Pipelines

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Supply Chain

Koch Brothers ‘Roll Out’ Nylon Pipeline Aimed at Shale Industry
September 11, 2014September 11, 2014

An interesting development in the midstream (pipeline) business. Yesterday INVISTA, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, introduced a new nylon pipe aimed squarely at use in the oilfield–to flow both oil and natural gas (and NGLs). They call the new pipeline Raptor™ and claim it outperforms pipelines made of steel, composites and polyethylene. The maximum pressure the pipe can handle is 500 pounds per square inch (psi), which means it likely won’t be used for interstate pipelines. However, it’s perfect for local gathering pipelines because it’s quick and easy to install–saving time and money for drillers and midstream companies…
Read More “Koch Brothers ‘Roll Out’ Nylon Pipeline Aimed at Shale Industry”
Energy Services | GE Oil & Gas | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Supply Chain

GE/Accenture Launch Internet Pipeline Software, Columbia 1st Cust
September 8, 2014September 8, 2014

GE’s Oil & Gas division has partnered with global management consulting firm Accenture to launch Intelligent Pipeline Solution, which they describe as “the first-ever Industrial Internet offering to help pipeline operators make better decisions concerning the condition of their critical machines and assets in the oil and gas pipeline industry.” Looks to us like it’s software in the cloud–software that will help companies keep track of their pipelines and equipment and help them make better/faster/safer decisions on when things need an upgrade, or an expansion. GE/Accenture, as part of announcing this new service, announced that Columbia Pipeline Group (division of Columbia Gas) is their flagship first customer–and Columbia is using it to help manage (yes) their Marcellus/Utica Shale pipeline network…
Read More “GE/Accenture Launch Internet Pipeline Software, Columbia 1st Cust”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jackson County | Marshall County | Noble County | Ohio | Pipelines | West Virginia

3 Big Compressors Coming with Columbia’s OH Pipeline Project
September 8, 2014September 8, 2014

Representatives for Columbia Gas Pipeline are making the rounds and talking with officials in various communities where the planned expansion of their pipeline will happen. Columbia, as MDN previously reported, is spending $1.75 billion on two pipeline projects that will help move Marcellus Shale gas to the Gulf Coast (see Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf). One of those projects is called the Leach Express–starting in Marshall County, WV and ending up in Leach, KY (hence the name). Along the way three new compressor stations will need to be built, which is the focus of this story…
Read More “3 Big Compressors Coming with Columbia’s OH Pipeline Project”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Yet Another Williams Transco Expansion: Western Marcellus Project
September 5, 2014September 5, 2014

Pipeline (infrastructure) projects keep getting announced fast and furiously–we can hardly keep up! Williams has announced yet another upgrade to their Transco Pipeline–this one called the Western Marcellus Pipeline Project. We get details about the new project from an open season announcement from Williams posted yesterday. The Transco is one of the country’s largest interstate natural gas pipelines–a 10,200-mile pipeline system that extends from South Texas to New York City. In February Williams announced an $2.1 billion expansion of the Transco to carry PA Marcellus gas to the Eastern seaboard, what they call the Atlantic Sunrise project (see Williams Plans $2.1B Transco Pipeline Expansion, 100% Sold Already). Last week we told you about another expansion of the Transco, called Diamond East, that will beef up capacity on the Transco from Lycoming and Luzerne counties in northeast PA all the way to Mercer County, NJ, a $500-$800 million project (see Williams to Expand Transco Pipeline Again, More Marcellus to NE). Yesterday Williams announced the Western Marcellus Pipeline project, a project that will give western PA Marcellus and eastern OH Utica producers a way to get their gas to markets in the southeast (Louisiana and Texas) and even to Florida…
Read More “Yet Another Williams Transco Expansion: Western Marcellus Project”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | UGI Energy Services

Successful Open Season Concludes for Marcellus PennEast Pipeline
September 5, 2014September 5, 2014

Barley three weeks ago a consortium of four companies announced a new pipeline project to carry Marcellus Shale gas from Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania to Transco’s Trenton-Woodbury interconnection in New Jersey. The $1 billion PennEast Pipeline will be built by energy utility giant UGI, along with AGL Resources, NJR Pipeline Company (subsidiary of New Jersey Resources) and South Jersey Industries (see 3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ). The consortium announced yesterday the successful close of a very fast binding open season–a period of time when potential customers sign on the dotted line to take capacity in the new pipeline. Of course it didn’t hurt that the consortium itself had already reserved nearly half of the 1 billion cubic feet per day capacity for themselves! Still, the other half is now sold out too (a total of 965,000 dekatherms, or 936 million cubic feet, or .936 billion cubic feet)…
Read More “Successful Open Season Concludes for Marcellus PennEast Pipeline”
Energy Services | Ethane | Exporting | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines

UTOPIA Open Season Begins Today – OH to MI NGL Pipeline
September 5, 2014September 5, 2014

Back in December MDN told you about Kinder Morgan’s new proposed new pipeline called the Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access, or UTOPIA (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). The 240-mile natural gas liquids (NGL, specifically ethane and propane) pipeline will connect multiple fractionation facilities in Harrison County, OH, to Riga, MI. From Riga, the NGLs will hitch a ride via the KM Cochin Pipeline east to Windsor, Ontario, Canada where they will be delivered to NOVA Chemicals. The new $300 million, 10-inch pipeline from OH to MI is what is called UTOPIA. Yesterday KM announced a binding open season for UTOPIA…
Read More “UTOPIA Open Season Begins Today – OH to MI NGL Pipeline”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

What a difference five months can make in the midstream business. In April Dominion launched a nonbinding (“feeling out the marketplace”) open season to gauge potential interest in a pipeline that would carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from West Virginia into Virginia and eventually to North Carolina (see Dominion Announces 2 New Pipeline Projects from Marcellus/Utica). The project was called the Dominion Southeast Reliability Project. At the end of May, Dominion was still saying the proposed pipeline, which would cost around $2 billion to build, was still “very preliminary” and that the company had “not decided to do this” (see More Details/Proposed Route of Dominion Marcellus to NC Pipeline). We couldn’t even locate a map of the proposed route! Looks like the nonbinding open season was a big success. Yesterday Dominion announced not only is the pipeline going forward, they’ve formed a joint venture with three other companies to build it. We have a map of the route, a name change for the project (now called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline), and the price to build it has more than doubled–from $2 billion to $5 billion! Here’s the details…
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

EQT & NextEra Tie the Knot on WV-VA Pipeline Joint Venture
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

There’s a big difference between nonbinding and binding–as in open seasons. When a pipeline company wants to see if they can get any interest for building a pipeline (which involves millions of dollars of investment, sometimes billions) they start with a “nonbinding” open season. Think of it as an elaborate marketing exercise in lead generation. If the company gets good vibes from the nonbinding open season, they then move to a binding open season. It’s one thing to say “Yeah, we’ll use X capacity on that pipeline if you build it.” It’s a whole other thing to sign on the dotted line, committing to a binding contract for the next 10-20 years. It is a huge financial commitment. EQT and their joint venture partner NextEra Energy announced a new pipeline project in June. The 330-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project would run from Wetzel County, WV to Pittsylvania County, VA (see EQT Announces New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline to Southeastern US). EQT announced yesterday the previous nonbinding open season changed to binding, an important change…
Read More “EQT & NextEra Tie the Knot on WV-VA Pipeline Joint Venture”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Otsego County | Pipelines | Williams

Cooperstown Refuses $20K Grant from Williams for Fire Equipment
September 2, 2014September 2, 2014

Back in March, MDN wrote an article highlighting the practice by Williams and their Constitution Pipeline of handing out grants to worthy causes and organizations, like fire departments, the Boy Scouts and local Chambers of Commerce. Anti-drillers typically call it payola, or greasing the skids to make those communities more accepting of the pipeline when it comes time to build it (see Constitution Pipeline Payments to Groups – Donations or Payola?). To be honest, we struggle with the issue ourselves. We think it’s great to make those payments–but we think it’s probably better to make the payments after the pipeline is fully approved and ready to be built (or already built). For us the issue is one of timing, not about the payments themselves. However, for the dunderheads in the Village of Cooperstown, NY (yes, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located), officials there refuse to allow the local fire department to apply for a $20,000 matching grant with Williams to purchase new equipment–simply because they’re so opposed to anything to do with natural gas and fossil fuels…
Read More “Cooperstown Refuses $20K Grant from Williams for Fire Equipment”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

PA Gov Corbett Makes Political U-Turn on Pipeline Project
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Last week Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett waded into the thorny issue of whether or not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should approve the Williams Tranco pipeline expansion project. Dubbed the Atlantic Sunrise project, the $3 billion project which reaches far beyond just PA, would carry PA Marcellus Shale gas to the East Coast and to southern states (see Williams Open House Sheds more Light on Transco Atlantic Sunrise). Last week Corbett sent a letter to FERC asking the feds to look carefully at the Atlantic Sunrise expansion project because he’s hearing a lot of noise from voters about it. He also requested FERC to zoom out and look at the big picture–consider all of the proposed pipeline projects for PA and whether as a whole it makes sense–and not just look at each project individually…
Read More “PA Gov Corbett Makes Political U-Turn on Pipeline Project”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Williams to Expand Transco Pipeline Again, More Marcellus to NE
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

There’s no doubt that Williams is a major midstream player in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Williams is in the process of growing–massively–by purchasing Access Midstream (see Big News: Williams Partners Buying Access Midstream for $6B). Williams is also the owner of the Transcontinental (or Transco) pipeline, a 10,200-mile pipeline system, extending from South Texas to New York City. Williams wants to further expand the Transco with it’s Atlantic Sunrise project to bring Marcellus gas to the northeast and southern states (see Williams Plans $2.1B Transco Pipeline Expansion, 100% Sold Already). Yesterday Williams announced an open season (period of time when new customers can sign up) for yet a another expansion of the Transco, this time to bring more Marcellus Shale gas to places like New Jersey and New York City. This newest expansion is being called the Diamond East Project and Williams expects to pony up $500-$800 million to make it happen by 2018…
Read More “Williams to Expand Transco Pipeline Again, More Marcellus to NE”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Wastewater | West Virginia

Mystery Solved: GreenHunter Pipelines to Terminate Near…
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Now that U.S. Coast Guard’s comment period for barging frack wastewater is officially closed and a positive decision to move forward is likely, we expect to see more movement from GreenHunter Water on building out their barge facility near Wheeling, WV. As part of GreenHunter’s master plan, the company announced at the end of June that they will build three new (short) pipelines, one each dedicated to brine/wastewater, fresh water, and condensate (see 3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area). The three pipelines will all terminate in the same location–but until now, GreenHunter has been cagey about where (see GreenHunter’s Unidentified Barge Facility Pipeline Destination). We said at the time the betting money is on GreenHunter’s facility in Wheeling. Were we right?…
Read More “Mystery Solved: GreenHunter Pipelines to Terminate Near…”
CONE Midstream | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Noble Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

CONSOL & Noble Energy Form New Marcellus Midstream Company
August 26, 2014August 26, 2014

Rather than contract with MarkWest Energy, Williams, or another midstream company, CONSOL Energy and Noble Energy, who together have a joint venture to drill in certain areas of the Marcellus Shale (or “upstream” venture), have now decided to form their own “midstream” (or pipeline) company too. Dubbed CONE Midstream–perhaps some weird amalgamation of the CONSOL and Noble Energy names–the new midstream company will take the form of a master limited partnership, or MLP. So far CONSOL and Noble have only filed paperwork and announced who will sell units (rough equivalent of shares of stock). While the announcement from CONSOL doesn’t say who will operate the new midstream company, it sure looks to us like CONSOL will be the one calling the shots…
Read More “CONSOL & Noble Energy Form New Marcellus Midstream Company”
Broome County | Chenango County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Delaware County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Susquehanna County | Williams

Final EIS for Constitution Pipeline Delayed Another 2 Months, Ugh
August 26, 2014August 26, 2014

The Constitution Pipeline, which MDN has covered for more than two years, is a $683 million Williams pipeline project with backing from Cabot Oil & Gas that will run from Cabot’s gas fields in Susquehanna County, PA all the way to Schoharie County, NY. It’s an important project for Cabot Oil & Gas since it will move an additional half billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for the company. A month ago MDN told you the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was due “any day” (see Constitution Pipeline Update from Cabot – Final EIS Due Any Day). The EIS was already delayed, and now we learn that it’s delayed yet again. According to top energy blogger and analyst Richard Zeits, the EIS for the Constitution is now delayed until the end of October–another two months…
Read More “Final EIS for Constitution Pipeline Delayed Another 2 Months, Ugh”
Belmont County | Energy Services | EnLink Midstream | Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Noble County | Ohio | Pipelines | Washington County (OH)

EnLink Midstream Announces New Condensate Pipeline in ORV
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Earlier this year, midstream company Crosstex Energy merged with the midstream division of shale driller Devon Energy and gave birth to a new company–EnLink Midstream (see Time to Congratulate Devon & Crosstex on the Birth of EnLink). EnLink has a small but growing presence in the northeast, including the Utica Shale. EnLink’s commitment to the Ohio River Valley (Utica Shale) has just doubled by adding another $250 million committed to a project that will build a new 45-mile condensate pipeline and add compressor stations in Noble, Belmont, and Guernsey counties…
Read More “EnLink Midstream Announces New Condensate Pipeline in ORV”
Bucks County | Carbon County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services

3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ
August 13, 2014September 5, 2014

A third new pipeline has been proposed–seriously proposed and already in the planning stages–to carry Marcellus Shale gas from northeastern Pennsylvania all the way to New Jersey. Yesterday a consortium of four companies, including energy utility giant UGI, along with AGL Resources, NJR Pipeline Company (subsidiary of New Jersey Resources) and South Jersey Industries announced the PennEast Pipeline, a 105-mile long, 30” diameter interstate natural gas pipeline. The new pipeline will cost $1 billion to build (providing 2,000+ jobs for seven months) and when finished, carry 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Here’s the full details for the new project…
Read More “3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ”