Pipelines

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

The Fight to Build the PennEast Pipeline: Arguments For & Against
May 11, 2015May 11, 2015

About a month ago MDN editor Jim Willis granted an interview with Kevin Mooney, on assignment writing for The Daily Signal, a publication of arguably the top conservative think tank in the country–the Heritage Foundation. Kevin wanted to talk about the PennEast Pipeline and the controversy surrounding what should be a straightforward and non-controversial project. These days anything to do with fossil fuels is being opposed by the likes of the Sierra Club and (in the case of the PennEast), regional anti-drilling groups like THE Delaware Riverkeeper–a group now being investigated by pro-drillers for possible violations of ethics laws in their dealings with the Delaware River Basin Commission. Kevin not only talked with MDN, he also spoke to Tom Shepstone of the always excellent Natural Gas Now, and Nicole Jacobs from the excellent Energy in Depth–both good friends of MDN’s Jim Willis. Kevin got the other side of the story too–from none other than Maya van Rossum, who is THE Delaware Riverkeeper herself (see Delaware Riverkeeper Gets a French Kiss from Phila. Inquirer). Kevin turns in a well-balanced and useful overview of the fight to build the PennEast. What are the arguments for it, and against it? We bring you Kevin’s article here…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines

Ohio Univ to Get New Natgas Pipeline from Columbia Gas This Year
May 11, 2015May 11, 2015

Here’s a fact: So-called “sustainable” forms of energy like solar, wind and geothermal cannot, by themselves, provide all of the electric needs for a huge university like Ohio University, situated on an 1,850 acre campus in Athens, OH. Right now OU uses coal to meet its electric generating needs. They want to replace it with natural gas. But get this, ninny nanny “environmentalists” don’t like that idea. They’d rather have OU continue to burn dirty coal rather than build a pipeline to the campus and have the campus change over to natural gas. Which perfectly illustrates another fact: “environmentalist” opposition to natural gas springs from a twisted ideology and irrational hatred of fossil fuels, rather than concern for the environment or concern for the air people breathe…
Read More “Ohio Univ to Get New Natgas Pipeline from Columbia Gas This Year”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

DRBC Makes a Play to Slow/Block the Penn East Pipeline
May 7, 2015May 7, 2015

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), currently under investigation by pro-drilling groups for its collusion (possibly illegal) with groups like THE Delaware Riverkeeper, appears to be making a play to block the Penn East Pipeline. The Penn East Pipeline will be 114 miles of 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline that will run from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ–running through the DRBC’s “territory.” The DRBC has contacted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)–the only agency empowered to approve or not approve the project–declaring DRBC’s interest in being part of the process to approve it. How convenient that the DRBC is in bed with the virulent anti-drilling Delaware Riverkeeper–and the main focus of Riverkeeper right now is to stop the Penn East…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Summit Midstream

Summit Midstream – Update on Mountaineer, Floats Another 6.5M Units
May 7, 2015May 7, 2015

A couple of pieces of news today about Summit Midstream. Compared to midstream giants like MarkWest Energy, Williams and Access Midstream (now part of Williams, formerly Chesapeake Midstream), Summit has a pretty modest presence in the northeast. Their Mountaineer Midstream gathering system is 49 miles long, operating in Doddridge and Harrison counties in WV (see the map below). Last December Summit announced they’ve been hired by XTO Energy to build a new 115-mile pipeline gathering system in the Utica Shale in Belmont and Monroe counties in OH (see XTO Gets Serious in OH Utica, Hires Summit for Gathering System). The news today? Summit issued their first quarter 2015 update which includes a brief update on the Mountaineer Midstream system. They’ve also just floated another 6.5 million “units” (think shares of stock) looking to raise more cash–perhaps to help build the XTO project?…
Read More “Summit Midstream – Update on Mountaineer, Floats Another 6.5M Units”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Time for Pro-Drillers to Take Action on the Penn East Pipeline
May 6, 2015May 6, 2015

A shout-out to everyone in Pennsylvania and New Jersey who wants to pay less for natural gas and electricity. Nefarious groups like THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Sierra Clubbers and others have turned the volume button all the way up on their opposition to the Penn East Pipeline–a 114-mile, 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline that will run from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ. There is no coherent or logical reason to oppose this pipeline, but reason and logic aren’t the stock in trade for anti-fossil fuelers. They just hate all fossil fuels and will lie about projects like the Penn East in an attempt to support their twisted philosophy of ridding the world of fossil fuels (don’t get us started!). At any rate, it’s time for those of us who support clean burning Marcellus Shale gas to step up to the plate and do two simple things: (1) send a comment to FERC supporting the pipeline, (2) send a comment to your elected officials supporting it. We have details below for how you can do it…
Read More “Time for Pro-Drillers to Take Action on the Penn East Pipeline”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH | Williams

Constitution Pipeline Re-Files for NY DEC Permit, Clock Resets
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

Something troubling for MDN. The Constitution Pipeline, a 125-mile pipeline that will stretch from the gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA into New York–to Schoharie County, has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a multi-year process. The only thing keeping Williams from starting up the backhoes and beginning to lay pipeline is New York State–specifically the state’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC must grant what’s called a 401 Water Quality Certificate that allows the Constitution to lay pipe through and under swamps, creeks and other bodies of water. The DEC ran a series of public hearings on it, one of which MDN editor Jim Willis attended in January (see Pro-Drillers Out in Force at Constitution Pipeline Hearing in Binghamton). The DEC was legally due to complete its review and either grant or not grant the certificate by May 8. But they’ve asked for more time, so Williams/Constitution have re-filed their permit request which starts the clock again, giving the DEC and extra two weeks to accept public comment. And therein lies our concern…
Read More “Constitution Pipeline Re-Files for NY DEC Permit, Clock Resets”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

First Step in KM’s 1,000 Mile Y-Grade Pipeline Journey
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

We have a lot of information to boil down and convey regarding what was once called Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) “Y-Grade Pipeline”–a natural gas liquids (NLG) pipeline some 1,000 miles long that will stretch from Pennsylvania to Texas (see our 2013 article for background: Kinder Morgan/MarkWest Proposed NGL Pipeline Gets a Nickname, Map). The Y-Grade Pipeline is now called the Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline Project (UMTP). TGP has a series of 6 parallel pipelines that currently run from Louisiana to western Pennsylvania–carrying natural gas from the Gulf Coast to the northeast (and to points in between, running through Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio). The northeast and southeast doesn’t need that much gas from the Gulf given the enormous production coming from the Marcellus/Utica. The plan is to “abandon” some of the lengths of those pipelines and repurpose the “abandoned” pipelines, reversing the flow and instead of flowing natgas, flowing NGLs from the northeast to the Gulf–eventually (with a new pipeline) from LA into TX. That is the plan for UMTP. Kinder Morgan, owner of TGP, recently filed official paperwork with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to “abandon” certain sections and beef up the remaining pipelines with new compressor stations. We have the full details, including details about four new compressor stations to be built in Ohio…
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pipelines | Regency Energy Partners

ETP Seals the Deal – Buyout of Regency Energy for $25B Complete
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

MDN told you about the big money buyout midstream company Regency Energy by midstream company Energy Transfer Partners for $25 billion (see Energy Transfer Partners Buys Regency Energy for $25B). As we had also reported, the date for the buyout was April 28 (see ETP Buyout of Regency Energy Has a Date: April 28). The deed is now done and, at least on paper, Regency Energy is no more…
Read More “ETP Seals the Deal – Buyout of Regency Energy for $25B Complete”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pipelines

Marcellus/Utica Welder by Day, Prostitute by Night?
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

MDN told you about the outrageous comments by Sandra Steingraber (from Ithaca College) in her address to a group of “feminists” in Pittsburgh last week (see Steingraber: Only Jobs for Women in Fracking are Maid & Prostitute). The obviously sexist Steingraber said this about jobs for women in the shale industry: “The jobs for women are ‘hotel maid’ and ‘prostitute’.” So when we spotted an article about a female welding instructor at Zane State College in Cambridge, OH–and how she trains both men AND women for welding jobs in the oil and gas industry (jobs that after a year or so on the job fetch a salary of $150,000), we thought we would share it with you. And no–the female welding instructor and her students are not a prostitutes by night. The headline was just a shameless ploy to draw you in and encourage you to read the article about these gutsy women doing hard, physical work in what Steingraber calls a “man’s world”…
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Welder by Day, Prostitute by Night?”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Wrath of Kann: Lancaster Anti-Driller Arrested/Ejected from Mtg
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

All’s we can say is, it’s about time! A loud mouthed anti-drilling protester in Lancaster County, PA was arrested and removed from a public meeting Tuesday for disorderly conduct. That is, she wouldn’t shut her mouth. So the officials running the meeting removed her. The meeting was an educational forum about so-called home rule and what role the town can and should play when it comes to regulating things like pipelines. The Conestoga Township supervisor running the meeting asked for questions from the audience, not pontificating. The anti-driller wanted to use the forum as a platform to vomit her opinions about the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. The supervisor repeatedly said it is an educational forum and the audience may ASK QUESTIONS ONLY. She wouldn’t relent and she wouldn’t ask a question–and she wouldn’t shut up. So they removed her and now she’s threatening a lawsuit…
Read More “Wrath of Kann: Lancaster Anti-Driller Arrested/Ejected from Mtg”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

MDN Pays Compliment to CORNy Anti Group
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

You won’t hear or read it often (because it’s rarely deserved), but we’d like to pay a compliment to a group of CORNy anti-drillers. MDN previously told you about CORN–the Coalition to re-Route Nexus (see CORNy Opposition to NEXUS Pipeline in Eastern Ohio). The group is encouraging people to show up at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) scoping hearings about the NEXUS–to encourage FERC to re-route the pipeline. And therein is the genesis of our compliment. At least officially, CORN leaders don’t outright oppose building the NEXUS. Instead, they are asking for the NEXUS to be re-routed away from the Akron, OH area. There’s probably not a good reason to re-route it, but this is one of the few times (maybe the only time) an anti group has said, in essence, “hey, let’s work together and find a better route for this pipeline.” So kudos to the CORNy folks. We’ll hold you to your word that you DO want to see the pipeline built–just built along a different route…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Congressmen Send Letter to Army Corps Over Pipeline Delays
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

A majority of the Republican Congressman representing the great state of Pennsylvania sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this month encouraging the Corps to get off it’s collective rear-end and begin authorizing midstream/pipeline projects in the Keystone State. Nine of the 13 Republican Congressman from PA, and one of its senators (Republican Pat Toomey) sent a letter on April 8 to Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Jo-Ellen Darcy, to complain that the Baltimore District of the Army Corps is dragging its feet (our words) and their actions are putting PA at a competitive disadvantage compared with other states. One of the problems seems to be overreach by the Corps–in redefining projects and project scope. Here’s the letter that no PA partisan Democrat would sign (shame on them)…
Read More “PA Congressmen Send Letter to Army Corps Over Pipeline Delays”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | Regulation | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Locates WV Condensate Pipeline Leak, Remediation Begins
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

Last Friday Williams finally found the break/leak in a 4-inch condensate pipeline that ruptured nearly two weeks ago (see 2 Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains). That’s the good news. The bad news is that testing done of a nearby unnamed stream (that empties into Little Grave Creek) four days after the rupture occurred contained evidence of some nasty chemicals: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. Fortunately none of those chemicals have turned up in Little Grave Creek. Williams is now cleaning up and telling the neighbors that as they dig and remove soil from the area of the rupture, the neighbors may smell some foul odors. The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they “don’t believe” nearby residents are in any danger…
Read More “Williams Locates WV Condensate Pipeline Leak, Remediation Begins”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Randolph County | Regulation | West Virginia

USFS Approves Survey for Marcellus Pipeline in Mon Natl Forest
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

In January MDN told you that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was considering a plan to allow surveyors into the Monongahela National Forest (see USFS Seeks Comment on Pipeline Survey in Monongahela Natl Forest). At the time, USFS was seeking public comment on a plan to allow surveyors into the forest to chart a potential route through 17 miles of the Mon National Forest for the Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline–a 550-mile, $5 billion pipeline that will carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from West Virginia through Virginia and into to North Carolina. The section of the forest to be surveyed is located in Randolph and Pocahontas counties in WV. Good news! The USFS has decided to allow the survey to go forward…
Read More “USFS Approves Survey for Marcellus Pipeline in Mon Natl Forest”
CNG/LNG | Commodity Price | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Canadian LNG Project Woos Europeans with Promise of Marcellus Gas
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

You may recall MDN has tracked the issue of potential LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports from Canada that would use, in part, Marcellus Shale gas. There are five such possible LNG projects, four of them based in Nova Scotia (see List of LNG Export Projects for Marcellus/Utica Shale Gas). You may also recall the article we brought you in which Moody’s Investors Service said the vast majority of LNG projects, including the ones in Canada, will not get built (see Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled). Don’t tell that to Pieridae Energy Canada, the company with plans to build the Goldboro LNG project in Goldboro Industrial Park in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The US$8.6 billion (C$10 billion) project is 5-6 years away from beginning operation according to a presentation by Pieridae’s CEO Alfred Sorensen to a delegation of economic counsellors from the European Union in Halifax on Monday. One of the keys to the project giving it a “high probability of success” will be Marcellus gas delivered via the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, according to Sorensen…
Read More “Canadian LNG Project Woos Europeans with Promise of Marcellus Gas”
Commodity Price | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Richard Kinder: Northeast Energy Direct to Proceed Later This Yr
April 24, 2015April 24, 2015

Richard Kinger, CEO of the country’s largest midstream company, Kinder Morgan, went on CNBC on Wednesday to chat about the price of oil and its “sweet spot” and other things. It was Kinder’s Kinder’s comments on his company’s future plans for the Marcellus/Utica region that most interested MDN. Topic A was Kinder’s plans to run an extension of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline into New England, the Northeast Energy Direct project (NED). Kinder said that project is very close to critical mass and should launch later this year, provided FERC approves it…
Read More “Richard Kinder: Northeast Energy Direct to Proceed Later This Yr”