Energy Transfer: Mariner East Volumes Up in 2Q, Project Done in 4Q

Remember Winter Storm Uri, the big storm that knocked out power and halted the distribution of natural gas in Texas in February? It led to the highest prices for natural gas ever seen–in some cases over $1,000/MMBtu (see Cash NatGas Price in Oklahoma Hits $999/MMBtu; M-U Thru Roof Too). The storm was a disaster for many people, but not for pipeline giant Energy Transfer (ET). During ET’s second quarter update, company officials said Uri netted the company an extra $2.4 billion in revenue. But it’s not Uri nor frankly other regions of the country we’re concerned with when it comes to ET. The main thing we want to know about is the status of finishing up ET’s Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline project.
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Equitrans Midstream issued its second quarter update earlier this week. Naturally, all eyes were on information and updates related to the company’s 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from West Virginia to Virginia, which is now 92% complete. We have an update on MVP. However, it was a stray comment by Diana Charletta, President and COO, that caught our attention. Equitrans recently conducted an open season related to the Equitrans pipeline, looking to expand capacity along the pipeline to the Midwest and Gulf Coast.
Pipeline giant Williams delivered its second quarter update yesterday. It was obvious from the chatter by company executives, including CEO Alan Armstrong, that the Marcellus/Utica continues to play a key and important role in the company’s future. However, Williams is also expanding its footprint in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana. Armstrong announced a second joint venture in the Haynesville, with private producer GeoSouthern Energy Corp.
Privately-owned Penn Production Group, LLC, which concentrates on exploration and production for oil and gas in western Pennsylvania, closed on the purchase of certain assets owned by Greylock Energy in Clearfield County, PA on July 30. The assets include 20 miles of pipeline (called Mid Stream) that feeds the gas-fired Shawville GenOn Generating Station and the Dominion pipeline.
In June MDN brought you the news that Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) pipeline is being flow-restricted by the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). Some 40% of the Marcellus/Utica molecules that flow through TETCO’s pipeline to destinations in the southeastern U.S. disappeared and were predicted to stay that way until the end of September (see
Three weeks ago MDN told you about Equitrans’ plan to buy indulgences, er, a, carbon offsets for its 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project (see
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is moving to revise a two-decade-old standard that guides approval of proposed interstate natural gas pipelines. FERC Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick informed a congressional panel last week of the impending changes. Glick wants to permanently change the standards used so future FERC commissioners will be handcuffed to his twisted view of global warming when considering whether or not to approve a pipeline project.


In June MDN brought you the news that three Democrat judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for a long-completed and flowing natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis area that flows Marcellus/Utica gas to residents, businesses, and electric generating plants throughout the region (see 
In June MDN brought you the news that Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) pipeline is being flow-restricted by the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). Some 40% of the Marcellus/Utica molecules that flow through TETCO’s pipeline to destinations in the southeastern U.S. have disappeared and were predicted to stay that way until the end of September (see
Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) had laid 31 miles of pipeline and had cut trees for 222 miles along the 600-mile route before Dominion Energy, the builder, decided last summer it no longer wanted to be in the interstate pipeline business, canceling ACP (see
Increasingly ours is a world run by computers. Even in-the-ground pipelines are monitored and controlled by computers. The ransomware attack earlier this year against Colonial Pipeline, a pipeline that flows a significant amount of refined products (gasoline and diesel fuel) from the Gulf Coast where it’s refined as far north as New Jersey, was a wake-up call for all pipelines. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) heard the call and responded. In May the TSA issued an initial “security directive” requiring pipelines, including natural gas pipelines, to do certain things to protect themselves and the public they serve. Last week TSA issued a second such pipeline directive.