Pipelines

Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Enbridge Open Season to Expand Algonquin Pipe in New England
September 25, 2023September 25, 2023

The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Enbridge) transports up to 3.09 Bcf/d through 1,131 miles of pipeline. Algonquin connects to Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Millennium Pipeline, and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and supplies New England with critically needed natural gas supplies for power generation and consumer use. Enbridge is conducting an open season to gauge interest in expanding Algonquin’s capacity to flow more gas into New England–mainly from the Marcellus/Utica–called Project Maple.
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CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Toby Rice Still in Love with LNG, Wants New East Coast Exports
September 25, 2023September 25, 2023

Toby Rice, CEO of EQT

The CEO of EQT Corporation, Toby Rice, spoke at a recent University of Texas symposium hosted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center. EQT is the U.S.’s number one natural gas producer, with current production hovering around 5.5 Bcf/d. Among Rice’s comments and predictions: The world is “still one event away” from another energy event. Volatility is still a reality “until we get more infrastructure built.” Rice said while adding solar and wind to the grid is “not a problem,” it needs a backup. Without natural gas, solar and wind are unreliable energy sources.
Read More “Toby Rice Still in Love with LNG, Wants New East Coast Exports”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Empire Pipeline | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation

Anti Challenge to Northern Access Pipe Dealt Blow in DC Circuit
September 20, 2023September 20, 2023

click for larger version

National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) and its pipeline subsidiary Empire Pipeline have worked on a plan to build the Northern Access Pipeline since 2016. Northern Access is a 97-mile project from McKean County in Pennsylvania into and through Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Erie counties in New York that will flow Marcellus gas into New York State. The project was repeatedly delayed by the radicals of the Andrew Cuomo (now Kathy Hochul) administration. NFG says it still wants to build the project, but needs more time. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave NFG an extra 35 months to get the project done in a decision in June 2022. The Sierra Club challenged FERC’s time extension, and in oral arguments yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit) pretty much shut down the Sierra Club and its challenge.
Read More “Anti Challenge to Northern Access Pipe Dealt Blow in DC Circuit”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Biden EPA Just Cut FERC Off at the Knees re Certifying New Pipes
September 15, 2023September 15, 2023

In April 2019, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to review Section 401 of the Clean Water Act–the section that grants states (and tribes) the right to have a say in pipeline and other infrastructure projects (see Trump Signs Executive Order Making it Harder to Block Pipes). In keeping with the EO, the EPA issued a draft rule in August 2019 tightening up standards used in Section 401, creating new boundaries so states like New York and Washington could not continue to “color outside the lines” by rejecting pipelines for political reasons, as they have both done (see EPA Issues Proposed New Rule for Section 401 Water Permit). The Bidenista EPA issued a new rule yesterday, destroying the Trump-era rule by returning power to the states to block new pipelines as before.
Read More “Biden EPA Just Cut FERC Off at the Knees re Certifying New Pipes”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

NETL Researchers Use Fiber Optics to Detect NatGas Pipe Corrosion
September 14, 2023September 14, 2023

Advanced sensors developed by researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) can detect and predict corrosion in natural gas pipelines and prevent ruptures and leaks that release methane. Their invention combats corrosion in natural gas pipelines through early detection using either optical fiber-based or passive wireless sensing technology. The invention received a patent in August. This is just one more example of how the oil and gas industry keeps evolving and getting better year after year.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | TC Energy/TransCanada | Virginia

Lefties Say Columbia Virginia Reliability Pipe Project is Racist
September 13, 2023September 13, 2023

In August 2022, Columbia Gas Transmission (a subsidiary of TC Energy) filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the Virginia Reliability Project (VRP), which includes two new compressor units and the replacement of existing pipeline (see Columbia Files w/FERC to Replace 48 Miles of Pipe in Southeast Va.). VRP will add 100 MMcf/d of incremental capacity on Columbia’s system to service delivery points in southeast Virginia, namely Virginia Natural Gas. In April of this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a draft Environmental Impact State (dEIS) that finds the project won’t hurt Mom Nature (see Columbia Virginia Reliability Pipe Project Gets Favorable dEIS). Like mind-numbed robots, the radical left continues to spout nonsense that VRP is racist.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pipelines

Maine Cement Plant Closing Because Gas Pipeline was Canceled
September 13, 2023September 13, 2023

Actions have consequences. Environuts, like the lefties in Maine, seem to forget that. In early 2021, Summit Natural Gas of Maine, a regional utility company, announced plans to extend its service territory into Maine’s Midcoast region with a $90 million pipeline project (see Summit Natural Gas of Maine Plans Small $90M Pipe in Midcoast). The company’s expansion into Knox and Waldo Counties would bring natural gas to residential and commercial customers, like the Dragon Cement plant in Thomaston, and to the communities along the Route 1 corridor. After the announcement, environuts raised such a fuss that Summit surrendered without a fight and canceled the project (see Environuts Cause Summit to Cancel $90M Pipe Project in Maine). Dragon says because of the canceled pipe, it will now close the plant, devastating Thomaston with lost jobs and lost tax revenues. Consequences.
Read More “Maine Cement Plant Closing Because Gas Pipeline was Canceled”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Equitrans CEO Stepping Down with $7.5M Bonus for Finishing MVP
September 8, 2023September 8, 2023

Equitrans Midstream Corporation, the builder and (soon to be) operator of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, announced the company’s CEO, Thomas Karam, will retire at the end of the year just as MVP is coming online. Diana Charletta, currently president and chief operating officer of Equitrans, will succeed Karam as Equitrans’ newly appointed CEO. There’s no surprise or mystery there–Charletta has been the heir apparent for some time. However, what the official press release doesn’t tell you is that the Equitrans board is showering Karam with a $7.5 million bonus as his reward for dragging MVP across the finish line.
Read More “Equitrans CEO Stepping Down with $7.5M Bonus for Finishing MVP”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Manchin Wants to Appoint His Staffer as Next FERC Commissioner
September 8, 2023September 8, 2023

The swamp gets swampier. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, Chairman of the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is rumored to be pushing a staff member to fill the open Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner slot. There is an open seat for a Democrat after Manchin blocked Richard “Dick” Glick from continuing beyond the end of his second term (see Looks Like FERC’s Glick is History – Manchin Won’t Hold Hearing). The staffer Manchin wants for FERC currently works for Manchin at the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He is “detailed” there from FERC, which means his considerable government salary is paid by FERC, yet he works for Manchin. The staffer previously worked at FERC before coming to Manchin’s committee.
Read More “Manchin Wants to Appoint His Staffer as Next FERC Commissioner”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Summers County | West Virginia

MVP Work Restarts in Summers County, WV – Joe Manchin Field Trip
September 7, 2023September 7, 2023

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin hangin’ with the MVP boys in Summers County, WV

An Act of Congress (the Fiscal Responsibility Act) cleared away the remaining obstacles to completing the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Equitrans Announces Mountain Valley Pipe to Get Completed in 2023). After a final appeal by antis with their colluding buddies of the 4th Circuit threatened to block the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s MVP provisions, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in and overruled the 4th Circuit (see Supreme Court Overturns 4th Circuit, MVP to Restart Construction). Following the Supremes’ decision, MVP restarted construction–on August 4 in Virginia (see MVP Restarted Va. Construction Aug 4th, 8 Stream Crossings So Far). However, we’d not heard anything about work restarting in West Virginia–until now.
Read More “MVP Work Restarts in Summers County, WV – Joe Manchin Field Trip”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pipelines | Williams

Williams CEO Talks Down Enbridge/Dominion Deal, Talks Up Gas Pipes
September 7, 2023September 7, 2023

Williams CEO Alan Armstrong spoke at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference in New York City yesterday. Certain members of the press were invited to attend (but sadly, not MDN). Armstrong had some interesting things to say at the Barclays soiree. Armstrong engaged in a little smack talk about the recently announced Enbridge deal to buy Dominion Energy’s remaining gas utility businesses for $14 billion (see Dominion Energy Loses Mind – Sells Remaining LDC NatGas Businesses). Another thing Armstrong said is that the crazy “electrify everything” movement will lead to the use of MORE natural gas and LNG, not less.
Read More “Williams CEO Talks Down Enbridge/Dominion Deal, Talks Up Gas Pipes”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Montgomery County | Pipelines | Virginia

2 More Out-of-State Protesters Arrested for Blocking MVP Constr.
September 6, 2023September 6, 2023

On Saturday, August 26, a radicalized out-of-state “protester” (i.e., criminal) chained herself to a piece of excavating equipment being used in Montgomery County, Va., to drill and install the final pieces of Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Out-of-State MVP Protester Delays Drilling 7 Hrs – Arrested, Removed). That act of lawlessness was followed up by an act of terrorism on Thursday, August 31, in Franklin County, Va. (see Radicals Get Violent, Burn MVP Excavators with Molotov Cocktails). Yesterday, two more out-of-state lunatics chained themselves to excavating equipment–once again in Montgomery County.
Read More “2 More Out-of-State Protesters Arrested for Blocking MVP Constr.”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Franklin County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Virginia

Radicals Get Violent, Burn MVP Excavators with Molotov Cocktails
September 1, 2023September 1, 2023

Yesterday morning at around 5 a.m., one or more persons used “homemade incendiary devices” (i.e., Molotov cocktails) to destroy two pieces of heavy equipment used for excavating a path for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The crime happened in the Boones Mill section of Franklin County, Virginia. Virginia State Police, along with the FBI and BATF, are looking for the criminals, seeking the public’s help in tracking down these pieces of human debris.
Read More “Radicals Get Violent, Burn MVP Excavators with Molotov Cocktails”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Antis Convince NJ Superior Court to Block East 300 Gas Compressor
September 1, 2023September 1, 2023

New Jersey is a Communist state, controlled by Communists from the Governor on down to radical judges packing its courts. Yesterday, three Commie judges from the Superior Court of NJ ruled that the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) should not have issued an exemption to the Highlands Act to Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) to build a new compressor station in West Milford. The compressor is part of the TGP East 300 expansion project, an upgrade of TGP to deliver an extra 115 MMcf/d of natural gas to Consolidated Edison and its customers in New York City and surrounding suburbs. East 300 is a FERC-approved project (see FERC Issues Compressor Permits for TGP’s East 300 Upgrade in NY, NJ).
Read More “Antis Convince NJ Superior Court to Block East 300 Gas Compressor”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

Harrisburg Swamp Dwellers Appointed to PA PUC by Gov. Shapiro
August 31, 2023August 31, 2023

A couple of major changes to alert you to at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). The PUC is the public utility commission in Pennsylvania. The PUC has five commissioners appointed by the Governor with the consent of the state Senate. The PUC oversees public utility and services operations in the Commonwealth, in sectors including water, energy, telecommunications, and transportation. The decisions made by the PUC impact the Marcellus/Utica–particularly pipelines, including the Mariner East pipelines. Consequently, any changes at the agency are of concern. This week, the PUC got a new Chairman and a new commissioner, both Harrisburg swamp dwellers, appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro and confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Read More “Harrisburg Swamp Dwellers Appointed to PA PUC by Gov. Shapiro”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

7 New Pipeline Projects Planned to Handle 2 Bcf/d from MVP
August 30, 2023August 30, 2023

Last week, MDN brought you information about what happens next when (not if) the mighty 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline gets completed (see MVP Prompts New Pipe Expansions for Hungry Downstream Customers). MVP is built to flow 2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of Marcellus/Utica gas southward. The problem is there isn’t (yet) enough takeaway capacity at the end of MVP to handle a full 2 Bcf/d of gas. Nor will there be when MVP gets completed by the end of this year (or the beginning of next year). Howeever, there are seven new pipeline projects actively being planned that can help handle the extra load. We have the list.
Read More “7 New Pipeline Projects Planned to Handle 2 Bcf/d from MVP”