FERC Issues Positive Final EIS for OVCX Pipe Project in PA-WV-OH
In February 2022, Equitrans Midstream announced it had filed a new pipeline expansion project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Equitrans Files New $160M Pipe Expansion Project with FERC). Called the Ohio Valley Connector Expansion Project (or OVCX), the $160 million project will add compression along Equitrans pipelines in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia that allow the company to flow an extra 350 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of natural gas. It appears OVCX is Equitrans’ “plan B” if the ultimate horror happens and Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) can’t be completed. Just coming to light now, FERC issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) last week, signaling the agency will soon vote to issue a certificate for the project to get built.
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In late December, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) voted to grant permission to New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to build a pipeline regulator station in Holmdel, NJ. What does a regulator station do? It reduces pressure on the underground natural gas pipelines that already exist in the area, running underneath the ground in Holmdel Township and throughout Monmouth County. Ultimately, a regulator station will ensure the reliability of the pipelines and gas that flows in the area. The new station will replace a currently-operating temporary regulator station. Yet the “leaders” of Holmdel have voted to appeal the BPU decision to court, allocating up to $20,000 (of taxpayer money) for legal fees in what is sure to be a fruitless attempt at overturning the BPU decision.
The clown judges who occupy the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circus) appear ready to reject a water permit granted by the Virginia State Water Control Board to help finish up the 94% complete Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Three judges from the 4th Circus were appointed back in 2017 to hear appeals by Big Green groups against the project. All three judges are profoundly bigoted and prejudiced against natural gas pipeline projects. Yesterday, the three clowns heard oral arguments from the foreign-backed Sierra Club (and its cronies) arguing the Control Board’s approval of a permit to cross streams and wetlands violates the federal Clean Water Act.
A combination of federal, state, and local grants totaling $6 million will be used to extend a natural gas pipeline to the Cumberland Industrial Park and residences near Bluefield, WV (Mercer County). The Mercer County Commission is chipping in $1 million. The state of WV is giving $2 million. And WV Sen. Shelley Moore Capito secured $3 million from the federal government. Work will begin “soon” on the project.
MDN has highlighted Capstone Turbine Corporation, a California company that manufactures small electric-generating plants that run on natural gas, several times in the past (
On January 18, 2022, Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate a new natural gas-fired compressor unit and ancillary facilities at its existing Bridgeville Compressor Station in Sussex County, Delaware (called the Southern Expansion Project). Right away, the odious radicals of Food and Water Watch filed an official protest. It took nearly a year, but (as we’re just learning now) on Dec. 16, FERC issued full approval for the project. The new compressor unit will flow an extra 7.3 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of natural gas to new residential, commercial, and industrial customers along the Delmarva Peninsula.
Here’s a question: What are the 15 biggest (by company revenue) natural gas-owning pipeline companies in the world? The U.S. has the biggest natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the world, covering a distance of 333,000 kilometers (206,917 miles). Even so, only one U.S.-based company is in the top 5 biggest pipeline companies. Can you guess which country takes the top 2 spots on the list?
Kinder Morgan issued its fourth quarter 2022 update yesterday. Among the news updates, we learned that work on two of three compressor station projects along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (near New York City) is now underway. There was also some big news about top management shuffles. CEO Steve Kean is retiring, setting off a game of musical chairs (or musical ladders) with existing employees moving up the ladder at the company.
Alan Armstrong, the CEO of pipeline giant Williams (which has MAJOR pipeline assets in the Marcellus/Utica), delivered a talk yesterday in the company’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a group at the University of Tulsa. Summarizing his talk, Armstrong said we can have lower emissions right now. The way to do it is with natural gas. The problem is, of course, nobody can get a new pipeline for natural gas permitted anymore. The government, and lawsuits, are blocking new pipeline projects. The system of permitting needs to get “straightened out” according to Armstrong. Put another way, the system is BROKEN.
Chip manufacturing giant Intel has committed to building two semiconductor factories in New Albany, Ohio, making a huge investment of over $20 billion. It is the largest economic development project in Ohio’s history. Amazing! The two plants will need natural gas, lots of it. So local utility company Columbia Gas of Ohio has proposed building a new 4.2-mile, 12-inch pipeline to the facility. The pipeline will be constructed within public road rights-of-way within Delaware County, Licking County, and Franklin County, as well as in the City of New Albany. Columbia is requesting expedited state approval (and is likely to get it).
Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finally approved the Williams Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project, an upgrade to the Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland (see 
On Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) held an event in Washington, D.C., to unveil (and talk about) the organization’s 2023 plan for Congress that will “Make, Move and Improve American Energy.” Several members of Congress spoke along with API CEO Mike Sommers. One of the big topics of discussion at the event is the need for pipeline permitting reform, NOW, in this Congress. The API report (full copy below) says there is enough demand to send another 4.6 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas into northeastern markets–and we could and would have been doing just that if not for canceled pipeline projects due to lawsuits, delays, and government opposition.