Last November the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) signaled a project by TransCanada called the Portland XPress Project (PXP) would soon get a final approval, by giving the project a favorable environmental review (see FERC Grants Portland XPress Project Environmental Approval). Not even three months later, FERC has just given final approval for the project to begin.
Read More “FERC Approves New England Pipeline Expansion”
US Methanol broke ground in September 2017 in Institute (Kanawha County), WV to build its very first methanol production plant (see US Methanol Breaks Ground on First Plant in West Virginia). Methanol plants convert natural gas into methanol, used as a chemical feedstock (raw material) to create other things, like gasoline, antifreeze, plastic bottles–even LED and LCD screens. Methanol plants use a LOT of natural gas, hence our interest.
Read More “Methanol Plants Huge Users of Marcellus/Utica Gas”
Natural gas storage fields are an important, but often overlooked, part of the natgas ecosystem. Equitrans (nee EQT Midstream) owns a natgas storage field in Greene County, PA, in the southwest corner of the state. The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is threatening to shut down that storage field, because of coal mining in the area.
Read More “PA DEP Threatens to Close Equitrans Gas Storage Field in SWPA”
Now that the reality has begun to sink in that there will be no magic bullet, no magic wand waved to prevent Consolidated Edison from refusing to add new customers (like hotels, apartment buildings, etc.) to its natural gas distribution system in Westchester County, NY, politicians and business leaders in the county are beginning to soil themselves. Certainly metaphorically–maybe literally.
Read More “Westchester County Soiling Itself re NatGas Moratorium”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Increased energy taxes do not help Pa.; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: FERC approves Calcasieu Pass LNG project construction; CEO of shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources retires abruptly; NATIONAL: FERC pens agreement to push forward pending LNG projects; U.S. shale oil and natural gas, underestimated its whole life; Media hysteria: climate change ‘heat records’ are a huge data manipulation; Bill Gates slams unreliable wind & solar: ‘Let’s quit jerking around with renewables & batteries’; INTERNATIONAL: Canada’s East Coast Sable natural gas production is no more; Kicking Mexico’s addiction to U.S. natural gas.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Feb 22, 2019”
On Tuesday we brought you an update about New Fortress Energy’s LNG plant planned for Wylausing (Bradford County), PA (see Wyalusing, PA LNG Export Plant Making Progress). In researching that story we stumbled across news that (so far) nobody else has published: There is a second LNG plant planned for Wyalusing. In fact, the second plant is under construction right now!
Read More “Exclusive: 2nd LNG Operation Coming to Wyalusing, PA”
CNX was fracking their Shaw 1G Utica well in Washington Township (Westmoreland County) on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they detected “a strong drop in pressure” and stopped fracking (see CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir). Turns out the well was “communicating” (i.e. losing gas to) several nearby conventional wells.
Read More “CNX Faulty Utica Well in SWPA Will Cost Company $30M+”
Three more cheers for Pennsylvania State Senator Lisa Baker (Republican from Luzerne County). Rather than wait for the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to move forward with adopting a threatened ban on fracking that includes several counties in PA, Baker isn’t waiting. She’s taking a different approach to defeating a proposed DRBC frack ban. Her approach is to bankrupt the DRBC if they decide to move forward with it.
Read More “PA Bill Requires Landowner Compensation if DRBC Bans Fracking”
Williams is in the process of conducting open houses for a series of compressor station projects part of it’s recently announced Leidy South Project. The project will expand capacity along the Transco Pipeline system, including the newly minted Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline portion of Transco, adding another 582 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of capacity to the Transco in northeast PA.
Read More “Williams Planning 2 New, 2 Upgraded Compressor Stations in NEPA”
A single township in Washington County, PA, Smith Township, is home to two “sprawling” shale gas complexes that process and separate Marcellus/Utica gas extracted in southwestern Pennsylvania. One is MarkWest Energy’s Harmon Creek complex, and the other Energy Transfer’s Revolution complex. Area residents think they have quite enough infrastructure and are asking town officials to throttle back new development.
Read More “Smith Twp Residents Say They Have Enough Processing Plants”
PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a sleazy politician, is investigating so-called environmental “crimes” committed by shale companies in a bid to boost his chances of being the next nominee to run for governor (see PA AG Investigates Shale Drillers for “Enviro Crimes”). One of Shapiro’s sham investigations is into Range Resources and the long-ago settled “Haney” court case.
Read More “PA AG Continues Marcellus Witch Hunt, Impanels Grand Jury”
Last October Competitive Power Ventures’ 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY fired up and began producing, using Marcellus gas, enough electricity to power 600,000 liberal NY homes (see CPV Marcellus-Fired Elec Plant in Orange County Now Online!). New York Gov. Cuomo tried his best to block the plant from going online, but failed.
Read More “Judge Refuses to Shut Down Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant”
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Devon Energy makes a huge decision; NiSource’s bill from natural-gas explosion near Boston approaches $1 billion; New England electric grid vulnerable to natural gas shortages, ISO-NE head says; NATIONAL: U.S. Silica takes a hard punch to end 2018, still standing; Climate change doubter is leading effort to advise Trump; Early 2019 E&P guidance shows falling capex but solid production growth; INTERNATIONAL: Canadian natural gas producers form new LNG consortium; Propane industry must be allowed to compete fairly with natural gas; Mexico sees dependency on US natural gas imports as a risk.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Feb 21, 2019”
On Tuesday EQT filed lawsuits in both Pennsylvania and federal courts against two former employees it had fired, claiming the employees, before they were fired (sensing it was coming) had systematically copied confidential information from company computers and took it with them when they left.
Read More “EQT Claims 2 Fired Workers Stole Confidential Information”
The race-baiting, bloated old windbag Al Gore has popped up again, coming out of his massive fossil fuel-powered mansion, traveling to Virginia via fossil fuel-powered motorcade, sitting in a fossil fuel-heated church with a handful of black folks to pronounce Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s plan to build a compressor station nearby is “reckless” and a “vivid example of environmental racism.”
Read More “Al Gore Calls Atlantic Coast Pipe Compressor Station “Racist””
Finally some good news in our war against the forces of evil (i.e. Big Green). The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has rejected a lawsuit by Big Green groups that would have blocked Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and, as a bonus, would have emasculated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision-making ability for all pipeline projects.
Read More “Fed Court Rejects Anti Attempt to Emasculate FERC, Block MVP”