Tenaska’s Westmoreland, PA Gas-Fired Plant Goes Online
Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, a new natural gas-fueled power plant in southwest Pennsylvania, is now online.
Read More “Tenaska’s Westmoreland, PA Gas-Fired Plant Goes Online”
-
-
Elizabeth Twp in Allegheny Co. OKs Invenergy Gas-Fired Plant
In January 2016, Invenergy announced their intention to build a natgas-powered electric plant in Elizabeth Township, in Allegheny County (see Invenergy Eyes SWPA for Second Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant).
Read More “Elizabeth Twp in Allegheny Co. OKs Invenergy Gas-Fired Plant” -
Allegheny County | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Shell | Washington County
PA DEP Approves & Permits Shell Falcon Ethane Pipeline
Following an extensive (underscore extensive) review, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has approved the permit applications for Shell’s Falcon ethane pipeline project.
Read More “PA DEP Approves & Permits Shell Falcon Ethane Pipeline” -
Chester County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Research | Sunoco Logistics
Independent Report Shows Temporary 12-Inch Pipe for ME2 is Safe
Because of lawsuits, regulatory actions by Pennsylvania, and (most relevant) delays from problematic underground geology near Philadelphia, the Mariner East 2 and 2X pipelines, being laid side by side, will temporarily use a 12-inch pipeline near Philadelphia already in the ground but no longer in use to patch together and complete the ME2 and 2X project.
Read More “Independent Report Shows Temporary 12-Inch Pipe for ME2 is Safe” -
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Washington County
Sad Postscript: Man Dies of Injuries from MarkWest SWPA Explosion
As we previously reported, an explosion and fire last week at the MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plant in Chartiers (Washington County), PA sent four people to the hospital–carried there by helicopter (see MarkWest Plant Explosion in Washington Co. Injures 4; 1 Critical). We are profoundly sad to report that the man who was in critical condition has died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office reported that Jeffery Fisher, 61, of Salem, WV died at 3:38 p.m. Tuesday at UPMC Mercy hospital. Below is an update on the situation, with additional new details.
Read More “Sad Postscript: Man Dies of Injuries from MarkWest SWPA Explosion” -
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Statewide PA
EQT Settles 2 Class Action Lawsuits for $5.7M re Employee Issues
Two separate cases before U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone (in Pennsylvania) were settled yesterday by EQT. One of class action cases, brought against EQT, alleged the company had intentionally misclassified employees as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime. The settlement awards “more than 100” workers back wages totaling $2.8 million. The other class action case is similar, except it was filed against Rice Energy before Rice was bought out by EQT. Now that Rice is part of EQT, it is EQT paying the bills. In the Rice Energy lawsuit, some 90 workers are being paid $2.9 million for unpaid overtime. Wednesday was an expensive day for EQT.
Read More “EQT Settles 2 Class Action Lawsuits for $5.7M re Employee Issues” -
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chester County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics
Chester County DA Goes Rogue, Targets ME2 Pipe w/Criminal Probe
Chester County DA Tom Hogan Another abuse of power and bastardization of our judicial system–this time by RINO (Democrat wannabe) Tom Hogan, the District Attorney for Chester County, PA. Hogan has launched a criminal probe into the Mariner East Pipeline projects (1 and 2). The probe smacks not of justice but of politics–as in Hogan seeking higher office. It also smacks of a diversion–attempting to focus attention away from a recent lawsuit filed against Hogan by PA State Troopers because Hogan maintains a blacklist with troopers’ names that he refuses to call to testify in court cases (see Chesco D.A. Hogan sued by state police troopers over ‘do not call’ list). What better way to divert attention away from your own sleazy practices than to focus on someone else’s alleged wrongdoing?
Read More “Chester County DA Goes Rogue, Targets ME2 Pipe w/Criminal Probe” -
Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation
SW PA Farmer Challenges Reg Preventing Shale Well on Her Land
Jefferson Hills, PA Seven selfish Pennsylvania towns sued PA in 2012 over the zoning provisions in the then-new Act 13 law, eventually winning at the PA Supreme Court level (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). The Act 13 victory gave townships and municipalities across the Commonwealth the right to pass local zoning ordinances that restrict, but don’t outright ban, Marcellus/Utica drilling. Towns with a majority of antis in charge got pretty creative and effectively banned drilling in many towns–like Jefferson Hills in Allegheny County. Now, a brave farmer, Carol Ann Bucar, is pushing back against overly restrictive zoning ordinances that prevent shale drilling on her 197-acre farm. Her property rights have been stripped away, and she’s seeking to overturn the zoning regulations that do it.
Read More “SW PA Farmer Challenges Reg Preventing Shale Well on Her Land” -
SE PA Republicans Ask Adelphia Pipe to Move Compressor Station
Click for larger version Two weeks ago the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection held a public hearing for the Adelphia Gateway project, a plan to convert an old oil pipeline stretching from Northampton County, PA through Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, terminating in Delaware County at Marcus Hook, to instead pump natural gas (see PA Residents Sound Off Against Adelphia Pipe at DEP Hearing). It was pretty easy to predict that the hearing would elicit negative feedback, based on previous stories of residents unhappy with the location of a planned compressor station in Bucks County. And it did. The public reaction did not escape the attention of local Republican politicians. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and state Rep. Craig Staats, both representing Bucks County, wrote a joint letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking that the location of a planned compressor station in Bucks be moved.
Read More “SE PA Republicans Ask Adelphia Pipe to Move Compressor Station” -
PA DEP’s New Air Regs Would Exempt 80% of Conventional Wells
Last week MDN told you about onerous new regulations being proposed by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to cut down on supposed methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions coming from *existing* oil and gas wells and pipelines (see Pa. DEP Jumps the Gun with Proposed New Emissions Regs). In our initial reporting on the proposed new regulations, one bit of information escaped our attention: Most of PA’s conventional wells (80% or more) will be exempted from these new rules. And PA’s conventional wells reportedly account for more than 50% of supposed methane emissions. There are approximately 80,000 active conventional oil and gas wells in PA, and about 10,600 active shale gas wells in PA.
Read More “PA DEP’s New Air Regs Would Exempt 80% of Conventional Wells” -
Raining on Gov. Wolf’s Parade – No Scientific Basis for Cap & Trade
Last week MDN told you that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, liberal Democrat, is seriously considering a bizarre cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emission reduction program to eliminate carbon emissions from major sources by 2052 (see PA Gov. Wolf Seriously Considers Marcellus-Killing Cap & Trade). The program is meant to eliminate fossil fuel production and use, including Marcellus Shale production. A couple of authors, one a 35+ year geologist, the other a senior fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation, took note and co-authored a devastating article appearing on The Daily Caller that punctures cap-and-trade in general, and Wolf’s dalliance with it in particular. Wolf invoked the argument that this year has been far rainier than normal in PA, which must, of course, be due to man-made global warming. The co-authors use actual, real data on rain conditions and amounts to completely obliterate Wolf’s arguments–making him look like the fool he is.
Read More “Raining on Gov. Wolf’s Parade – No Scientific Basis for Cap & Trade” -
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Washington County
MarkWest Plant Explosion in Washington Co. Injures 4; 1 Critical
An explosion and fire last night around 6 pm at the MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plant in Chartiers (Washington County), PA sent four people to the hospital–carried there by helicopter. All of them remain hospitalized, and one of them is, sadly, in critical condition. The explosion happened near “two temporary tanks that were onsite for routine maintenance,” according to a MarkWest statement. The tanks hold, “liquid ethylene glycol plus hydrocarbons”–used to clean incoming raw natural gas. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection is on location today to determine what happened and why–and to ensure there have been no negative impacts to the environment.
Read More “MarkWest Plant Explosion in Washington Co. Injures 4; 1 Critical” -
Accidents | Berks County | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Sunoco Logistics
Sunoco Fined $225K for Small Leak on ME1 Pipeline in 2017
The Mariner East 1 pipeline sprung a small leak and spilled 20 barrels (~840 gallons) of ethane and propane in Berks County, near Philadelphia, on April 1 (see Mariner East 1 Sprang a Small NGL Leak Near Philly, on Apr 1). Sunoco Logistics Partners (i.e. Energy Transfer), builder and maintainer of the pipeline, shut it down and fixed it over the next several days. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), which oversees regulation of the pipeline, has just (a year and a half later) “requested” Sunoco pay $225,000 for violating various state and federal regulations. It was an $11,250 per barrel spill.
Read More “Sunoco Fined $225K for Small Leak on ME1 Pipeline in 2017” -
Pa. DEP Jumps the Gun with Proposed New Emissions Regs
We told you that yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) was meeting to unveil proposed new regulations to cut down on so-called fugitive methane emissions from existing well pads and pipelines (see Proposed New O&G Emissions Regs Will Disadvantage PA Drillers). They met and released a draft of onerous new regulations that focus more on reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than they do fugitive methane–but the result is still the same: Force drillers and pipeline companies to spend bazillions of dollars to produce a teeny tiny improvement in emissions. The Marcellus Shale Coalition said, “Rather than creating more regulatory uncertainty [with these new regs at this time], it would be prudent for DEP to delay any regulatory proposals until federal rules are finalized,” pointing out the fact that federal rules are not yet finalized. In other words, Wolf’s DEP is jumping the gun.
Read More “Pa. DEP Jumps the Gun with Proposed New Emissions Regs” -
New Shale Permits Down in PA & OH as Winter Begins
An analysis by Argus Media shows the number of new permits issued to drill in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale was down 42% in November 2018 over the same time a year ago. Drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale was down 26% in November vs. a year ago. Yet one overpowering fact remains: Production in both states is UP over a year ago! How do you explain it? Each year drillers get better at what they do–they get more gas from drilling fewer wells. Longer laterals, more sand, improved fracking techniques–it all adds up to more production with less drilling. Our region is also still working down our DUC (drilled but uncompleted) wells inventory, which means less drilling. And winter cold has set in, early. Yeah, less drilling means fewer jobs and fewer opportunities to sell goods and services to drilling companies. But watch for the permit numbers to start going up again (our prediction). Why? Because with pipelines which recently went online and new pipes due to go online, the price our gas is fetching has dramatically increased–and that means the willingness of M-U drillers to drill new wells will increase too.
Read More “New Shale Permits Down in PA & OH as Winter Begins” -
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania General Energy | Pipelines
Meeting Reveals Details re PGE’s Loyalsock Creek Pipe Project
Pennsylvania General Energy drills in several PA counties, including Lycoming County in the north central of the state. According to the Marcellus & Utica Shale Upstream Almanac 2018, PA General Energy is the fourth-largest driller in Lycoming County, with 103 producing wells and 42.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas production in 2017. PA General Energy wants to drill more wells in Lycoming. Those wells will need a gathering pipeline connected to them, and a water pipeline to provide water for drilling and fracking. Even though a water pipeline would save an estimated 126,000 truck trips on local roads, some residents are opposed (see Lycoming County Residents Oppose Loyalsock Creek Gathering Pipe). Last night residents got to hear more details about the project at a meeting organized by PA State Rep. Garth Everett.
Read More “Meeting Reveals Details re PGE’s Loyalsock Creek Pipe Project”