4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe
It seems that not all of the judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) are clowns, the way the three judges who oversee cases dealing with the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project are (see 4th Circus Clown Judges Badmouth MVP Southgate in Oral Arguments). Another major pipeline project that, in some senses, competes with Southgate, Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), is also being sued by Big Green to block it (see Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project). The case is also before the 4th Circuit, where oral arguments were heard yesterday. The SESE case is being heard by three judges different from those hearing the Southgate case. Read More “4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe”
According to RBN Energy, the Northeast natural gas market is entering a new phase after years of stalled pipeline development and Appalachian takeaway constraints. Once a premium destination for Gulf Coast and Canadian gas, the region became a major supplier as Marcellus/Utica production surged, reversing flows toward the Southeast and Gulf Coast. Recent legal, regulatory, and cost hurdles have frozen major projects, with the Mountain Valley Pipeline serving as both a milestone and a warning. Now, under a friendlier regulatory climate, new expansions toward New York/New Jersey and New England are advancing. 
At a Pennsylvania DEP hearing in Indiana County, environmental extremists opposed a proposed 5.8-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline serving Homer City Redevelopment’s planned $10 billion, 4.5-GW gas-fired power plant and hyperscale data center campus. The pipeline would cross streams, wetlands, and floodways, potentially affecting Muddy Run, Blacklick Creek, and various tributaries. Reminding us of Chicken Little in The Sky is Falling, speakers warned of water pollution, setbacks to acid mine drainage restoration, drought-related water stress, and inadequate transparency around the fast-moving project. 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million “contribution” (we call it a bribe) to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see 
Enbridge is exploring a major expansion of its Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline into New England, a move sure to inflame environmental extremists. According to super-secret sources blabbing to E&E News, the company briefed the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council and potential buyers about the project. Details remain preliminary and undisclosed. The proposal comes as Democratic governors in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island face pressure over high energy costs while pursuing nutty climate goals. 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) is an integrated natural gas company with a regulated utility business, a shale drilling business (Seneca Resources), and a pipeline business (NFG Midstream, Empire Pipeline). The company issued its fiscal second quarter update two weeks ago, which is everyone else’s calendar first quarter update. The good news is that NFG is upgrading its Line N natural gas pipeline to carry an additional 94,000 Dth/d (90 MMcf/d) of Marcellus/Utica shale gas. The bad news is that Seneca produced 102.0 Bcf of natural gas, a decrease of 3.5 Bcf, or 3%, from the prior year, largely due to weather-driven completion delays and “typical natural gas production declines on producing wells.” 
In April, MDN reported that anti-fossil fuel fanatics had not yet given up on trying to block construction of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets. Even though there was an official groundbreaking ceremony at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field in New York City in April, antis are still doing their best to block this project. They pinned one of their last hopes on a relatively obscure state agency in New Jersey, pressuring it to refuse to issue a license for the project (see 
DT Midstream (DTM) is an owner, operator, and developer of natural gas interstate and intrastate pipelines, storage and gathering systems, compression, treatment, and surface facilities, including major assets that are in (or flow molecules from) the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, the company issued its first quarter 2026 update. CEO David Slater announced two new projects to expand pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. He also announced a project to build a new lateral to an Indiana power plant and a new interconnect that flows more M-U molecules into the NEXUS pipeline. Great things are happening at DTM! 
Last Friday, TC Energy reported a robust first quarter in 2026, highlighted by a 14% increase in comparable EBITDA to $3.1 billion and record delivery volumes across its North American pipeline network. For the Marcellus and Utica shale region, the standout development is the newly announced $1.5 billion Appalachia Supply Project on the Columbia Gas system. Slated for 2030, this expansion will add 0.8 Bcf/d of takeaway capacity to meet surging electricity and data center demand. Appalachia is explicitly identified as a major contributor to the growth in U.S. natural gas production, and is expected to account for over 55% of the growth by 2035. 
This is a critical moment for reliable, affordable energy in the Northeast, and your voice can make a difference. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is currently accepting public comments on the Constitution Pipeline, representing an important step toward finally advancing this long-delayed project and a key opportunity for supporters to be heard. If you support building the Constitution Pipeline, please take a few minutes to submit a brief comment to FERC by May 4, 2026, because your input truly matters. We have instructions below on how to file a comment (it takes just a couple of minutes). 
The Rover Pipeline is a 711-mile, $6.3 billion natural gas transmission pipeline operated by Energy Transfer, transporting up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas. It connects supply areas in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to markets in the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Canada. As of April 29, 2026, Blackstone (via its Energy Transition Partners funds) has sold its entire 32.4% ownership stake in Rover to Ares Management. Blackstone originally acquired its ownership stake in 2017 to fund the construction of the pipeline.