Pipelines

Buckeye Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide MI | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Buckeye Partners Expanding MI/OH Refined Products Pipeline, Again
September 1, 2016September 1, 2016

West to East Project Map – click for larger version

Buckeye Partners is a publicly traded master limited partnership (MLP) that owns and operates 6,000 miles of pipeline. One of those pipelines is the Michigan/Ohio refined products pipeline, which we reported on in April 2015 (see Buckeye Partners Expanding MI/OH Refined Products Pipeline East). At that time Buckeye was pushing its Michigan/Ohio Pipeline Expansion Project to expand the pipeline for “refined petroleum products” (things like gasoline, kerosene and heating oil) to run it from Woodhaven and Detroit, Michigan, and from Toledo and Lima, Ohio, to destination points in both Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. By all accounts the initial expansion was a success, because Buckeye is now conducting an open season for the second phase of the expansion project. Why talk about a gasoline/heating oil pipeline? Because it’s possible that some of the oil that gets refined into gas and heating fuel flowing through this pipeline comes from the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Buckeye Partners Expanding MI/OH Refined Products Pipeline, Again”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide PA | Westmoreland County

Repair Work on Exploded Texas Eastern Pipeline in PA 25% Done
August 31, 2016September 1, 2016

9/1/16 UPDATE: Spectra Energy contacted MDN and sent us a copy of their progress report on repairs to the section of the TETCO pipeline known as the Penn-Jersey System. Thank you! We have included a copy of their progress report below.

An update on Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). We previously told you that not only was Line 27 out of commission, so too were three other pipelines running through the same corridor, meaning 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day is not reaching certain mid-Atlantic markets (see Update on Spectra Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh). The early evidence points to corrosion along welded seams, although the jury is still out and the exact cause may not be known for months (see Preliminary Guess on TETCO Pipeline Explosion Cause: Corrosion). One of the four lines that was offline (Line 19) was examined and certified by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in early May to go back online (see TETCO Pipeline Up & Running Post-Explosion; Antis Exploit Accident). However, the other three lines have remained idle pending further investigation (see TETCO PA Pipeline Explosion Still Limiting NatGas Flow Month Later). In June Spectra said they expect to have the full system operating again by November 1st (see Ruptured TETCO Pipeline in PA Offline Until November). How is the effort going? Spectra has completed the initial analysis and is now digging up pipelines in various locations…
Read More “Repair Work on Exploded Texas Eastern Pipeline in PA 25% Done”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide MD | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Virginia

FERC OKs 6 Dominion Compressor Station Upgrades in PA, MD, VA
August 31, 2016August 31, 2016

Dominion Leidy South – click for larger version

It’s not often we miss reporting on a pipeline upgrade project in the Marcellus/Utica. This is one of those rare cases. Over a year ago Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade six compressor stations along the DTI pipeline system in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The upgraded compressors would allow DTI to pump an additional 155,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas, providing that gas to new and expanding natgas-fired electric generating plants. The project will cost $210 million. The new news for the project is that FERC approved it this week, granting DTI a certificate to move forward with the upgrades. Below is information about the project, and about FERC’s approval…
Read More “FERC OKs 6 Dominion Compressor Station Upgrades in PA, MD, VA”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Cabot to Double PA Gas Production by 2019 – Without Constitution
August 30, 2016August 30, 2016

It’s no secret that Marcellus and Utica drillers need new pipelines–and they need those pipelines urgently. Especially in Pennsylvania where lack of pipelines is keeping inventories high and prices for natural gas the lowest in the country. However, drillers must deal with reality as it is–today. Pipelines take time to build, and recent efforts to block pipelines are delaying important projects like the Constitution and PennEast pipeline projects. The good news is that some pipeline projects *are* being built in the northeast, some of which are almost done. Drillers like Range Resources are ramping up new drilling now, about six months in advance of when new pipelines are due to go online. That’s about how long it takes to put the pieces in motion. The other good news is that some drillers, like Cabot, are finding new markets that DON’T require new pipelines–like selling a tremendous volume of natgas to new gas-fired electric generating plants situated in close proximity to Cabot’s wells. Here’s an update on which drillers are picking up the pace with the prospect of new pipelines (or new nearby markets), and which drillers are waiting a little longer before they pick up the pace…
Read More “Cabot to Double PA Gas Production by 2019 – Without Constitution”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Research | Statewide OH

Kent State Study: UTOPIA Pipeline to Yield $237M for Ohio Economy
August 26, 2016August 26, 2016

Click for larger version

As MDN reported yesterday, Kent State University researchers have just issued a report evaluating the economic impact of the proposed Kinder Morgan UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) project on the State of Ohio. UTOPIA is a 12-inch ethane pipeline that will run 240 miles across Ohio, connecting with another pipeline that will shuttle Utica/Marcellus ethane all the way to a cracker plant in Sarnia, Ontario. The Kent State study estimates this tiny pipeline project will contribute a whopping $237.3 million to Ohio’s economy, creating 2,132 direct and indirect jobs in Ohio and generating $4.9 million in yearly tax revenues. Below is a press announcement from Kent State with a good overview of the study, followed by a full copy of the study, which is titled: “Economic Impact of Kinder Morgan Utopia Pipeline Project”…
Read More “Kent State Study: UTOPIA Pipeline to Yield $237M for Ohio Economy”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Williams

Transco’s Northeast Expansion Project Advances, FERC Hearings in Sept
August 26, 2016March 28, 2017

Transco Northeast Supply Enhanacement Project map – click for larger version

In May Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (Transco) pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a project called the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (see Williams Pre-Files with FERC to Expand Transco Pipeline in PA, NY). The new project is meant to increase pipeline capacity and flows heading into northeastern markets. In particular, Transco wants to provide more natural gas to utility giant National Grid beginning with the 2019-2020 heating season. National Grid operates in New York City, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Also in May, Williams ran an open season to lock up commitments for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (see Williams Announces Open Season for Northeast Supply Enhancement). The open season worked. National Grid committed to all 400,000 dekatherms of extra gas the project will provide. Currently FERC has its ears on–accepting comments about the project, both in writing and (in September) via four public hearings…
Read More “Transco’s Northeast Expansion Project Advances, FERC Hearings in Sept”
Crime | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pipelines

NJ Anti Indicted for “Terroristic Threats” Againt PennEast Workers
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

PennEast in NJ

In April MDN told you about the case of an anti-driller who crossed the line into terrorism (see Anti Arrested for Terrorist Threats, Waves Gun at PennEast Workers). Three surveyors working on the PennEast Pipeline in Holland Township (Hunterdon Township), New Jersey were approached by a man with a rifle. The man asked them if they were there working on the PennEast. When the 3-man crew responded “yes,” the man waved the gun in the air, shouting at them that he would stop the pipeline. It was a clearly a menancing threat to the men who were doing nothing more than a survey. Holland Township Police later arrested Lester Kinney Jr., charging him with “making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.” Although arrested for his crimes, you need an indictment (from a grand jury) in order to prosecute such a crime. The wheels of justice grind sloooooooooowly. We finally have some good news. A grand jury has indeed indicted Mr. Kinney for his criminal act. He will now either plead guilty, or go to trial…
Read More “NJ Anti Indicted for “Terroristic Threats” Againt PennEast Workers”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy

Spectra Spits in MA High Court’s Eye – We’ll Still Build Pipeline
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

Last week MDN reported on the decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court to deny utility companies operating in the state to pass along potential costs of a new natural gas pipeline to electric rate payers–the people who would most benefit from such a pipeline (see MA Supreme Court Ruling Endangers New England Gas Pipelines). Several utilities had entered into long-term agreements with Spectra Energy’s proposed Access Northeast pipeline on the basis of recovering their costs by passing along pipeline costs to ratepayers. We previously took great pains to explain this complex issue, of government-regulated companies and how they make money. We speculated last week that this decision may indeed imperil the building of Spectra’s Access Northeast pipeline. Good news! Spectra is metaphorically spitting in the eye of the MA Supremes. The company says it will move forward with building the pipeline anyway, regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision…
Read More “Spectra Spits in MA High Court’s Eye – We’ll Still Build Pipeline”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Half of UTOPIA Pipeline Jobs in OH May Go to “Foreigners”
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

UTOPIA Pipeline map – click for larger version

Now that Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s grandiose delusion of becoming the next president of the U.S. has been shattered and he’s had time to lick his wounds, it’s time to drag old “foreigner hunter” out for a new round of tracking down out-of-state workers. We have a mission for him: UTOPIA. As in Kinder Morgan’s UTOPIA ethane pipeline, planned to run 240 miles across Ohio. As pipelines go, it’s pretty small at only 12 inches in diameter. But ethane (a natural gas liquid) doesn’t need a huge pipeline to cart it across the Buckeye State. UTOPIA (named for Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) will cross the state and connect to another pipeline that will carry Utica/Marcellus ethane to Michigan and on from there to Canada to feed the NOVA ethane cracker in Sarnia (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). Kinder has just released a new study conducted by Kent State University researchers that outlines the huge economic benefits for Ohio in building UTOPIA. One of the interesting factoids: The pipeline will create over 2,000 temporary jobs–900 of them in construction. The report estimates that half of those construction jobs will go to out-of-state workers. Since Gov. Kasich is a jingoist with a problem employing out-of-state workers from exotic places like Texas and Louisiana (he calls them “foreigners,” see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers), we expect he’ll be prowling around to see if he can “fix” the situation…
Read More “Half of UTOPIA Pipeline Jobs in OH May Go to “Foreigners””
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

4 Pipelines Critical to Future of PA’s Marcellus Industry
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

Gene Barr is the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. The PA Chamber is a big supporter of the Marcellus industry. Writing a column that appears in a recent edition of the York Dispatch, Barr gives full-throated support to three pipelines “critical” to PA’s future: Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise; Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East 2; and UGI Energy Services’ PennEast. We really liked Barr’s column (read it below). However, we would add a fourth pipeline to his list of critically important pipelines for PA drillers: the Williams Constitution Pipeline. While the three projects Barr names will be mostly built in PA, the Constitution Pipeline will be mostly built in New York State. We suppose that’s all we have to say for you to know why that project is in trouble. At any rate, here’s the reasons Barr offers for supporting the three pipelines he mentions in his column, reasons that equally apply to the much-needed Constitution Pipeline too…
Read More “4 Pipelines Critical to Future of PA’s Marcellus Industry”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | UGI Energy Services

UGI Breaks Ground on Sunbury Pipeline for NEPA Electric Plant
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

Sunbury Pipeline – click for larger version

In December 2014 Pennsylvania utility company UGI pre-filed an application to build a new 35-mile pipeline to feed a natgas-powered electric generating plant in Snyder County, PA (see UGI Pre-Files with FERC for New Marcellus Pipeline in Central PA and UGI Building 35-Mile Pipeline for Panda Power Electric Plant). The project is estimated to cost $150 million. It took long enough, but in May the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finally approved the project, with the seemingly impossible prospect it would be built by this November (see UGI Sunbury Pipeline Gets FERC Approval, Built by November?). The 20-inch Sunbury Pipeline will start in Lycoming County and travel through Montour, Union, and Northumberland counties, cross the Susquehanna River and ending up at Hummel Station Plant in Shamokin Dam in Synder County. On Wednesday, UGI broke ground on the new pipeline. The impossible just became possible!…
Read More “UGI Breaks Ground on Sunbury Pipeline for NEPA Electric Plant”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | TC Energy/TransCanada

TransCanada Pipe Drops Price 42% to Compete with Marcellus/Utica
August 22, 2016August 22, 2016

How low can you go, and still make money? That’s the question TransCanada is testing in a bid to compete with cheap Marcellus/Utica natural gas that is heading to Canada via new pipelines, including Energy Transfer’s Rover and Spectra Energy’s NEXUS pipelines. Last month MDN reported that TransCanada has a plan to use existing pipelines from Western Canada to Eastern Canada–from Alberta to Toronto–to ship more natural gas from west to east (see TransCanada’s Plan to Undercut/Displace Gas from the Marcellus). The aim is to make it less expensive to get gas from Western Canada, some 2,400 miles away, than from the Marcellus, just 400 miles away. As an interesting aside, even though TransCanada wants to compete with gas coming from the Marcellus/Utica, they recently bought a big piece of Marcellus/Utica infrastructure by buying Columbia Pipeline (see TransCanada and Columbia Pipeline Tie the Knot Today). If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em. Here’s the latest on TransCanada’s low low low pipeline rates (42% less) to ship gas from Western Canada…
Read More “TransCanada Pipe Drops Price 42% to Compete with Marcellus/Utica”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Iroquois Gas Transmission | Pipelines | Regulation

Iroquois Gas Pipeline Offers to Cut Rates for Customers
August 22, 2016August 22, 2016

Click for larger version

This past January the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) launched five investigations into four pipelines, three of which operate in the northeast, to determine whether or not those pipelines have been “substantially” overcharging their customers with the excuse of “we have to recover our costs” (see FERC Investigates 3 Northeast Pipelines for Overcharging). Although you might think the free market would govern what pipelines charge, pipelines, like other utilities, don’t operate in a totally free market. You can’t just up and leave one pipeline and take your gas to another. The government grants permission to operate, and the government keeps an eye on the rates charged–just like they do with your local gas and electric company. One of the pipelines under investigation is the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline, which runs mostly through New York State. Iroquois has just filed an offer to lower rates for its shippers, to make the FERC investigation go away…
Read More “Iroquois Gas Pipeline Offers to Cut Rates for Customers”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

Antis Ask NY Senators to Beseech Lord Obama to Stop AIM Pipeline
August 22, 2016August 22, 2016

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The irrational demands of radicals in New York State are getting out of hand. In March New York’s spineless Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stop work on the Algonquin Incremental Marketing (AIM) pipeline project because it comes close to an existing nuclear power plant (see Gov. Cuomo Asks FERC to Halt Algonquin Pipeline Near Nuke Plant). A few days later the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told Gov. Andy to stuff it (see FERC Denies NY Request to Stop Work on Pipeline Near Nuke Plant). Following FERC’s denial, some of the worst of the worst Big Green groups, including Riverkeeper Inc., Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch sued to stop it (see Radical Enviro Groups File Appeal to Stop AIM Pipeline in NY/CT). Apparently that effort is either taking too long, or the radicals believe it’s not going to work, because they are now calling it “an emergency” and demanding New York’s far-left U.S. Senators, Chuck “the schmuck” Schumer and Kirsten “nobody ever heard of her” Gillibrand “carry the message” to the White House to stop the AIM project. That is, they want High Lord Obama to issue another one of his illegal Executive Orders or lean on FERC to stop the AIM project…
Read More “Antis Ask NY Senators to Beseech Lord Obama to Stop AIM Pipeline”
Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

Update on Antero’s $275M Wastewater Facility in WV
August 22, 2016August 22, 2016

In August 2015, MDN told you that one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, Antero Resources, floated the idea of building a $275 million state-of-the-art frack wastewater treatment plant in Doddridge County, WV (see Antero Building New 60K Bbl Wastewater Recycling Facility in WV). The new plant, which will process 60,000 barrels of wastewater per day, will save Antero $150,000 per well in completion costs once it’s up and running. In February 2016, Antero filed for a permit to build a landfill next to the wastewater plant (see Antero Plans Salt Landfill Next to Proposed Wastewater Recycling Plant). The wastewater plant will separate water, salt and radioactive particles. The salt can be sold to municipalities for use as road salt–but frankly there’s not enough of a market to sell it all. And not all of it will be of sufficient quality to be sold that way. So Antero needs a place to dispose of it, hence the $20 million landfill proposal. Predictably, there has been some resistance to the new facility and landfill. The good news is that the facility is on track for a 2017 opening. Below is an update on the wastewater facility and the salt landfill next to it…
Read More “Update on Antero’s $275M Wastewater Facility in WV”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Sierra Club Lawsuit Seeks to Block Power Plant, Atlantic Coast Pipe
August 19, 2016August 19, 2016

In March 2015, Dominion–a huge natural gas and electric utility as well as a midstream company–announced plans to build the State of Virginia’s largest natural gas powered electric generating plant, in Greensville County, VA (see Virginia’s Largest Electric Plant to be Powered by Marcellus Gas). The $1.3 billion state-of-the-art natural gas-fired electric generating station will generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Dominion’s own $5 billion, 554-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide cheap, abundant, clean-burning Marcellus/Utica Shale gas to power it (see Atlantic Coast Pipeline Makes Progress, FERC Timing Announced). The Virginia State Corporate Commission (SCC) approved the project in March of this year (see Virginia Approves State’s Largest NatGas-Powered Electric Plant). In June, Dominion began construction (see Dominion Begins Building Virginia’s Biggest NatGas Power Station). On Tuesday, environmental Nazis from the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed a federal lawsuit (in Virginia) to stop both the power plant and the pipeline, claiming the power plant won’t use the “best available emissions control technology” and that the pipeline will leak methane like a sieve…
Read More “Sierra Club Lawsuit Seeks to Block Power Plant, Atlantic Coast Pipe”