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Philly LNG Project Owner Met with White House Officials This Week

We have some important new information regarding the proposed Penn LNG export facility in the Philadelphia area. In early 2024, we reported that Penn America Energy CEO Franc James, the builder of the project, said that he “pumped the brakes” on the LNG project but that it wasn’t dead yet (see Penn LNG CEO Says Philly Export Project on Hold, “Not Dead Yet”). Reuters is reporting that James met with White House officials (at the White House) on Tuesday of this week to discuss the project. We also learn from the Reuters report that James is actively considering other locations, given the resistance by left-wing Democrats in the originally proposed location. Read More “Philly LNG Project Owner Met with White House Officials This Week”

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Trump DOE Order Blocks Gas-Fired Peaker Near Philly from Closing

zombies

One day before Constellation Energy’s Eddystone Generating Station in Delaware County, PA, was due to close its remaining two units, the Trump Department of Energy stepped in and ordered the plants to remain active based on Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency in the country. The plant is located just south of Philadelphia. It began operations in 1960. Eddystone can burn either natural gas or (in a pinch) oil. A week before, the Trumpsters ordered a coal-fired plant in Michigan to remain online. Read More “Trump DOE Order Blocks Gas-Fired Peaker Near Philly from Closing”

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Activists Try to Force Higher Electric Prices on Philly Residents

Every four years, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) must approve plans by PECO, Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility, delivering power to nearly 1.7 million electric customers and more than 545,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The plans under review are for how PECO, a fully regulated utility, will procure (buy) electricity for the next four years. In February, PECO filed its 1,235-page purchase plan with the regulators. The company plans to do what it has been doing (i.e., what’s been working), which is to obtain the least expensive electric supply and purchase 8% of its power from renewable sources, including 0.5% of solar energy generated within the state. Anti-fossil fuel nutters are having a cow, demanding (they always demand) that PECO buy far more unreliable renewable electricity, skyrocketing the cost to consumers.
Read More “Activists Try to Force Higher Electric Prices on Philly Residents”

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Record High NGL Exports from Marcus Hook, ET Expanding Facility

Marcus Hook Marine Terminal Near Philadelphia. Source: Energy Transfer

Pipeline giant Energy Transfer (ET), owner of the Mariner East Pipeline system, the Marcus Hook NGL terminal, and the Rover pipeline in the Marcellus/Utica region, issued its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 update yesterday. Net income for 4Q23 was $1.57 billion, up 9% from 4Q22’s $1.44 billion. However, net income for 2023 was $5.29 billion, down 10% from 2022’s $5.87 billion. ET is a big company with assets in many oil and gas regions of the U.S. Of interest for us were the comments about the Marcus Hook NGL terminal and its exports.
Read More “Record High NGL Exports from Marcus Hook, ET Expanding Facility”

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PA DEP Considers Plan to Expand ET’s Marcus Hook Ethane Chilling

On February 14, 2022, Energy Transfer Marketing & Terminals, L.P. (ETMT) applied to expand the company’s ethane chilling capacity at the Marcus Hook Terminal (MHT) from approximately 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) to approximately 85,000 bpd. Because the facility is located in a so-called Environmental Justice (EJ) area, the DEP is conducting an even more painful anal exam (than usual) before issuing a permit for the expansion. Part of that examination will be a public hearing on Sept. 19, 2023, in Boothwyn, PA, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Read More “PA DEP Considers Plan to Expand ET’s Marcus Hook Ethane Chilling”

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Chester Residents Oppose Philly LNG Export Project at Final Hearing

Shawmar Pitts, co-managing director of Philly Thrive, speaks during a news conference held by opponents to the construction of an LNG export terminal in Chester, PA, on Tuesday, August 22. (screenshot, Pa. House Democrats video)

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Philadelphia LNG Natural Gas Export Task Force, chaired by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), held its third and final public hearing at Widener University in Chester, Delaware County. The purpose was to get public feedback on a proposal to build an LNG natural gas export facility in Chester. From the press accounts we read, we conclude that local residents are universally against such a project, strongly against it.
Read More “Chester Residents Oppose Philly LNG Export Project at Final Hearing”

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PA DEP Squeezes Another $660,000 from ME2 Pipe for “Violations”

The problem with the pay-for-protection scam is that it never stops. A mobster comes calling on a business, and for a “small” and regular fee, the mobster will guarantee nothing “happens” to the business. “Just think of it as insurance.” It’s a shakedown–a scam. And over the years, the price keeps going up. What if the mobster is a government agency, like the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)? The DEP keeps shaking down Energy Transfer and its Sunoco Pipeline subsidiary over the construction and operation of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline. Over the years, the DEP has fined ET/Sunoco over $30 MILLION for so-called penalties related to building ME2. [And another $30.6M related to the Revolution Pipeline explosion.] Yesterday, the DEP announced ANOTHER $660,000 in “penalties” related to building ME2. When will it end?
Read More “PA DEP Squeezes Another $660,000 from ME2 Pipe for “Violations””

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The World Needs PA Marcellus Gas – Philly Port Could Export It

Last June (one year ago), the story broke that Penn LNG, headed by Franc James, a native of Philadelphia, had “quietly lined up support to build a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly.” Not wanting this golden opportunity to die from opposition by radicalized environmentalists, Pennsylvania State Rep. Marina White (Republican from Philadelphia, a true rarity) sponsored House Bill (HB) 2458, which passed and was subsequently signed into law by then-Gov. Tom Wolf (see PA Bill Looks to Convert Port of Philly into LNG Export Terminal). HB 2458 created a task force to study how to establish Philadelphia LNG exports to international markets, particularly exports to Europe. The task force is supposed to deliver its report by November of this year.
Read More “The World Needs PA Marcellus Gas – Philly Port Could Export It”

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PECO NatGas Reliability Stn Near Philly Still on Hold 2 Mos Later

An updated (2023) architect’s rendering of PECO’s gas reliability station (click for larger version)

In the autumn of 2020, utility company PECO (headquartered in Philadelphia) floated a plan to build a natural gas reliability station in Marple Township (Delaware County, PA) to allow the company to distribute more natural gas into Delaware County through 11.5 miles of new natural gas main lines. The PA Public Utility Commission (PUC) granted PECO’s request to build the station, and the PUC’s decision was promptly challenged in court. In March, Commonwealth Court ruled against the PUC decision, instructing the agency to take another look before granting permission to build the reliability station (see Court Overturns PUC Decision Allowing PECO NatGas Reliability Stn). Since that time, the project has been on hold.
Read More “PECO NatGas Reliability Stn Near Philly Still on Hold 2 Mos Later”

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PA & TX Congressmen Tour Philly’s Marcus Hook NGL Facility

Marcus Hook complex (click for larger version)

U.S. Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) joined Congressman Troy Nehls (TX-22) for a roundtable discussion and tour of Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook facility near Philadelphia last week. Marcus Hook is where the mighty Mariner East pipeline system terminates. Mariner East flows natural gas liquids (NGLs), including ethane, propane, and butane, to the Marcus Hook refinery, where a fractionator separates them into their respective hydrocarbon streams. The various NGLs are then (mostly) loaded onto ships and exported. The entire system–the pipeline and the refinery–is a marvel. Meuser and Nehls were there to learn more about it.
Read More “PA & TX Congressmen Tour Philly’s Marcus Hook NGL Facility”

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Court Overturns PUC Decision Allowing PECO NatGas Reliability Stn

An updated (2023) architect’s rendering of PECO’s gas reliability station (click for larger version)

Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO (a subsidiary of Exelon Corp.) is Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility, delivering power to more than 1.6 million electric customers and more than 532,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the autumn of 2020, PECO floated a plan to build a natural gas reliability station in Marple Township (Delaware County, PA) to allow the company to distribute more natural gas into Delaware County through 11.5 miles of new natural gas main lines. The building itself (pictured) is handsome. No one would even know what it is! The PA Public Utility Commission (PUC) granted PECO’s request and (of course) the project was promptly challenged in court. Commonwealth Court, normally conservative and pro-gas, has just ruled against the PUC’s action instructing the state agency to take another look before granting permission to build the reliability station.
Read More “Court Overturns PUC Decision Allowing PECO NatGas Reliability Stn”

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PA PUC Cuts $48K Refund Check for Mariner East Pipeline Penalty

In March, MDN told you that the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a ruling against the now completed Mariner East 2 pipeline project, assessing a $51,000 fine on the project for work done near an apartment complex (see PA PUC Judge Fines Mariner East Pipe $51K for Work Near Apt Bldg). In June, the full PUC voted to accept and enforce the $51,000 fine recommended by the PUC judge (see PA PUC Upholds ME Pipe Fine of $51K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). Two months later (in August), the PUC voted to reverse its own decision, lowering the fine from $51,000 to $3,000 (see PA PUC Reduces ME Pipe Fine to $3K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). However, that wasn’t the end of the story…
Read More “PA PUC Cuts $48K Refund Check for Mariner East Pipeline Penalty”

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Philadelphia LNG Export Project Still Very Much Alive & Advancing

In June, seemingly out of nowhere, a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia made big headlines in Philly. Penn LNG, headed by Franc James, a native of Philadelphia, has “quietly lined up support to build a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly.” While acknowledging such a project will face stiff opposition, James is planning to pre-file with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by the end of this year, and reach a final investment decision (FID) by 2024. Full speed ahead!
Read More “Philadelphia LNG Export Project Still Very Much Alive & Advancing”

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PA PUC Reduces ME Pipe Fine to $3K for Work Near Apartment Bldg

In March, MDN told you that the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a ruling against the now completed Mariner East 2 pipeline project, assessing a $51,000 fine on the project for work done near an apartment complex (see PA PUC Judge Fines Mariner East Pipe $51K for Work Near Apt Bldg). In June, the full PUC voted to accept and enforce the $51,000 fine recommended by the PUC judge (see PA PUC Upholds ME Pipe Fine of $51K for Work Near Apartment Bldg). And now, two months later, the PUC has voted to reverse its own decision, lowering the fine from $51,000 to $3,000. Why? What changed?
Read More “PA PUC Reduces ME Pipe Fine to $3K for Work Near Apartment Bldg”

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Chester, PA LNG Project Would Create Jobs & Real Economic Justice

Garland Thompson (credit: WHYY)

Earlier this month, MDN brought you the fantastic news that seemingly out of nowhere a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia is being actively, seriously discussed (see U.S. East Coast’s 3rd LNG Export Plant Proposed Near Philadelphia). Penn LNG, headed by a native of Philadelphia, has “quietly lined up support to build a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly.” The company is considering several potential locations in the Philly area (see Proposed Philly LNG Export Plant Looking for Real Estate to Build). Predictably, the left is spreading lies and smears about the project, invoking so-called “environmental justice” concerns (claiming oil and gas always build projects in powerless neighborhoods of color) and other specious arguments.
Read More “Chester, PA LNG Project Would Create Jobs & Real Economic Justice”

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Proposed Philly LNG Export Plant Looking for Real Estate to Build

Map showing section of the Delaware River where Penn LNG wants to locate (click for larger version)

Early last week MDN brought you the fantastic news that seemingly out of nowhere, a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia is being actively, seriously discussed (see U.S. East Coast’s 3rd LNG Export Plant Proposed Near Philadelphia). Penn LNG, headed by a native of Philadelphia, has “quietly lined up support to build a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly.” However, the favored site for the project–a functioning warehouse (once upon a time a Ford assembly plant) in Delaware County–is not for sale or lease according to the owner. No worries. Penn LNG is “mulling several spots between South Philadelphia and Marcus Hook” according to a new article we spotted.
Read More “Proposed Philly LNG Export Plant Looking for Real Estate to Build”