Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy
Weymouth Compressor Still in Limbo re Massachusetts State Permits
In July the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted an air permit for a compressor station in Weymouth (see Mass. DEP Issues Air Permit for Weymouth Compressor Station). The compressor station is the final component of the Spectra Energy/Enbridge Atlantic Bridge expansion project–a federal project overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Although MA issued the air permit (the main permit), there are several other state permits required, not yet issued.
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MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA Democrat Senators announce bill requiring power sector 90% greenhouse gas emission reductions; Trump correct about natural gas trends in New York and Pennsylvania; Keller speaks on natural gas at chamber event; Second-year gas students anxious to get to work; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defends $1.5 billion natural gas bet; Exxon, Chevron see consolidation in top U.S. shale field; NATIONAL: Why rig count is no longer a reliable gauge of production; Halliburton CEO sees consolidation in oilfield services as shale matures; Natural gas, America’s wonder fuel; Bernie Sanders makes one of the most ‘horrifying’ arguments during CNN climate town hall; Trump loosens methane standards in a win for oil & gas industry; INTERNATIONAL: Global economic slowdown hits China’s natural gas demand.
9/5/19 NOTE: ODNR’s original percentages were incorrectly calculated. A day after releasing the wrong numbers, ODNR fixed the wrong numbers in their 2Q19 update. Frankly, we should have noticed the original error, and didn’t. The raw production numbers were right there before our eyes, yet we simply relied on ODNR’s incorrect percentages and drew the wrong conclusions. See below for the corrected numbers.
A brief pause to enjoy an unqualified victory over the wackadoodles at the litigious New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club. Williams has just placed into service its Rivervale South to Market Project in New Jersey, now flowing enough fracked Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale gas to service an extra 1 million homes in the northeastern U.S. The Clubbers opposed the project and ultimately couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
In the American legal system those accused of wrongdoing, including those afraid of being entrapped by so-called law enforcement (like the Chester County, PA District Attorney Tom Hogan) are entitled to legal representation–to protect themselves from the abuses of people like DA Hogan. Yet when they do so, avail themselves of legal representation, Hogan gets bent out of shape. Could it be he *has no case* and wants to bully people into admitting to things they are not guilty of? Or force them to falsely testify to things the prosecutor wants to hear?
Our friends at RBN Energy recently launched a new mini-series of blog posts delving into Marcellus/Utica gas processing and fractionation in the wet gas region–meaning southwest PA, eastern OH, and the northern panhandle of WV. We previously brought you part 1 of that series (see 
Greene County, PA, located in the far southwestern corner of the state, last night unveiled a new marketing/rebranding initiative called “Greene County, a Powerful Place.” Greene is making a play to attract investment from the natural gas industry’s downstream (manufacturing) sector. It is a full-throated endorsement of the Marcellus/Utica shale industry and the petrochemical industry that goes hand-in-hand with shale.
In October 2016, Dominion announced a new pipeline project called Eastern Market Access Project (see 
Sunoco Pipeline, a division/part of Energy Transfer, has just been fined (again) for work related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project. This time around Sunoco got two fines: One for problems with their work in 2018, to the tune of $240,840, and one for work done back in 2017, to the tune of $78,621. Total bill: $319,461. So far the Mariner East project (ME1, ME2, and ME2X) has incurred over $13 million in fines with over 80 violations.
Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to “reinitiate consultation” (i.e. reconsider) its earlier finding that the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project would not significantly harm protected fish and bats in its path. FERC believes there is new information on which USFWS should consider when issuing a permit that allows the pipeline to accidentally kill a few threatened species during construction.