New Research: US/Canada Need $30B/Year on Midstream Investment
In September 2013 MDN published Vol. 2 of the 2013 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook series. In that volume we included a comprehensive list of 111 announced infrastructure (pipeline related) projects for the northeast. When we tallied it all up, the numbers were that projects in our neck of the woods will result in about $40 billion being spent over the next five years or so (see MDN’s 2013 Databook Vol 2 Finds Staggering $40B in NE Midstream Projects). The INGAA Foundation (Interstate Natural Gas Association of America) and ANGA (America’s Natural Gas Alliance) yesterday released a study they commissioned that tops our estimates–by a lot. The study is titled, “North America Midstream Infrastructure through 2035: Capitalizing on Our Energy Abundance” (full copy embedded below). Researched and prepared by ICF International, the new study shows that the U.S. and Canada together will need to spend $30 billion per year from now until 2035 on pipelines and related infrastructure just to keep pace with shale development.
ICF’s numbers add up to $641 billion in 2012 dollars over 22 years. But get this: $70 billion of that $641 will be spent in the Marcellus, according to the study. Nationwide the new spending will generate more than 432,000 jobs, add approximately $885 billion to U.S. and Canadian economies, and bring in over $300 billion in federal, state/provincial and local taxes. Truly staggering numbers. Immediately below we have the quick hit, bulleted conclusions of the report, for the time-pressed, so you can scan it. Below that the press release announcing the new study–and finally, a full copy of the study with some great charts and graphs (be sure to check out their Henry Hub price forecast through 2035 on page 24)…
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On December 11, 2012, a portion of the Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Nisource) exploded near Sissonville, WV, 10 miles north of Charleston. The resulting fire burned for more than an hour and shut down a portion of nearby Interstate 77 for days (see 
What do you call it when a company pays money to local organizations and agencies before the project has been fully approved by federal, state and local agencies? These payments, mind you, are not fees for permits or licenses, but voluntary chunks of money offered to groups that may be affected by the project if it’s built–in this case a pipeline. Is it called, Good corporate citizenship? Being a responsible member of the local community? Or perhaps, payola?
CONSOL Energy’s CEO Brett Harvey must be getting some heat over the company’s recent announcement that they have signed an agreement to export ethane from the Marcellus to Europe (see