FERC Approves Transco $950M Northeast Expansion Pipe Project
In March 2019, MDN told you about a new Williams plan to beef up the Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland (see Williams Announces Transco Competitor to PennEast Pipe in NEPA). The project, called the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project, was aimed at competing with the PennEast Pipeline project by flowing gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton, NJ, area. PennEast got canceled after stiff opposition from liberal state officials in New Jersey. REAE is also facing opposition in NJ (see Williams’ PennEast Pipe Competitor Hits a Brick Wall in New Jersey). However, after a looooong and winding road, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Wednesday approved the project. This is a MAJOR victory!
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On Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) held an event in Washington, D.C., to unveil (and talk about) the organization’s 2023 plan for Congress that will “Make, Move and Improve American Energy.” Several members of Congress spoke along with API CEO Mike Sommers. One of the big topics of discussion at the event is the need for pipeline permitting reform, NOW, in this Congress. The API report (full copy below) says there is enough demand to send another 4.6 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas into northeastern markets–and we could and would have been doing just that if not for canceled pipeline projects due to lawsuits, delays, and government opposition.
Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) is constructing a natural gas pipeline, a freshwater pipeline, and facilities to withdraw fresh water at a site along the Loyalsock Creek, north of Montoursville in Lycoming County, PA. The company’s work resulted in a sediment plume that appeared in Loyalsock Creek for several miles downstream of the construction site, caused by the failure of erosion and sediment controls following a heavy rainstorm. The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued notices of violation (NOVs) on three separate occasions from September to November (see 
In a recently issued report, Moody’s Investor Service predicts that while upstream oil and gas spending on capital expenses will come in lower than the levels seen between 2015 and 2019, spending in 2023 will be higher, by 10-15%, than it was last year. Upstream capital spending is set to reach $460 billion to $480 billion in 2023. As you might imagine, more than half of the increase is needed just to cover the cost of Bidenflation–not because there’s actually more drilling being done.
Earlier this week, we reported that the hard-left Bidenistas who control the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are floating a trial balloon that they want to ban natural gas stoves, forcing you (if you have one) to replace it with an electric stove at a cost of around $1,400 (see 
New shale permits issued for Jan. 2-8 in the Marcellus/Utica included 14 new permits in Pennsylvania, 8 new permits in Ohio, and just 1 new permit in West Virginia. The top recipient of permits for last week was Apex Energy, grabbing 6 permits to drill on a single pad in Westmoreland County, PA. Right behind Apex was Coterra Energy with 5 permits to drill on a single pad in Susquehanna County, PA. Opposite sides of the state.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Utica Shale Academy seeking $2.4M to expand footprint; Observers hopeful about common ground between PA governor, legislature; Biden used Univ. of Pennsylvania to launder Chinese money, Shapiro ignored it; NATIONAL: It’s basically spring for the natural-gas market; Banning gas stoves gets Americans’ blood boiling; INTERNATIONAL: What will OPEC do in 2023?; Will oil hit $100 per barrel in 2023?
Yesterday, Chesapeake Energy, EQT, and Equitrans Midstream launched what the three companies call the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI), a coalition committed to further enhancing methane monitoring throughout the Appalachia Basin with an aim to reduce methane emissions throughout the region. Is this yet another certification scheme to prove methane leakage is low?
In May 2021, MDN told you that Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) had won Kentucky state approval to build a new 12-inch, 12-mile pipeline near Louisville to supply gas to homes and businesses that can’t connect to LG&E’s local natgas utility system because it is currently maxed out (see 
U.S. natural gas demand is on track to hit record lows in January if unseasonably warm weather sticks around, according to Rystad Energy. It’s just too darned warm! The warm weather reduces demand for natgas used in heating. Also, as you will read today, a Freeport LNG restart that uses 2 Bcf/d is also likely delayed further–maybe until the end of February. Given the warm weather and Freeport, demand is down, and because of lower demand, prices are crumbling.
The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) hosted a public presentation titled “Water Resource and Environmental Considerations with Shale Gas Development in the Appalachian Basin” last week at the Upper Delaware Council office in Narrowsburg, NY. The program was delivered virtually by Dr. David Yoxtheimer, Ph.D., P.G., assistant research professor and Extension associate with the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at Penn State University. Yoxtheimer did a great job of laying out the facts of Marcellus drilling–both the good and the not-so-good, with an eye on how to mitigate the risks.
Three different highly-placed sources have whispered to a Reuters reporter that the Freeport LNG export facility, which has been offline since last June, will continue to be offline until at least sometime in February. Are you surprised? We aren’t.