Regulation

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    FERC OKs Atlantic Bridge to Begin Service in Connecticut

    In January 2017 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted final approval for the $452 million Atlantic Bridge expansion project (see FERC Approves Atlantic Bridge Project for New England/Canada). The Spectra Energy/Enbridge project beefs up capacity along the Algonquin Pipeline, along with more capacity for Spectra Energy’s Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, to carry more Marcellus/Utica gas into New England and (eventually) all the way to Nova Scotia, Canada. Much of the project is now done–except in Massachusetts where a critical compressor station planned for Weymouth is stalled (see Massachusetts Blocking Atlantic Bridge Pipeline from Completion). Some good news to report on the project in neighboring Connecticut: FERC has given the green light for the Connecticut portion of the project to be placed into service…
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    OH Supreme Court Rules Independent Landmen Need Real Estate License

    Sometimes the law, and justice, is mysterious to us. Last November we told you about an Ohio Supreme Court case with profound implications for both landmen and for the drillers who employ and use them (see OH Supreme Crt Considers Whether Landmen Need Real Estate License). The case, Dundics v. Eric Petroleum Corp., was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court by Dundics who was not happy with the outcome in lower courts that ruled landmen must have a real estate license in order to get paid for their valuable services. Even more to the point, if you don’t have a real estate licence, the company hiring you (like Eric Petroleum) can decide to not pay you–and it’s OK! The Supremes ruled at the end of August to uphold that principle. That is, if a landman is compensated via a commission and/or royalties for the deals he or she brokers, that person needs to have a real estate license. And if they don’t have such a license, they are considered (under the law) to be committing fraud. (It is our understanding that if the landman is paid a “day rate,” that is, paid a flat rate by the day, or if the landman is an employee of the drilling company, someone whose compensation is not directly tied to the number and value of deals, that landman does not need a real estate license. Please verify that!) The Ohio Supremes decided, in essence, that when you accept a commission or are paid a percentage of each deal, you must have a real estate license. In the case of Dundics v. Eric Petroleum, Mr. Dundics was repeatedly assured (according to the court documents we read) by Eric Petroleum that he (Dundics) would be compensated according to an agreed-on formula. But Dundics didn’t have a real estate license, so Eric Petroleum abrogated the agreement–with the court’s blessing…
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    Proposed Rhode Island Gas-Fired Plant on Life Support

    MDN previously told you about a new natural gas-fired plant planned for the socialist paradise of Rhode Island, home to old money and people who oppose change of any kind (see New NatGas Powered Electric Plant Coming to…Rhode Island?!). The plant would lower RI residents’ electric bills by a collective $280 million and replace aging coal and oil power plants–cleaning the air in the process. With the jobs created, the investment in the facility, and lower electric rates, it’s calculated this single plant will have a $1.3 billion impact on the economy of RI. And yet so-called environmentalists still oppose it. The plan was to begin construction in summer 2016 and have the plant up and running by 2019. What’s happened since the initial announcement? A lot of bureaucratic bull. The project has been under review and a final decision by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission was slated for January 2019. But that’s all now in doubt. Because of delays in building the plant, the Independent System Operator (ISO) New England filed an application last week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to cancel the plant’s capacity supply obligation, or CSO. CSO’s are contracts awarded years in advance to supply electricity. ISO says there’s no way this plant will be producing electricity on time, and so they want out of the contract, to find someone else to produce the electricity. Yesterday RI state regulators put their review of the project on hold until FERC makes a decision about canceling the CSO contract. At this point we’d have to say the project is on life support, and RI is reaching their withered, old hand over to the outlet to pull the plug…
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    PA Republicans Support Bill to Make Pipeline Trespass a Felony

    Perhaps this is an overstatement and a tad too generalistic, but once again Republican lawmakers have shown they are the party of law and order, while Democrats have shown they are the party of lawlessness and disorder–at least in Pennsylvania. Yesterday the PA House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee tweaked and then passed (on a party line vote) Senate Bill (SB) 652 which makes trespassing on rights-of-way of “critical infrastructure” (pipelines, power lines, refineries, etc.) a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Democrats don’t like it, because their party’s members are typically the ones who engage in illegal trespass in order to slow down and block work on things like don’t like–like pipelines. Dems maintain they have a right to “free speech” to illegally block pipeline work, just because they don’t like it and can’t stop it using lawful means. The difference between the two sides could not be more clear…
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    Proposed Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant in Trouble

    Manneken Pis – famous statue in Brussels, Belgium

    MDN reported in April that a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi wants to build a huge, new $1.5 billion natural gas-fired electric generating plant in the Meadowlands (New Jersey), just outside of New York City (see Marcellus Electric Plant Proposed for Meadowlands to Power NYC). The North Bergen Liberty Generating Project, at 1,200 megawatts, will help replace some of the electricity lost when the Indian Point Nuclear plant located in New York along the Hudson River closes down in 2021. We suspect that since the mighty Transco pipeline, which flows mostly Marcellus molecules in the northeast, will feed the Meadowlands project, this plant will become an important new market for PA Marcellus production. The town where the plant will be located, North Bergen, is jazzed about the plant (see NJ Town Ready to Approve Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Power Plant). And wonder of wonders, liberal Democrat NJ Gov. Phil Murphy approved the first in a series of required permits in July (see Surprise! NJ Issues Permits for Meadowlands Marcellus-Fired Plant). Yes, it did seem like things were going too well. The Sierra Club has been lobbying nonstop to defeat the project, and their efforts at spreading doom and gloom are, unfortunately, bearing fruit. Somehow the Clubbers have convinced the New York ISO (the electricity authority for NY, where the electricity from this plant will be sold) to claim it doesn’t really need the electricity after all. Even though 25% of its electricity will soon disappear from the grid when Indian Point closes. NY’s claim now means the project will be delayed and that the builders will need to produce a report proving NY really does need the electricity. An electric peeing match. The Clubbers have also spread rumors to neighboring towns, telling them the plant will poison their air, so some neighboring towns are now opposed to the project…
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    How Much Does it Cost to Build a Pipeline in the Northeast?

    The short answer to the question posed in our headline is, “Too much.” The reason it’s costing too much is because of a blizzard of frivolous lawsuits launched by anti-fossil fuel groups, funded with money from big foundations (see Big Green Exposed: List of Liberal Foundations Donating $3.7B and New Study, Video Exposes 19 Foundations Funding Climate Hoax), and because of the heavy hand of government regulation. Those two things together–lawsuits and punitive regulations–drive the cost of pipeline construction in the Marcellus/Utica region to heights where it may not make sense, economically, to build new projects. How much per mile does it cost to build a major pipeline that flows 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) or more of low-carbon, clean-burning Marcellus/Utica shale gas? These days, it costs anywhere between $2.9 million to a whopping $13 million *per mile* to build a new pipeline in the northeast. Yeah, way too much. How much did Atlantic Sunrise cost Williams to build per mile? And how much is Atlantic Coast Pipeline costing Dominion Energy to build? We’ve got the numbers below…
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    Diversified’s Schedule to Plug Abandoned PA Wells in Dispute

    Diversified Gas & Oil has been on a mission to buy as many non-shale (conventional) oil and gas wells as it can in the Appalachian Basin. In June, MDN brought you the exclusive news that Diversified had purchased EQT’s Huron Shale assets in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia for $575 million (see Diversified Gas & Oil Adds to Conventional Assets in KY, VA, WV). The sale included nearly 12,000 conventional wells with 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production, 2.5 million acres of leases, and some 6,400 miles of gathering pipelines. Along with all those wells comes a number of wells that don’t produce any more and need to be plugged (see PA DEP Orders CNX, XTO & Diversified to Plug 1,058 Abandoned Wells). Plugging wells is not cheap, although Diversified seems to have found a way to do it cheaper than other companies like EQT can do it. Still, Diversified is faced with plugging thousands of wells. You don’t do it all at once–you have tackle it well by well, year by year. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection told Diversified it wants 1,000 of its nonproducing wells plugged in the next five years. Diversified countered it would like to plug 2,000 wells over the next 20 years. Diversified’s strategy, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, is to push off plugging as long as possible…
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    Allegheny LibDem Wants to Throttle Fracking with Lease Database

    Why can’t liberal Democrats, for once, just be honest about their intentions and motivations? A liberal Democrat who sits on the Allegheny County (PA) Council, Anita Prizio, is floating a plan that requires drillers to provide information on their oil and gas leases (shale AND conventional) in digital format to the county recorder of deeds. The supposed aim is to create an easy-to-access database/registry showing which land has been leased and which has not. We won’t lie (unlike lib Dems)–such a registry would be worth its weight in gold to many people, including landowners, other drillers/competitors, but most of all to antis who want to make trouble. Why do we say Ms. Prizio has ill-intent, even though she claims she has no ulterior, anti-drilling motive? Because she’s floating this plan for a lease registry at the prompting of radical leftist and anti-driller Doug Shields, from the odious group Food & Water Watch. Before joining FWW, Shields was himself a Pittsburgh Councilman for 20 years–lobbying for a total frack ban on more than one occasion (see Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields Lobbies to Get Drilling Ban Added to City’s Charter). Prizio’s connection to Shields is the tip-off that this is not some innocent proposal, but instead yet another case of collusion between lib Dems and Big Green. Follow the money…
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    3 PA Senators Seek to Join Lawsuit Against DRBC Frack Ban

    A bit of encouraging news to share with respect to a lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and their attempt to ban fracking and shale drilling in the basin. In May 2016, a landowner in Wayne County, PA filed a lawsuit against the DRBC asking a judge to declare that the DRBC does not have jurisdiction to prevent construction of a natural gas well (see Wayne County, PA Landowner Sues DRBC Over Fracking Ban). The Wayne landowner argued in U.S. District Court that oil and gas wells, under the DRBC’s charter, do not constitute a “project” that is regulated by the DRBC and therefore are exempt from oversight from the DRBC. The way the DRBC so broadly reinterprets the word “project” in the original charter, it allows them to regulate anything and everything. The case was eventually appealed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In July that court sent the case back down to U.S. District Court with orders to more fully consider what is, and what is not, meant by the word “project” in the original DRBC charter (see Major Federal Court Decision Opens Door to Stop DRBC Frack Ban). It was a MAJOR victory for the landowner, and a MAJOR defeat of the DRBC. No, the case isn’t over yet, but now the full case will get heard. The legal arguments in the case clearly support the landowner. The new news is that three prominent Pennsylvania State Senators, Lisa Baker, Gene Yaw and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, have all filed to join the lawsuit as “intervenors” on behalf of the Wayne landowner. They want to add their two cents, on behalf of the Commonwealth of PA, to influence the court to rule in favor of the landowner (overruling the DRBC). What’s noteworthy about this development is that long-time senators typically don’t make risky political moves. The senators are either confident that the landowner will win the case, or if he loses, that public sentiment is with the landowner (a political win). The senators’ participation has the DRBC even more nervous, as evidenced by statements from their mouthpiece THE Delaware Riverkeeper’s Maya van Rossum…
    Read More “3 PA Senators Seek to Join Lawsuit Against DRBC Frack Ban”

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    XNG Virtual Pipe Facility in NH Hits Roadblock re Town Zoning

    NG Advantage, a pioneer in “virtual pipeline” trucked CNG service, tried to build a compressor station/trucking hub in a Binghamton, NY suburb, but that effort failed earlier this year due to local opposition (see NG Advantage Virtual Pipeline Project Near Binghamton is Dead). Let’s be honest. Nobody wants an endless stream of trucks driving through their neighborhood, especially a populated neighborhood. That was the issue in Fenton (and neighboring Hillcrest) where NG planned to build their facility. A similar situation has sprouted up in New Hampshire. Different company, XNG (Xpress Natural Gas), but similar in that a local town, Chesterfield, NH, is opposing a plan by XNG to locate a truck terminal in the town. The town zoning board refused to grant a special exemption for the “short-term-parking” terminal. XNG sued in county court and the judge ordered the zoning board to rehear the matter. The board issued a second rejection and the matter is back in court, which you can read about below. The point of our post is to tackle the “not-in-my-back-yard” (NIMBY) issue. These types of CNG/trucking facilities are still relatively new. They are needed and no doubt more will get built. And, these types of facilities face increasing NIMBYism. It’s a real concern. The philosophy of no pipelines, and now a philosophy of no natural gas deliveries via truck, is a societal issue we must deal with. Eliminating natural gas in a geography spells loss of companies and loss of jobs. It also spells super-high prices for electricity. Somehow, for the good of society, we must negotiate through these issues. Can reasonable people reach a reasonable compromise? Are there any reasonable people left?…
    Read More “XNG Virtual Pipe Facility in NH Hits Roadblock re Town Zoning”

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    Empty Victory for Antis: PA PUC Blocks ME2 Valve Stn in W Goshen

    Yesterday the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) blocked Sunoco Logistics Partners from building a valve station for the Mariner East 2 (ME2) project in West Goshen Township, Chester County where it wanted to build it. The PUC voted to accept a “Recommended Decision” issued by Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes that blocks construction of the valve station. Barnes has a history of ruling against ME2 going all the way back to 2014. Fortunately, most of her rulings have been overturned by the PUC. In this case it was not. But in the end, it doesn’t matter, because Sunoco said last December they’ve changed their plans and won’t build the valve station in West Goshen at all (see PA PUC Votes to Let ME2 Pipe Restart Construction in West Goshen). As a way of attempting to block the pipeline through their community, West Goshen objected to Sunoco building a new valve station for ME2 across the street from a valve station for Mariner East 1. West Goshen wanted the valve station built next to the existing ME1 valve station, but Sunoco wanted to build the new station across the street, citing safety concerns. West Goshen appealed to the state Public Utility Commission (PUC). In July 2017, Judge Barnes agreed with West Goshen (no surprise there), stopping not only construction of the valve station, but also construction of the ME2 pipeline itself through the township. The portion of the decision blocking pipeline construction was overturned. In December 2017, Sunoco gave up the fight to build the West Goshen valve station, period. Of course the antis who run West Goshen like a private fiefdom still objected! They said Sunoco hasn’t said what the alternative to building the valve station (a safety feature) would be. Hey, West Goshen’s “leaders” were the ones who didn’t want the valve station in the first place. West Goshen’s “leaders” are the ones who have made the pipeline through their community “less safe” because they didn’t want the valve station. Now they get to live with their actions. So reading that the PUC has, nine months later, ratified Barnes’ decision to block the valve station is somewhat strange. There’s no “there” there anymore. Sunoco dropped the valve station plan long ago. We hope West Goshen antis enjoy their empty victory…
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    NEXUS Pipeline Asks FERC for Sept 28 Startup to Flow 967 MMcf/d

    At the end of July NEXUS Pipeline was 80% complete and made big boasts that it would be ready to flow during the third quarter of this year (see NEXUS Pipeline Update – Now 80% Complete, on Schedule for 3Q18). By golly, they are true to their word. Earlier this week NEXUS told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) they are ready to go, and asked permission to begin service by September 28, flowing 967 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) along the pipeline that will eventually carry 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). The NEXUS Pipeline project is owned by DTE Energy and Spectra Energy (Enbridge). It is a $2 billion, 258-mile interstate pipeline that runs from Columbiana County in eastern Ohio across Ohio to an interconnection with DTE Gas in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Eventually, via the Vector Pipeline, gas from NEXUS will flow to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada. Radical environmental groups fought the project tooth and nail. CORN (Coalition to ReRoute Nexus), and the far-left Sierra Club, launched multiple lawsuits and regulatory actions against the pipeline. We’re happy to report they lost. And now NEXUS is ready to flow…
    Read More “NEXUS Pipeline Asks FERC for Sept 28 Startup to Flow 967 MMcf/d”

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    Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Now Ready to Open Valves and Let it Flow

    It’s been a years-long wait, but the week/day/minute Atlantic Sunrise will open the valves and begin to flow natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania is finally here! Yesterday Williams, the company building the 200-mile greenfield pipeline in northeastern and southeastern PA, filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to open up the valves and let it flow. No response yet, but we expect within a day or two FERC will give the high-five to Williams. It’s been a loooong time in coming–overcoming multiple lawsuits by radical leftists who pretend to care about the environment. The startup date was delayed from August to the week of Sept. 10 (see Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Slightly Delayed, Ready by Sept 10), and then delayed again to the week of Sept. 17 (see Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Delayed Another Week, Now Sept 17). It’s now the week of Sept. 17. and Williams told FERC in a letter yesterday (copy below) that the project is “mechanically complete” and ready. And as soon as FERC gives the OK, Williams will turn the valves and let it flow…
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    Victory! FERC Lifts Stop Work Order for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    Once again, the forces of good have overcome the forces of evil–evil being the Sierra Club and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and their mission to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) from getting built. Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) lifted a previously issued stop-work order that had idled work along the entire 600+ mile ACP. The stop-work order came in early August after a federal court pulled permits for approximately 100 miles of ACP in response to a lawsuit filed by the anti-American Sierra Club and a few other groups, including the SELC (see Federal Court Stops Works on Some (All?) of Atlantic Coast Pipe). The Clubbers and their cohorts convinced the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn permits granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Park Service, granted to ACP to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway. The court, in rolling back ACP’s permits, told FERC they should shut down work on the entire project until this matter is resolved. A few days later, on August 10, FERC did just that (see FERC Shuts Down ALL Work on Atlantic Coast Pipeline). Work has now been stopped for over a month, but yesterday FERC reversed its decision and told ACP they can resume work because last week both the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service revised and reissued the permits previously overturned by the court. Therefore, we’re all good now. Dominion (the builder) said construction will resume “immediately,” weather permitting…
    Read More “Victory! FERC Lifts Stop Work Order for Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    Is Certification Needed for Shale Producers? IES Says it Helps

    Last week MDN told you that Southwestern Energy is participating in a program to get their gas “certified” (see Southwestern Sells 1st Certified “Responsible Gas” to NJ Resources). What is certified gas? Is that like “certified organic” fruits and vegetables? Actually, it is kind of like that. The Independent Energy Standards Corporation (IES) has launched what they call their TrustWell™ Responsible Gas Program certification program to certify that natural gas bearing that label is “responsibly developed.” Such a designation is meant to imply the company doing the extracting (Southwestern in this case) has followed certain guidelines and procedures to safeguard the environment. Certification is a marketing/public relations tactic to be sure. The question is, is it worth it? How much does it cost to become certified? What do you have to do to become certified? And ultimately, will such certification actually help you sell more of your gas? One thing is for certain, nutty antis won’t care–so if you’re trying to appease them with certification, you can forget it. Won’t work. But, there are others (more reasonable people) who may put stock in such a certification. Is it a trend? The next “big thing?” We don’t know. What we do know (or have) is an interview with Jory Caulkins, CEO of IES, talking about his organization’s new certification and what it can mean for drillers…
    Read More “Is Certification Needed for Shale Producers? IES Says it Helps”

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    7 Green Groups Attack Shell Ethane Pipeline “Exemptions”

    Seven radical green groups–Sierra Club, Clean Air Council (CAC), FracTracker Alliance, Earthworks, PennFuture, Breathe Project, Environmental Integrity Project–sent a protest letter last week to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection objecting to a request by Shell that its 97-mile Falcon Ethane Pipeline be granted certain air permit exemptions. Shell is asking the DEP to determine whether or not (hopefully not) any emissions coming from the pipeline would be “minor sources,” exempting the pipeline from certain permits. The rads are telling the DEP to deny that request, in an attempt to slow or even stop the project. With no ethane, Shell’s $6 billion cracker plant, currently under construction, can’t begin operation. Will the DEP do the right thing and ignore these nutters?…
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