Pipelines

Accidents | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

PUCO Fines Dominion East Ohio $500K for Pipeline Accident
December 14, 2012December 14, 2012

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has fined Dominion East Ohio $500,000 over a natural gas explosion and fire at a pipeline regulator station in January 2011 in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. The resulting fires severely damaged 11 homes and another 150 homes required repair or maintenance of their gas-powered appliances because of the mishap.

From the PUCO press release:

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Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Mahoning Utica Pipeline/Processing Plant “Moving Forward”
December 13, 2012December 13, 2012

Back in July, MDN told you about a new joint venture between Hilcorp and NiSource to build a wet gas pipeline and processing plant in the Youngstown, Ohio area (see this MDN story). There is still no official location (yet) for the new project, which will cost between $300 and $500 million to build, but we now have a name for it: the Hickory Bend Pipeline System.

According to a NiSource spokesperson, Hickory Bend (the pipeline and the processing plant) is “moving forward.” What does that mean? It means the Mahoning Valley will soon see a big boost in jobs for construction workers and welders:

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Accidents | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kanawha County | NiSource | Pipelines | West Virginia

Update on WV Pipeline Explosion Near Charleston
December 13, 2012December 13, 2012

On Tuesday, the 20-inch Columbia Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline exploded near Sissonville, WV—about 10 miles from Charleston (see this MDN story). Yesterday, NiSource, the parent company Columbia Gas, issued this update on the explosion:

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Access Midstream Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams

Chesapeake, Access & Williams in Complex 3-Way Midstream Deal
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

Chesapeake Energy has sold off its remaining midstream operations (pipelines, compressors and processing plants) to Access Midstream Partners for $2.16 billion. The sale includes Chesapeake’s midstream assets in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, along with assets in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Niobrara shale plays.

At the same time (keep your eye on the bouncing ball here), midstream giant Williams paid $2.4 billion to buy a 50% stake in Access Midstream. That is, the two deals are connected—Chesapeake to Access, Access to Williams. On paper, Chesapeake sold its midstream properties to Access, but it practice it seems the sale was actually to Williams via Access Midstream. In addition, Williams announced that Chesapeake is “supporting” their effort to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from the Marcellus/Utica area to the Gulf Coast.

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Accidents | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kanawha County | NiSource | Pipelines | West Virginia

Columbia NatGas Pipeline Explodes Near Charleston, WV
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

This is big news because it’s so extremely rare: A 20-inch natural gas transmission pipeline—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 has shut down a portion of nearby Interstate 77 for at least two days.

The explosion happened not far from the Lanham Compressor Station, although there is no indication the compressor station had anything to do with the explosion. An investigation into the explosion is just beginning and there are few known facts. The (rather thin) details as we know them:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

$10 Billion+ in Utica Shale Infrastructure Coming to Ohio
December 10, 2012December 10, 2012

The Akron Beacon Journal ran an excellent round-up article on Sunday looking at the mammoth infrastructure investments (pipelines, processing facilities, etc.) being made in Ohio’s Utica and Marcellus Shale region—like in excess of $10 billion of investments already under way or planned for the near future.

Here’s a quick overview:

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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Fairfield County | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Pipelines

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Will Pay OH Airport $450K
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

The Appalachia-to-Texas (ATEX) Express Pipeline, a 1,230 mile ethane pipeline which will run from the Marcellus and Utica region to the Gulf Coast is about to ink a deal with Fairfield County, OH Airport to allow the pipeline to run under airport property. If the deal is signed, as expected in the near future, the airport will receive $450,000 to allow the pipeline under its property.

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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

FERC Green-Lights 2 Dominion Pipeline Projects in PA
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Last Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an “environmental assessment” (EA) covering two Marcellus pipeline projects proposed by Dominion Transmission: The 19-mile Tioga Area Expansion project, spanning five counties in Pennsylvania and New York, and the nearby 3.5-mile Sabinsville to Morrisville project.

FERC’s EA says neither project will adversely affect the environment, giving the projects what amounts to a green light to move forward with construction next year.

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Butler County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

PA Pipeliners Donate 1,100 Toys & Cash to Toys for Tots
December 3, 2012December 3, 2012

Local Marcellus Shale gas pipeliners in Sarver and Butler, PA (both union and non-union members) recently collected over 1,100 toys and $700 cash and donated it to the Toys for Tots organization. Toys for Tots, in case you are unfamiliar, each holiday season collects toys for needy children in the community where the toys are collected. It’s an outstanding organization run by the U.S. Marine Corps.

A press release and a few pictures are included below. The point of the release (and why is MDN covering it)? Many—perhaps most—of the pipeliners that donated toys and money are not residents of western PA. Contrary to negative news stories about “out of towners” who work for drilling and pipeline companies boozing it up and spreading venereal diseases and crime, these people (mostly men) are hard-working and have good hearts. The recent Toys for Tots campaign in western PA speaks volumes about the character of these men and women.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Noise | Pipelines | Principle Energy Services

New Product Reduces Noise from Pipeline Compressor Stations
November 28, 2012November 28, 2012

Principle Energy Services, a Texas-based company with offices and operations in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions, has just launched a new product/service called Whisper Noise Enclosures™ that it says will drastically cut noise coming from compressor stations.

Calling it a “game changing solution,” here’s the Principle press release announcing their new service:

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Antero Resources | Crestwood Midstream | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | West Virginia

Crestwood Midstream Buys 4 Compressor Stations in WV
November 27, 2012November 27, 2012

Crestwood Marcellus Midstream announced yesterday they have purchased four compression/dehydration stations from Enerven Compression for $95 million. The stations service Crestwood’s own gathering pipelines in Harrison and Doddridge counties in West Virginia. Antero Resources is the driller in the area using the Crestwood pipeline system. Crestwood’s CEO calls it a “bolt-on acquisition” for the company.

From the Crestwood press release, which includes an update on their Marcellus-related business with Antero:

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Broome County | Chenango County | EmKey Gathering | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Madison County | New York | Norse Energy | Pipelines

New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Planned for NY Southern Tier
November 26, 2012November 26, 2012

Someone beside Norse Energy is holding out hope that New York will soon allow fracking of the Marcellus and Utica Shale—and they’re willing to spend money on that gamble. EmKey Gathering has just purchased a 75-mile right-of-way from Norse Energy that stretches from Madison County through Chenango County and into Broome County—all of those counties in New York State’s Southern Tier region.

EmKey hopes to hook up local shale gas wells, once they’re drilled, to the Millennium Pipeline, an interstate pipeline that runs through Broome County.

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Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Pipelines

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Crossing Jefferson County, OH
November 15, 2012November 15, 2012

The previously announced ATEX Express ethane pipeline that will stretch from Houston, PA to the state of Indiana, and from there all the way to the Texas Gulf Coast, is now under construction near Steubenville (Jefferson County), Ohio.

A quick construction update:

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Susquehanna County | Williams

Southern Gas Utility Invests in NE Constitution Pipeline
November 13, 2012November 13, 2012

Piedmont Natural Gas, a natural gas utility with more than one million customers in North and South Carolina and Tennessee, has decided they want a piece of the Marcellus Shale gas action. Piedmont is investing $180 million in the yet-to-be-built Constitution Pipeline that will run from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY. Williams, the company building the new pipeline, and Piedmont collaborate on other projects too. Piedmont is also a customer of Williams’ Transco natural gas pipeline.

Here’s the announcement from Piedmont on why they’ve decided to invest in the Constitution Pipeline project:

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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

Hanoverton, OH NGL Processing Plant on Track for May 2013
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

In May 2012, MDN told you about a new $400 million cryogenic processing plant to be built in Hanoverton (Columbiana County), Ohio by a joint venture between Chesapeake Energy, M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners (see this MDN story). The plant will collect and process shale gas, separating out natural gas liquids like propane, butane and ethane. In early October we told you construction had begun and the first phase of the new plant is due to come online in May 2013 (see this MDN story).

Last week an official for M3 Midstream, one of the partners in the project, visited the construction site and said things are track to meet the “very aggressive” May 2013 opening date:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Reuters Predicts “Harsher Energy Regs” from Obama II
November 8, 2012November 7, 2012

MDN took some abuse for our negative comments on the re-election of B.H. Obama (see this MDN article)—comments for which we make no apology. However, you may be interested to know one day after his re-election, none other than Reuters is predicting a rough road ahead for the domestic energy industry under Obama II. The article says, in so many words, the coal industry is screwed. And of course Obama will continue to flirt with so-called renewable energy. Elections have consequences folks.

Here’s what the article says about Obama’s “nuanced” approach on domestic oil and gas drilling:

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