Franklin County, Va. Approves MVP Gate Station Permit
Despite setbacks from Big Green groups launching a blizzard of lawsuits and regulatory challenges, Equitrans’ (EQT Midstream) 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is now 70% built (see Shocker: Mountain Valley Pipeline Now 70% Built, Online by 4Q19). The project continues to see positive momentum, the latest example coming from Franklin County, Va.
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Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) and National Grid–both large utilities that operate in New York City and its suburbs–are warning that unless new natural gas pipelines are built to the NYC region, they will slap a moratorium on hooking up any new natgas customers. Andrew Cuomo’s chickens are now coming home to roost.
Once again Marcellus Drilling News is happy to partner with and support the
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Gov. Wolf re-nominates Pat McDonnell for DEP, Cindy Dunn for DCNR secretary; Tri-State Shale Coalition helping region compete; Canadian engineering firm opens first U.S. office in Pittsburgh; FERC: West Rockhill site ‘optimal’ for compressor station; NATIONAL: EIA expects relatively flat natural gas prices, continued record production through 2020; EIA forecasts world crude oil prices to rise gradually, averaging $65 per barrel in 2020; Frack jobs peaked last May/June; The top Oil & Gas industry trends to watch in 2019; U.S. natural gas demand for electricity can only grow; FERC appointment critical to setting market-driven energy policy; Exxon argues for Texas justice as it defends self from climate change lawsuits; Shell names new Upstream director; EPA nominee Wheeler would not call climate change ‘the greatest crisis’ facing the planet.
On Monday we told you about a letter written by investment firm D.E. Shaw, one of EQT’s largest shareholders (owns 4.5% of outstanding shares), to the EQT board (see 
This news is a bit dated, but still interesting and is new for us: Last October a group of landowners in Tioga County, NY filed a lawsuit to force the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to quit dragging its feet and set a date to consider the groups application to allow LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, i.e. propane) fracking for a shale well.
Three years ago lawsuits filed by some 200 West Virginia residents against Antero Resources were combined into a class action lawsuit (see
There are companies that will purchase landowners’ (rights owners) royalty payments–giving them a lump sum payment up front in return for signing over all future royalty payments to the company buying the rights. Peregrine Energy Partners is one such company and has just purchased an unspecified amount of royalty payments in Greene County, PA.

Each week the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil & Gas Resources division publishes the latest list of permits issued to drillers in the Utica (and/or the Marcellus) for the Buckeye State. Each month the same department issues updated maps for both the Utica and the Marcellus to show where drilling is (and by omission, is not) happening. We have the latest maps below.
The mystery is now solved. Last week we incorrectly (based on a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article) reported that FirstEnergy wants to drill a well under (not on) Linbrook Park, located in the Borough of Franklin Park in Allegheny County (
According to RBN Energy, “U.S. production of natural gas liquids is projected to increase by 17% this year, and by another 10% in 2020.” NGLs cover a variety of hydrocarbons. Two NGLs, propane and butane, are further classified as LPG–or liquefied petroleum gas. Of the four “smaller” LPG export facilities here in the U.S., two-thirds of all exported LPGs last year came from one–Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia.
We’ve been tracking a story since November about a new, smallish (but very important) LNG export plant coming to Bradford County, PA, to Wyalusing (see