Pipelines

Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Kinder Morgan Opens the Valves on TGP Northeast Upgrade
November 4, 2013November 4, 2013

Good news for those who live in the northeastern U.S.–Kinder Morgan, owner of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, said on Friday they have thrown the switch (or in this case opened the valves) on their new $500 million Northeast Upgrade Project. The upgrade to TGP’s system in Pennsylvania and New Jersey adds 636,000 dekatherms per day of additional capacity to the system, which means more Marcellus Shale gas is now flowing to markets like New York City and the coast of NJ.

This is very good news indeed. Kinder Morgan’s announcement from Friday:
Read More “Kinder Morgan Opens the Valves on TGP Northeast Upgrade”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics | Williams

“Midstream Knife Fight” – Who Will Have 1st Operational NGL Pipeline to Gulf?
November 1, 2013November 1, 2013

In the race to be the first pipeline to flow ethane from the Marcellus/Utica region to a cracker plant elsewhere, it looks like Sunoco Logistics may have won. Their Mariner West pipeline to Sarnia, Canada has been in testing since July and due to turn throw the valve wide open in November, according to Range Resources (see Range Resources 3Q13: Nearing 1 Bcf/d, Rev Up 29%, Costs Down 12%). However, not to be outdone, the Appalachia to Texas Express (ATEX) ethane pipeline being built by Enterprise Products Partners now says they will go fully online in December, months ahead of schedule (see ATEX Ethane Pipeline to Begin Pumping Dec 2013, Ahead of Schedule). Both pipelines going online a month apart? We’d call it a photo finish with Mariner West winning by a nose.

Now everyone’s attention is turning to mixed NGL (natural gas liquids) pipelines. There’s another horse race heating up. Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners are building the Bluegrass pipeline to the Gulf Coast (see Bluegrass Pipeline Launches Open Season, on Track for 2015 Launch). And then there is Kinder Morgan and MarkWest Utica who have joined forces to build a mixed NGL pipeline to the Gulf Coast too (see 2 New OH Projects: Cryo Processing Plant & NGL Pipeline to Gulf). Which one will be the first to go operational? Several analysts weigh in with their colorful opinions…
Read More ““Midstream Knife Fight” – Who Will Have 1st Operational NGL Pipeline to Gulf?”
Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

2 Ethane Pipelines May Cause Marcellus/Utica Production to Jump
October 31, 2013October 31, 2013

Is production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale about to increase–dramatically? It may, and not because of a flurry of new wells coming online. Production may soon increase because of two new ethane pipelines due to go online in the next few months–the Mariner West pipeline to Sarnia, Canada, and the ATEX pipeline to the Gulf Coast. When those pipelines become fully operational, drillers that had been scaling back production because of no markets for their ethane will likely turn the valves wide open and let it flow.

An excellent bit of analysis about the impact of these two new pipelines from Platts…
Read More “2 Ethane Pipelines May Cause Marcellus/Utica Production to Jump”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Centre County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Deniers Would Rather Penn State Keep Burning Coal than Use NatGas
October 31, 2013October 31, 2013

Witnessing the psychology of those who are anti-drilling, and the reasons for being anti-drilling, is instructive. Some people are honestly afraid that fracking and an increased use of natural gas will lead to an environmental holocaust. We’ll call them lazily ignorant. They don’t bother to investigate or think through the information being spoon fed to them with a critical, logical mind. They just accept the fantastical yarns they hear as the truth. Then there are the true believer fanatics who have gone on over the edge, believing mythical “renewables” can power the planet–now–if only we had the political spine to man-up and change. Bring back the horse and buggies! We’ll call them dangerously stupid.

Regardless of whether you’re lazily ignorant or dangerously stupid (i.e. regardless of why you believe), what you believe does matter. Case in point: A “few dozen” residents and students who live near Penn State in State College, PA want the university to forget about their plan to convert their electric generation plant from being powered by coal to being powered by cheaper, clean-burning natural gas…
Read More “Deniers Would Rather Penn State Keep Burning Coal than Use NatGas”
Access Midstream Partners | Cardinal Gas Services | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Utica East Ohio Midstream | West Virginia

Access Midstream Will Invest $3.8B in Marcellus/Utica by End 2015
October 31, 2013October 31, 2013

Access Midstream Partners is heavily involved with the pipeline/processing plant infrastructure buildout happening in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. Access is the lead company in the joint venture known as Cardinal Gas Services (the other partners being TOTAL and EnerVest), and an important partner in Utica East Ohio Buckeye (along with M3 Midstream and EnerVest). According to Access CEO Mike Stice on an investors call yesterday, his company’s total investment in the Marcellus Shale by the end of 2015 will be $1.8 billion, and the total investment in the Utica will be $2 billion.

A combined $3.8 billion investment in the northeast spanning 2012-2015–from one company. Simply astonishing! Here’s a few highlights from Stice’s talk yesterday…
Read More “Access Midstream Will Invest $3.8B in Marcellus/Utica by End 2015”
Energy Companies | Ethane | Exporting | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA | Washington County

Range Resources’ Top 10 Wet Gas Wells, New Company Presentation
October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

Yesterday Range Resources released their financial and operations update for third quarter 2013 (see our companion story from today). Nestled in that update is reference to a new company presentation released yesterday as well, available on the Range website. MDN downloaded it (full copy embedded below) and wow! What a presentation it is. This sucker is loaded with useful charts, maps, bullet points and more. Range has done the industry (and their investors) a great service with this presentation.

Below we will highlight some of our favorite “don’t miss it” slides from the presentation, so you know which ones to zero in on right away. However, the one slide many will want to view first is the list of Range’s Top 10 Liquids Rich (“wet gas”) wells. That slide lists the wells and their locations (hint: they’re all found in a single PA county), initial production levels, production mix (how much oil, NGLs, gas), lateral length, and number of frac stages. With lots of maps and lots of charts, here are some of our favorites, including the Top 10 Wells slide:
Read More “Range Resources’ Top 10 Wet Gas Wells, New Company Presentation”
Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Range Resources 3Q13: Nearing 1 Bcf/d, Rev Up 29%, Costs Down 12%
October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

Range Resources, the heavyweight Marcellus driller that was the very first company to drill a Marcellus well (back in 2004), continues the flurry of third quarter updates with their own yesterday. Range reports that revenues (or cash flow) were up 29% vs one year ago, costs were down 12% vs one year ago, and the Marcellus was their date to the ball and they’re still dancing with her. They also report record production of 960 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d)–getting close the one billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) mark.

Range’s most interesting comments (to MDN) are about the Mariner West Project, an ethane pipeline that runs from the Marcellus all the way to Sarnia, Canada. Range is one of the main customers for Mariner West which is due to be “fully operational” in November. However, Range said in early September their first delivery of ethane had already reached Sarnia, which made us scratch our heads (see Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??). After reading Range’s statements below, we now understand that Sunoco Logistics has been testing the new pipeline and it will be fully up to speed sometime in November…
Read More “Range Resources 3Q13: Nearing 1 Bcf/d, Rev Up 29%, Costs Down 12%”
Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

ATEX Ethane Pipeline to Begin Pumping Dec 2013, Ahead of Schedule
October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

Good news for drillers in the Marcellus and Utica Shale “wet gas” areas. The Appalachia to Texas (or ATEX) Express $1.3 billion ethane pipeline being built by Enterprise Products Partners from the Marcellus and Utica Shale region to the U.S. Gulf Coast, will begin flowing ethane this December, way ahead of schedule.

Speaking at the Platts Appalachian Oil and Gas Conference in Pittsburgh yesterday, an ATEX official said the ATEX is “nearly ready to go”…
Read More “ATEX Ethane Pipeline to Begin Pumping Dec 2013, Ahead of Schedule”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco

Anti-Drillers Try to Slow New Transco Pipeline Near Princeton, NJ
October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

Several so-called environmental groups, including the odious Food & Water Watch, have filed a notice of intervention with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in an attempt to stop Transco from building 1.3 miles of new natural gas pipeline near Princeton, NJ.

FERC now has to review the objection and render a decision, a process that will further delay the project, which of course is the intent…
Read More “Anti-Drillers Try to Slow New Transco Pipeline Near Princeton, NJ”
Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | NGLs | NiSource | Ohio | Pennant Midstream | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

OH Gov. Kasich Dedicates Hickory Bend Plant, No Foreigners Found
October 29, 2013October 29, 2013

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was on hand yesterday for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the Hickory Bend cryogenic processing plant in Mahoning County, OH. Pennant Midstream, a joint venture of NiSource and Hilcorp’s Harvest Pipeline subsidiary, dedicated the plant by inviting Kasich and a number of state and local officials. The Hickory Bend processing plant separates natural gas liquids (NGLs or “wet gas”) from methane (or “dry gas”). It has been up and running since summer, however, it won’t begin shipping separated NGLs to the M3 Momentum fractionation plant in Kensington until December. Hickory Bend is also a network of 55 miles of wet gas gathering pipelines in the region.

Gov. Kasich had plenty to say as he dedicated the plant. In typical fashion he was there sniffing out “foreigners” and was happy to pronounce he didn’t find any. (For an example of Kasich’s obsession with “foreigners”–i.e. out of state workers–see OH Gov. Kasich Goes Foreigner-Hunting in Strasburg.) Kasich also dissed Pennsylvania in his comments. A handful of protesters were on hand for the ceremony, bleating about methane migration, but they were far enough away that nobody heard them…
Read More “OH Gov. Kasich Dedicates Hickory Bend Plant, No Foreigners Found”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio County | Pipelines | West Virginia

MarkWest Pipeline Construction in WV Destroys Nearby House
October 29, 2013October 29, 2013

Sad and unusual: MarkWest Energy was drilling near a home in Valley Grove (Ohio County), WV to install a pipeline when drilling mud and water found its way into an abandoned water well and then up into the basement of the home of Becky and John Wieczorkowski. The drilling mud/water damaged the home, likely beyond repair, by moving it off its foundation.

Apparently MarkWest was not aware of the uncased, abandoned well that sat beneath the Wieczorkowski’s home. It does not appear to be a case of negligence on the part of MarkWest, but of ignorance. MarkWest is making it right for the homeowners and investigating to see what went wrong…
Read More “MarkWest Pipeline Construction in WV Destroys Nearby House”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

FERC Warning to Lawmakers: Back Us in a Corner, You’ll be Sorry
October 28, 2013October 28, 2013

A U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) official warned last Wednesday that if House Republicans continue to push a bill that limits the amount of time FERC has to review pipeline projects, those Republicans (and their energy company constituents) will be sorry.

Jeff Wright, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, told an Energy Bar Association conference in Washington that if backed into a “one year to approve a project or else” corner, FERC will start denying projects rather than let them go forward…
Read More “FERC Warning to Lawmakers: Back Us in a Corner, You’ll be Sorry”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Williams

Bluegrass Pipeline Launches Open Season, on Track for 2015 Launch
October 25, 2013October 25, 2013

Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners that are together building the Bluegrass Pipeline–a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from the Utica/Marcellus region in the northeast all the way to the Gulf Coast–announced yesterday they will conduct a binding open season for drillers to sign up to use the new pipeline, starting next week on Oct 29.

The most recent edition of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook (Volume 2), estimates the Bluegrass Pipeline project will cost on the order of $1.5 billion to complete. Construction is under way now and the new pipeline, with an initial takeaway capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, is expected to be done and in service in late 2015. The announcement (and more details) from Williams and Boardwalk:
Read More “Bluegrass Pipeline Launches Open Season, on Track for 2015 Launch”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide PA

Philly Conference: Dramatic Ramp-up & Challenges in PA Midstream
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

A conference in Philadelphia yesterday, hosted by the law firm Blank Rome and by engineering firm Hull and Associates, focused on the importance of the midstream–pipelines and processing plants. And for good reason–there’s an incredible amount of money being spent in the midstream sector. Here’s what grabbed our attention about the conference: One of the speakers quoted numbers from Oil and Gas Journal that say spending on pipelines across the U.S. was $8.6 billion last year, in 2012–but this year, that number is zooming to $38 billion!

We will add our own number to that mentioned at yesterday’s conference. MDN has just published Volume 2 of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook. In our new volume we compiled a comprehensive list of 111 midstream and infrastructure projects that either already are being built or have been announced. MDN found that from 2013 and spanning the next 10-15 years, announced midstream projects in the Marcellus/Utica region will top $40 billion of investment! That’s investment in just the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Philly Conference: Dramatic Ramp-up & Challenges in PA Midstream”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | New York County | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Spectra NJ-NY Marcellus Gas Pipeline Goes Online Nov. 1
October 22, 2013October 22, 2013

It’s been a long road and a long time in coming, but the good news is that starting Nov. 1, residents of New York City will have another 800 million cubic feet of cheap mostly-Marcellus natural gas flowing into the city through Spectra Energy’s 16 mile, $1.2 billion pipeline from New Jersey to New York. The pipeline will flow enough gas to heat 2 million homes in NYC each year. Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called more natgas for NYC “vital”. Most New Yorkers are in favor of the new pipeline, but that didn’t deter some from trying to stop the new pipeline.

During construction of the pipeline Spectra had to deal with a lot of nonsense, like protesters who turned into strippers (see NYC Pipeline Protesters Get Naked, Paint Themselves Green), protesters who didn’t even tell themselves they were about to spontaneously break the law (see Nutjob Protester Stops NYC Pipeline Construction for 2 Hours), and groups of protesters like the [In]Sane Energy Project that sued to stop the pipeline (see Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Against Spectra NYC Pipeline Project). Spectra pressed on through it all and they’re about to turn on the valve Nov. 1. Success at last!…
Read More “Spectra NJ-NY Marcellus Gas Pipeline Goes Online Nov. 1”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | NiSource | Ohio | Pennant Midstream | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

OH Hickory Bend Processing Plant Dedication in Oct, Online in Dec
October 22, 2013October 22, 2013

NiSource and Hilcorp Energy are building a natural gas processing plant in Springfield Township (Mahoning County), OH as part of a joint venture called Pennant Midstream. The Hickory Bend Processing Plant, as it’s called, will be dedicated on Oct. 28, although it won’t actually be up and running until sometime in December. The Hickory Bend project includes not only the processing plant (the first of a potential three processing plants), it also includes some 55 miles of wet gas gathering pipelines in eastern OH.

The initial investment in Hickory Bend by NiSource and Hilcorp is $375 million, but by the time it’s all done and dusted (in several years’ time with more processing plants), it could easily top $1 billion…
Read More “OH Hickory Bend Processing Plant Dedication in Oct, Online in Dec”