Pipelines

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    Utica Event: OH Landowners Will Lose $6.5B in 5 Yrs, NEXUS May Get Nixed

    4/17/16 NOTE: Spectra Energy contacted MDN to express concerns that our headline leaves the wrong impression. A Spectra spokesman commented: “The story, particularly the headline, portrays the NEXUS Gas Transmission project as being canceled.  This is untrue; NEXUS filed a Certificate Application with the FERC in November of 2015 and has consistently met its regulatory milestones since that time. The project is on schedule and we anticipate FERC issuing its approval to proceed in the second-half of 2016, thereby allowing us to achieve our in-service date of late 2017.” MDN does not mean to imply the project won’t happen–the speaker at the conference we reported on is the one saying that. We’re simply reporting what she said, which we found newsworthy. Spectra takes issue with the opinion that the project may get canceled–they are committed to building it. We have modified the shorter headline that did say “NEXUS Nixed” to say “NEXUS May Get Nixed” to be more accurate. We regret any wrong impression it may have left. Make no mistake, MDN hopes NEXUS happens! We’re rooting for it!

    On Wednesday, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and ShaleDirectories.com co-hosted the Utica Upstream conference at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. By all accounts we’ve read, it was an excellent event. (Note: ShaleDirectories is partnering with Sourcewater to present UpStream PA 2016 in State College on April 19). We spotted several articles about Utica Upstream, and all of them focused totally, or in part, on the presentation made by Maria Cortez of energy research firm/consultant Wood Mackenzie. Cortez was clearly the bell of the ball. Among her observations on Wednesday: Ohio landowners will lose $6.5 billion in lost income in the next five years thanks to the drilling slowdown; drillers will buy out other drillers at a rapid pace this year and next; the Utica needs at least 11 rigs to keep production at current levels (right now they’re running 11!); some 150-250 drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) will be the focus for drillers for the time being; and the NEXUS pipeline likely will NOT get built. But wait, there’s more!…
    Read More “Utica Event: OH Landowners Will Lose $6.5B in 5 Yrs, NEXUS May Get Nixed”

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    NJ Residents “Get Rowdy” in Opposition to NY-NJ Pilgrim Pipeline

    Yesterday MDN reported on the antics of anti-fossil fuelers in New York in their quest to stop an oil pipeline from Albany to New Jersey (see NY Antis Attempt to Stop Pilgrim Pipelines with Local Bans). Antis in NY aren’t the only ones up in arms over the Pilgrim Pipeline project. A “rowdy” group of New Jerseyites are also miffed and want their county government to put the kibosh to the pipeline plan…
    Read More “NJ Residents “Get Rowdy” in Opposition to NY-NJ Pilgrim Pipeline”

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    NY Antis Attempt to Stop Pilgrim Pipelines with Local Bans

    “Whoa, take ‘er easy there, Pilgrim.” – John Wayne in the movie “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962) In November, MDN told you about Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings, developing an East Coast pipeline to carry refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and jet and aviation fuel northbound from Linden, New Jersey to Albany, New York (178 miles). In addition, a second Pilgrim pipeline will carry crude oil from Albany south to NJ and other locations. Two pipelines, side by side, liquids flowing through them in different directions (see Will Pilgrim Pipeline be Allowed to Settle in the NY World?). Anti fossil fuel nutters who infest New York State are, however, attempting to block both pipelines by using a 107 year-old law and local bans. Will the antis succeed yet again?…
    Read More “NY Antis Attempt to Stop Pilgrim Pipelines with Local Bans”

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    Cornerstone Pipeline Slightly Delayed, Construction Begins in May

    In the middle of March MDN brought you the news that Marathon Petroleum was saying they would begin construction on the Cornerstone Pipeline “in the next several weeks”–meaning by the beginning of April (see Cornerstone Liquids Pipeline Set to Begin Construction in E Ohio). The timeline has been moved back a month. Marathon officials are now saying construction won’t begin until May. Cornerstone is a $250 million, 50-mile liquids pipeline being built by Marathon from the MarkWest cryogenic processing plant in Cadiz (Harrison County, now owned by Marathon), northwest connecting to M3’s fractionator plant in Scio (also in Harrison County) and M3’s cryogenic processing plant in Leesville (Carroll County) before terminating and connecting to Marathon’s refinery in Canton, OH (see Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline). The pipeline will carry, at various times, crude oil, condensate and natural gasoline. No reason was given for the delay…
    Read More “Cornerstone Pipeline Slightly Delayed, Construction Begins in May”

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    RFK Jr Invokes Religion at Anti-Pipeline Rally in Albany, NY

    A group of around 200 anti-fracking activists–or fractivists–protested at the steps of the New York State Capitol Building in Albany, NY yesterday. They were there nominally to protest Gov. Cuomo’s inevitable cave to allow the Constitution Pipeline to be built across the eastern portion of the state. However, the language from the speakers–in particular from the rather nutty Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (i.e. “Junior”)–was instructive. These people are fossil fuel haters–and their speeches dripped with their irrational hatred for all fossil fuels. Junior called fossil fuels “the dirtiest fuels from hell,” and then he called so-called renewable energy “patriotic fuels from heaven.” Some of you have laughed and poked fun at MDN, some of you have written us in anger, some have even unsubscribed when we have commented in the past on the hysterical and irrational antics of anti-fossil fuelers, pointing out that their belief in man-made global warming is religious and faith-based and NOT rooted in science. Junior’s own words yesterday are 100% vindication of our position. He couches the debate over fossil fuels in religious language. We were, and always have been, right about anti-drillers. The vast majority of antis don’t oppose drilling because of “water contamination” or “air pollution” or “methane migration” or any of a hundred other red herring excuses. They object because they fervently choose to believe in global warming, with no scientific evidence whatsoever, making all fossil fuels “evil” in their twisted worldview…
    Read More “RFK Jr Invokes Religion at Anti-Pipeline Rally in Albany, NY”

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    Mountaineer Gas Files App to Build $45M Pipeline Expansion in WV

    Mountaineer GasWest Virginia’s largest natural gas LDC (local distribution company) is Mountaineer Gas–with 220,000 customers, 450 employees and servicing 49 of WV’s 55 counties. Mountaineer Gas maintains close to 6,000 miles of pipeline. They’d like to add another 56 miles of pipelines to that number. Mountaineer has filed an application with the WV Public Service Commission to build a $45 million expansion of their distribution network in Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties (the eastern panhandle of WV). Why? To deliver more Marcellus Shale gas to industrial customers who want to build manufacturing plants in the region. There is some natural gas in the area now–but not nearly enough. The new lines, which are not high pressure transmission lines but low pressure distribution lines, would bump up the volume of gas and deliver it to locations where new plants want to build. Local economic development people are excited as this provides a foundation for long-term growth in the region. Below are the details of Mountaineer’s application, along with a copy of the official paperwork they’ve filed with the WV PSC…
    Read More “Mountaineer Gas Files App to Build $45M Pipeline Expansion in WV”

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    PennEast Spins FERC Delay as a Good Thing – Optimism or Denial?

    We understand the value of a healthy, optimistic attitude. We consider ourselves to be a “glass half full” rather than “glass half empty” type of people. But we’re also realists. Last week the builders of the proposed PennEast Pipeline–a $1.2 billion, 114-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that will deliver approximately 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus gas fields of northeastern PA to locations in southeastern PA and across the border to Trenton, NJ–received what we considered bad news. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told PennEast they would extend the amount of time they are taking until December of this year, rather than August, to complete their Environmental Review. And FERC won’t issue their final decision on authorizing the project until March 2017–at the earliest. PennEast had requested FERC wrap it all up by this August–an 8-month delay. In our book, that’s mildly bad news. But yesterday PennEast issued a press release saying the FERC announcement is an “important milestone,” almost lauding FERC for moving so quickly given a plateful of pipeline applications–even though it means the PennEast project now won’t be completed until 2018 instead of 2017. Is this a “glass half full” optimistic attitude? Or self-deluding denial? We can think of many reasons why it’s a manifestly bad thing that FERC has delayed–not the least of which is are multiple lawsuits sure to be launched by the radicals at THE Delaware Riverkeeper…
    Read More “PennEast Spins FERC Delay as a Good Thing – Optimism or Denial?”

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    Hypocrites Protest “Fracked Gas Infrastructure” in Hudson Valley

    We spotted a story from the Hudson Valley area of New York State–close enough to New York City that it’s infested with anti-drilling liberals–that caught our attention for a couple of reasons. It’s a story of about a protest held yesterday in Peekskill, NY. The protest was against Spectra Energy’s work on their Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) pipeline project. From all appearances, four protesters showed up for the protest–and yet it got big news treatment. Most Sundays there are more than four people who show up at MDN HQ for lunch (when our kids come home to visit). The local newspaper hasn’t ever shown up to cover these momentous (for the Willis household) events. Perhaps if we held up a big banner outside that says “Welcome Home Children” the local news outlets would arrive and cover it? But we digress. The other aspect of the story that caught our attention is the admission by one of the protesters that they not only oppose the AIM project–they oppose all “fracked gas infrastructure” projects. She is demanding that NY “transition to safe, clean, renewable energy, which is wind, water and solar.” That is, the protesters are animated and motivated by an irrational hatred of all fossil fuels. How did the protesters arrive at their protest? Driving cars that burn fossil fuels riding on tires made from petroleum products and sitting on seats made from plastic (a petroleum product) wearing clothes on their bodies and shoes on their feet made from petroleum products. Holding up signs objecting to…petroleum products…
    Read More “Hypocrites Protest “Fracked Gas Infrastructure” in Hudson Valley”

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    ‘Wackos in the Trees’ Protest Continues in Huntingdon County, PA

    Yesterday we told you about a Big Green effort to stop tree clearing for the Mariner East 2 pipeline in Huntingdon County, PA–about a young woman who climbed 40 feet up a tree to sit in a tree house so crews could not cut down the trees around her (see PA Anti Literally Goes Up a Tree to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipeline). She’s still “up a tree.” Looks like her publicity stunt worked because starting today crews can’t legally cut any more trees for fear of hurting an Indiana bat. (We say it’s more than bats that are batty in Huntingdon County.) The young woman’s mother, who happens to own the property and the trees, was arrested approaching the cutting crews (after being told by a judge to stay away) because, she says, she feared they would cut a tree close to her blithering idiot daughter and hurt her. There’s also another nutter up a tree on the property. Even though the tree climbers prevented harvesting of a few trees, Sunoco Logistics, the builder of the pipeline, says it’s no big deal–they got almost all of the trees cut they needed to and come fall it won’t take long to nip the last few. Here’s how anti-drilling PBS (funded in part with taxpayer dollars) reported the ongoing “tree-sit,” as they call it…
    Read More “‘Wackos in the Trees’ Protest Continues in Huntingdon County, PA”

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    PA Anti Literally Goes Up a Tree to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipeline

    handcuffsAnother environmentalist has tipped over the edge. The daughter of a landowner in Huntingdon County, PA scampered up a tree and planted herself there to prevent that tree and others near it from being cut down by crews clearing a path for the Mariner East 2 pipeline. Just two days ago we told you that Huntingdon County Common Pleas Judge George Zanic previously issued an order to Ellen Gerhart to allow tree clearing on three acres of her property (see Court Grants Mariner East 2 Right to Clear Trees in Huntingdon, PA). Gerhart’s daughter Elise literally “went up a tree” yesterday to a platform pre-built there, between two trees, and says she’ll stay there until the end of the week when tree-clearing season is over. You can’t clear trees after March 31st for fear of killing a threatened bat species. No word on when/if authorities will climb the tree and forcibly remove her. Thing is, she’s not alone. Radical environmentalists are behind Gerhart’s stunt. Two well-known anti-drilling radicals were arrested for blocking work at the site–and bail was set at $100,000 each. Yes, it’s time to get serious with these repeat lawbreakers. It’s also time to go up the tree and extricate Ms. Gerhart and put her in jail with them…
    Read More “PA Anti Literally Goes Up a Tree to Stop Mariner East 2 Pipeline”

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    WV DEP Fines Antero Resources $93K for “Pollution” of Streams

    The West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection has gotten a signed consent order from Antero Resources assessing a fine of $93,000 on the company for “pollution” of waterways in several WV counties related to installing pipelines. So says a single Associated Press article. We can find nothing about this story from another other news source than the AP. Not on the WV DEP website. Not on Antero’s website. We scoured the web. We scoured our own MDN archives. Nada. Just a single AP story currently running in dozens of newspapers and in other media outlets/websites across the country. Here is the entire, very brief AP story with sparse details…
    Read More “WV DEP Fines Antero Resources $93K for “Pollution” of Streams”

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    Philly Chamber Publishes Roadmap to Turn Region into “Energy Hub”

    Yesterday a large group of business, labor and political leaders gathered in Philadelphia to hear about plans to turn Philly into an “energy hub” with more pipelines delivering natural gas and natural gas liquids to the region. Chemical plants and manufacturers would spring up to use the gas and gas liquids–creating a huge economic impact for the region. According to press reports there were 200 or more gathered for the unveiling of a new report from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Philadelphia Energy Action Team (GPEAT). The report is titled, “A Pipeline for Growth, Fueling Economic Revitalization with Marcellus and Utica Shale Gas” (full copy embedded below). Meanwhile, 20-30 silly anti-drillers (who don’t have lives apart from protesting) stood outside and tried their darnedest to shout and disrupt the meeting. How did they react inside? By making fun and laughing at them! Philip Rinaldi, GPEAT Chair and President/CEO of Philadelphia Energy Solutions said this to the crowd as he took the stage: “I’m inclined to ask for a brief moment of silence to hear the protesters a little better.” Love it! You had to have a ticket into the private event–and the antis couldn’t score any tickets to disrupt the event–something they bitterly complained about. We say it’s about time someone pushed back against these disorderly ne’er do wells. Here’s how it went down inside the event, a place the antis couldn’t go…
    Read More “Philly Chamber Publishes Roadmap to Turn Region into “Energy Hub””

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    CORNballs Tell OH Landowners to Call Police & AG to Stop Pipeline

    cornballsMDN has written a number of stories about CORN–the COalition to Reroute NEXUS (see our stories here). The CORNballs have just resurfaced to pedal more obstructionist advice, hoping to incite a riot against a simple pipeline in Ohio. Do you know how many thousands of miles of pipelines already exist in Ohio–and have for generations? And yet this group falsely paints a picture of environmental holocaust if one more pipeline is built in the Buckeye State. Like community organizers everywhere, CORN is attempting to foment civil unrest and create an atmosphere where there are potential clashes between landowners, the pipeline company, and local law enforcement. They hope and pray for an “incident” that they can use as publicity to paint the pipeline as evil and uncaring about landowners. It’s all bilge–every last bit of it. Here’s the latest PR offensive from the CORNballs of Ohio…
    Read More “CORNballs Tell OH Landowners to Call Police & AG to Stop Pipeline”

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    NY Comptroller Attacks Natural Gas Pipelines with Safety “Audit”

    New York State’s Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, is a hard-left Democrat who has repeatedly targeted the fossil fuel industry in the Empire State–and beyond. As we’ve previously observed, DiNapoli is an anti-drilling bully (see our extensive list of MDN articles on DiNapoli’s attacks here). His latest attempt to smear the fossil fuel industry is to attack pipeline infrastructure. His office conducted an “audit” of pipeline safety from 1995 through 2014 (full copy below) and has supposedly found 194 pipeline “incidents” resulting in 23 fatalities, 123 injuries and $77 million in property damage. The aim, of course, is to imply pipelines are unsafe. There is no context in DiNapoli’s report. For example, during the same period, how many bridges have had “incidents” and how many deaths have there been from bridge accidents? During the same period how many railroad “incidents” have there been and how many deaths? When you stack up pipelines against any other form of transportation, pipelines are the safest mode of transport by far–it’s not even close. But you wouldn’t know that from DiNapoli’s slanted report…
    Read More “NY Comptroller Attacks Natural Gas Pipelines with Safety “Audit””

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    LNGL Applies to Build Pipeline to Bear Head LNG Export Facility

    Yesterday MDN told you that Bear Head LNG in Nova Scotia, Canada continues to make progress toward opening an LNG export facility that will export U.S. Marcellus and Utica Shale gas (see Bear Head LNG Facility Buys More Land, Opens Halifax Office). The very next day (today!) the parent company of Bear Head, LNG Limited (from Australia) issued another announcement to say they’ve registered for an environmental assessment for a pipeline they want to build–the Bear Paw Pipeline. It is the first (and perhaps most important) step in getting a new 39-mile pipeline built that will run from the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline to the new Bear Head LNG facility. Yes it’s a story about Canada, but it’s mostly a story about the Marcellus and Utica…
    Read More “LNGL Applies to Build Pipeline to Bear Head LNG Export Facility”

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    Tallgrass Buys Out Sempra’s Portion of REX Pipeline for $440M

    Just a few years ago that Tallgrass Energy, majority owner of the Rockies East Express (REX) pipeline–a 1,712-mile pipeline which runs from Colorado and Wyoming to Ohio–had an “Oh crap!” moment. The pipeline was built to bring then-abundant natural gas from the West to markets in the Midwest (like Chicago) and the East–via connections with other pipelines. Then the Marcellus and Utica happened, forever changing the natural gas dynamic in the United States. Nobody in the Midwest and East wanted western gas anymore. What to do?! Tallgrass knows how to pivot, and pivot they did–deciding to reverse the flow for a portion of the REX pipeline (see REX Reverses Pipeline Flow from OH for Mystery Utica Customer). Their bright idea worked, and beginning last August, the REX pipeline from Monroe County, OH to Mexico, MO reversed its flow (see 1.8 Bcf/d of Marcellus/Utica Gas Heads West on REX Starting Aug 1). What was a huge negative turned into a big positive for Tallgrass. Now Marcellus/Utica rides the pipeline west every single day–and there’s no sign of it letting up. If anything, REX will reverse more of the line at some point. That got Tallgrass to thinking, maybe REX had become the crown jewel of the company. So Tallgrass has decided to buy out one of partners in REX, Sempra Energy, to the tune of $440 million…
    Read More “Tallgrass Buys Out Sempra’s Portion of REX Pipeline for $440M”