7 Gas Pipelines Target Southeastern U.S. from 4 Midstream Cos.
AI data centers are increasingly being built in the Southeastern U.S. due to economic, infrastructural, and environmental factors that make the region attractive for such facilities. One key reason is the availability of affordable and reliable energy—i.e., natural gas (mostly from the Marcellus/Utica). The Southeast offers relatively low electricity costs compared to other parts of the country, which is critical for data centers that require massive amounts of power to run high-performance computing systems like those needed for AI workloads. Additionally, the region’s energy infrastructure is often robust enough to support the high demands of these facilities, though expansion is sometimes needed. Speaking of expansion, because of the Southeast’s attractiveness, there are seven new pipeline projects (from four pipeline companies) aimed at flowing more natural gas to the region, mainly to help service power generation for data centers. Read More “7 Gas Pipelines Target Southeastern U.S. from 4 Midstream Cos.”
In March 2024, we reported that two Democrats and one anti-drilling RINO who run Bucks County, PA government (a Philadelphia suburb) fell for the bait by Big Green and filed a lawsuit against Big Oil companies for supposedly, knowingly, causing the Earth to toast to a cinder (see 
EQT Corp. remains committed to its low-carbon aviation fuel (LCAF) project and the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) even though federal funding for ARCH2 and other hydrogen hub projects around the country is now in question. EQT CEO Toby Rice told the Pittsburgh Business Times that his company continues to evaluate building a clean hydrogen plant. EQT remains a lead partner in ARCH2. 
The city of New Albany, located in Franklin and Licking counties in Ohio, said it has been notified about plans for multiple natural gas power projects to be located within the Licking County portion of the New Albany International Business Park. The power plants (three of them identified so far) will provide power for nearby data centers planned for the region, which is a suburb of Columbus. 
Hope Gas, a large local utility company that provides gas service to more than 131,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in thirty-seven West Virginia counties, filed a rate case with the state Public Service Commission (PSC) in August 2024 looking to convert customers who use a “farm tap” gas system to either propane fuel or electric heat for their homes (see 
Last week, MDN brought you the great news that Crowley, the largest shipping company in the U.S., launched what is the very first Jones Act-compliant LNG carrier to ferry LNG from the Gulf Coast to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Shell CEO Sawan expects progress in Venture Global arbitration in coming months; Freeport LNG in Texas set to return to service after lightning strike; New Plaquemines terminal offers high hopes for U.S. LNG feedgas; NATIONAL: U.S. manufacturing energy consumption has continued to increase since 2010 low; U.S. faces uphill task to refill natural gas storage for next winter; Proposed U.S. fee on Chinese ships would drive up costs, upend global energy logistics; FERC finally wakes up; Hedge funds struggle as green stocks crash; The indefensible Republican defense of the 2022 IRA; INTERNATIONAL: Shell aims to grow LNG sales by 5 percent annually; Oil slips on Ukraine truce talks; Oil destroyed Hitler, fracking destroyed Putin. 
Never in our wildest dreams did we think that Donald Trump winning a second term would result in the resurrection of the 124-mile Pennsylvania-to-New York Constitution Pipeline project. Yet, that prospect appears increasingly likely. We don’t want to offer false hope, but we can’t ignore the signs favoring the Constitution’s springing back to life. The latest sign? Two prominent leftwing mainstream media outlets, none other than the Washington Post and POLITICO, ran stories yesterday all but admitting that the liberal Democrat governors of New York and New England are in the process of caving and either have or soon will support the Constitution Pipeline project. It’s absolute magic! 
Last week, MDN told you that fracking has begun under the park, and literally nobody noticed (see 
Antero Resources, which is 100% focused on the Marcellus/Utica with over 500,000 net acres under lease and the largest M-U driller and producer in West Virginia, shoots to produce 3.4 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) of natural gas in the Mountain State. The company recently reported net production averaging 3.43 Bcfe/d in 4Q24, up ever so slightly from 3.42 Bcfe/d in 4Q23 (see 
In December, MDN told you the country’s largest electric grid, PJM Interconnection, which covers all or parts of 13 states, including PA, OH, and WV, proposed new changes to how it decides which new power plants can connect to the system first. The new policy *favors* adding natural gas-fired power over other types of power like unreliable solar and wind (see 
Two researchers from Miami University of Ohio have just published a new study (full copy below) that makes a bombshell revelation: Between the years of 2007 and 2019, the extraction and use of shale natural gas led to a REDUCTION in so-called greenhouse gases of 7.5% in the United States. Although the authors are careful to wrap their findings in the argument that natural gas is “just a transition that’s helping us reach renewable nirvana” (our words, their sentiment), we have to wonder if this study has just tanked the researchers’ academic careers. Nobody goes against the global warming orthodoxy with actual science that questions that orthodoxy and (academically) lives to tell about it. Poor sods. 
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count gained one rig last week, now at 593 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 35 last week. Rigs focused on the Marcellus were a combined 24 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica were a combined 11. PA has operated 15 rigs (or more) for the past 19 weeks. OH has operated nine rigs for the past 16 weeks. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. Five weeks ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and now operates 11 active rigs.