NFG’s Northern Access Pipe in NY/PA Gets FERC Approval
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), the Buffalo-based utility giant with both a drilling subsidiary (Seneca Resources) and a midstream/pipeline subsidiary (Empire Pipeline) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in March 2015 for a pipeline project they call Northern Access 2016 (later renamed to simply Northern Access Project, dropping the “2016” part). The $455 million project includes building 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern Pennsylvania up to Erie County, NY. The project also calls for 3 miles of new pipeline further up, in Niagara County, along with a new compressor station in the Town of Pendleton (see NFG’s Marcellus Pipeline from NWPA to NY Hits Resistence). In July 2016, FERC issued a favorable Environmental Assessment, paving the path for full approval (see NFG’s Northern Access Pipeline Gets Favorable FERC Review). NFG had hoped to have the project done and in-service by November of this year. However, due to foot-dragging by FERC, NFG recently announced the project would get delayed (see FERC Delay Pushes Back NFG’s Northern Access Pipeline Project). Perhaps that announcement was premature? On Friday, FERC approved the project and granted NFG their certificate to build it, although NFG is still saying the new/delayed schedule is the schedule they will stick to in building it…
Read More “NFG’s Northern Access Pipe in NY/PA Gets FERC Approval”
Looks to us like Donald Trump’s faith in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur was well-placed. As we previously noted, Trump has put LaFluer in charge of the agency as Chairman, which caused the existing Chairman of FERC, Norm Bay, to resign in a huff (see 
In December the Bureau of Land Management proceeded with an online auction for BLM-controlled land in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (see 
We caught sight of an interesting new study just published in the journal BMC Microbiology by researchers at the University of Arkansas/Fayetteville. Researchers studied (did in the field studies) of streams both near and far from fracking activities in the Arkansas Fayetteville Shale. No, the research is not directly about the Marcellus/Utica, although our shale plays are mentioned several times in the study. However, the research and its results apply to our region as well as all shale plays. In the study just published titled, “Do biofilm communities respond to the chemical signatures of fracking? A test involving streams in North-central Arkansas” (full copy below), researchers looked to see if the chemistry of streams was altered by nearby fracking activity. They evaluated “benthic biofilm community composition as a proxy for stream chemistry” to see if bacteria and other tiny critters that show up under a microscope display differences between the streams near fracking, and those not near fracking activity. What did they find? No difference. No change. No impacts from fracking on streams and the microbiology of those streams. What they did find is that streams are affected by agriculture and urbanization…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Processing plants in PA/OH improve economic development; frack ban bill introduced in Maryland legislature (again); trust-funders fun Delaware Riverkeeper; Indians tell paid Dakota Access Pipeline protesters to get lost; more Eagle Ford landowners sue Chesapeake Energy re royalties; green hysteria over Trump’s pipeline populism; SO2 emissions down thx to natgas; House votes to overturn Obama rule on natural gas flaring; and more!
According to rumors floating around the Pennsylvania environmental wacko movement, today is the day the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) will issue the final permits needed by Sunoco Logistic Partners to begin construction of the Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline that will stretch across the entire state. Neither Sunoco nor the DEP would confirm the rumor, but the wackos are agitated and saying their “inside sources” (of which they appear to have many) are telling them it’s today. And what if it happens? According to Maya van Rossum (THE Delaware Riverkeeper), the antis will employ their two favorite tactics: Sue in court, and whip up the more radical folks in the movement into a frenzy so they “rise up in protest.” You know, like the “protesters” (i.e. criminals) did in North Dakota–the ones who fired shots at police officers, burned tires, and engaged in illegal actions to stop work on the Dakota Access Pipeline (see 
EQT, one of the biggest and best drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, issued their fourth quarter and full year 2016 update yesterday. As is typical when issuing the updates, EQT’s top brass held a conference call with analysts to discuss results and take questions. In reading through a transcript of the call, one of the most interesting passages (for us) was in the prepared comments by incoming EQT CEO (currently president) Steve Schlotterbeck. In a brief passage excerpted below, Steve provides a quick update on several items: the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, EQT’s Utica drilling program, and the fact that “this week” EQT has purchased an additional 14,000 “core” West Virginia acres in Marion and Monongalia counties for $130 million, which works out to be $9,286 per acre…
EQT, one of the biggest and best drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, issued their fourth quarter and full year 2016 update yesterday. The bad news is that EQT lost $453 million last year ($192 loss in 4Q16). But the bad financial news was offset by a lot of good news. EQT’s full-year production volumes hit a new high of 759 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), up 26% from 2015. The company drilled 135 gross wells, including 117 Marcellus wells, with an average length of 7,300 feet. EQT predicts production of 190-195 Bcfe in 1Q17. In 2017, EQT plans to use 6-8 rigs to drill a total of 119 wells in the Marcellus, 81 wells in the Upper Devonian, and 7 wells in the Utica. In a separate announcement also issued yesterday, EQT reports year-end 2016 proved reserves of 13.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe), up 35% from 2015. Below are the two updates from yesterday, along with the latest company PowerPoint presentation, loaded with great slides…
As we do every month, MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for when/if the drop in rig counts for the Marcellus/Utica will turn around. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). Month by month Paterson’s rig count has declined over the past year plus–until June (see 
Weatherford International is the fourth largest oilfield services company in the world, employing some 44,000 people. They have a branch office in Canonsburg, PA (Pittsburgh area) with major operations in the Marcellus/Utica. Since November we’ve highlighted the financial problems at the company (see 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) covers the full span of the oil and gas business–from upstream (with its wholly-owned drilling subsidiary Seneca Resources), to the midstream (with wholly-owned subsidiary Empire Pipeline) to downstream (NFG’s natural gas utility service to 740,000 customers in NY and PA). Big company. Diverse operations. Yesterday NFG issued what they call their first quarter update (everyone else’s fourth quarter update), covering October through December. The good news is that NGF swung from losing $189 million in the same period last year, to making an $89 million profit this year. Commenting on what matters most to MDN (the Marcellus/Utica), Ronald Tanski, NFG’s CEO, said this: “We expect to keep moving forward with our plans to build our Northern Access pipeline by the middle of next fiscal year. In the meantime, our efforts will remain focused on the efficient development of our Marcellus acreage to prepare for the Northern Access capacity while continuing to evaluate our opportunities in the Utica Shale on the very same acreage. Together, these stacked formations provide plenty of running room on our acreage and will fuel our growth for an extended period.” Plenty of running room. Sounds good to us! Here’s the update from yesterday…
A few weeks ago MDN highlighted a developing issue in Ohio that potentially impacts Utica/Marcellus shale in the region (see 
Two of the most unfit Senators in the U.S. Senate are Ed Markey and the faux American Indian, Elizabeth Warren. Both radical extremists–both kind of loopy. So it is no surprise that they are calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reverse the decision FERC made just last week to authorize Spectra Energy’s Atlantic Bridge project (see