Trout Unlimited Launches Spy/Snitch Program for PennEast Pipeline
Let’s be right up front about how we feel about the innocent-sounding Trout Unlimited (TU). Four years ago the organization was outed as a radical, far-left environmentalist group–hellbent on opposing fossil fuels (see Trout Unlimited, Other Groups Outted as Radical Green Groups). We have zero respect for the organization. Yes, there are some well-meaning (hoodwinked, misguided) people who belong to it. Good people. But tricked into supporting an anti-American, anti-fossil fuel agenda. (You need to get out!) TU has just announced a new spy/snitch training program to keep an eye on the PennEast Pipeline–when it actually starts to get built. TU will soon begin training for a so-called “water monitoring” program in PA counties where PennEast will run–Luzerne, Carbon, Northampton and Bucks counties. To which we say, knock yourselves out. PennEast has nothing to hide. The pipeline won’t negatively impact waterways–not in any meaningful, long-term way. So if you want to spy and snitch, go right ahead. There won’t be anything to snitch about…
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The Marcellus/Utica region needs pipelines and we need them bad. That was one of the themes MDN editor Jim Willis heard at last week’s Upstream PA event, held in State College, PA. Marcellus Shale Coalition President Dave Spigelmyer, one of the presenters, showed a slide stating there are 24 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) active pipeline infrastructure projects in PA-OH-WV. In PA alone, pipeline projects worth $12.9 billion are either planned or under construction! Jim was one of the presenters too (great to see many MDN subscribers at the event). He presented “7 Trends/Issues that will Impact PA Drilling” in the next year or two. Jim’s #2 most important trend/issue? The pipeline wars. The efforts under way to limit and stop new pipeline projects. So it was with great interest we spotted a post by our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, providing an update on northeast pipelines. According to the experts at EIA, if all planned and under construction pipelines in our region go online this year (as committed), we will have 23 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of “takeaway” pipeline capacity flowing out of our region. That’s up from 16.7 Bcf/d of takeaway capacity at the end of 2017–a 6.3 Bcf/d increase (up 38%), a much-needed increase to get our gas to new markets…
Events related (or of interest) to the Marcellus and Utica Shale, primarily pro-drilling events. To have your event included (or if you are aware of a worthy event you believe should be on this page), please send the details and/or a link to have it included to the calendar@marcellusdrilling.com email address.
The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Trillium opens third CNG station in New Castle, PA; Energy Transfer’s growth projects; M-U Shale Crescent offers big advantages for investors; Trump tax cuts flow through to PA utility customers; energy speakers say pipelines key to natgas boom; the bitter world of fractivism; thank goodness for U.S. natgas exports; California and Texas may see power shortages this summer; Russian pipeline to Europe a bargaining chip; and more!
Disgusting and frustrating. That’s our reaction to a decision by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that invalidates (vacates) a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to accidentally kill a few bats and bumble bees (classified as endangered) as it builds the massive $6.5 billion, 600-mile project from West Virginia to North Carolina. The Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Virginia Wilderness Committee (all radical left organizations) previously sued in federal court asking the court to stop work on ACP until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission makes a decision on whether or not to “rehear” their decision to approve the project in the first place. In March, the court declined to stop work on ACP (see 
It was a big week for Sierra Clubbers. The radical environmental organization (that irrationally hates all fossil fuels, even fossil fuels they used to love, like natural gas) previously filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for D.C. asking the court to consider whether or not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should have issued an approval for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). MVP is a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA–to move Marcellus/Utica gas south. No, the court did not rule FERC was out of order in its decision. Not yet, anyway. This gets in the weeds just a bit, so bear with us. The first step in the process of challenging a pipeline is to ask FERC to rehear their decision. If FERC refuses to rehear (reconsider) the decision, then whoever asked for the rehearing is free to file a lawsuit in the court system to challenge FERC’s decision to approve a project. FERC has 30 days to make a rehearing decision–unless they pull out the “tolling order” card and play it. A tolling order allows FERC more time to decide on rehearing–months, even a year. FERC played the tolling order card here and told the court, “We haven’t decided on rehearing yet, so you need to toss out the radical Sierra Club lawsuit challenging our decision to approve MVP” (MDN condensed version). This week the court said a very loud “NO” to FERC’s request. The court further told FERC to get off its duff and make the rehearing decision within 30 days. In the meantime, the Sierra Club of course wants MVP construction “paused indefinitely” while they continue to tie it up in legal knots. Don’t look for that to happen…
It appears a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) earlier this year that strips away the main advantages of the tax-advantaged master limited partnerships (MLP) structure is causing the MLP to go the way of the dodo bird. Because of the Trump tax cut, in March FERC reversed a previous policy and will no longer allowed MLP interstate oil and gas pipelines to include an income tax allowance in their cost-of-service rates (see 
In April MDN told you that the New York Dept. of Environment Conservation (DEC) had rejected a modest pipeline expansion proposal by Williams’ Transco Pipeline subsidiary (see 
Good news. The main part of the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project–where it runs through Lancaster County, PA–is almost finished. Atlantic Sunrise is a $3 billion, 198-mile pipeline project running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County. The most opposition to the pipeline has happened in Lancaster County. Right now 90% of the pipeline has been welded in Lancaster County and sits above ground. By the end of July, all of it will be done and buried in the ground. It won’t be long after that that the entire 198 miles will begin to flow northeast PA Marcellus gas…
We get tired of saying it, but perhaps we should never get tired of saying that according to the most reliable methods of tracking temperatures on earth (by satellite), THERE IS NO GLOBAL WARMING. The only way global warming alarmists get away with claiming the earth is heating up is by using doctored computer algorithms. The actual testing and measurement of temps doesn’t show we’re heating up! And yet the manipulators who persist in using scare tactics that mankind is somehow causing the earth to heat up catastrophically by burning fossil fuels and leaking methane into the atmosphere, have just claimed a couple of more scalps in their efforts to shut down the fossil fuel industry. A so-called church, the Unitarian Universalist Association (people who believe in everything, consequently they believe in nothing) bought $2,000 worth of Range Resources stock and proposed a resolution to all shareholders at the annual meeting that forces Range to publish a report on how evil the company is for causing global warming (i.e. produce a report on Range’s efforts to scale back methane emissions). The measure passed by 50.25%. A group called As You Sow bought Anadarko stock and floated a resolution instructing the company to produce a report on how mythical man-made global warming will affect the company financially as it will no doubt have to scale back its exploration and production. That resolution passed by 53%. These groups, with innocent-sounding names, are NOT innocent. They are far left, liberal groups that have snookered shareholders into voting against their own best interests by harming the very companies they invest in, forcing those companies, ultimately, to stop drilling. All in the name of “climate change” (i.e. global warming)…
We’re simply at a loss for words. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not a dictator, or is he? Cuomo said on a recent campaign stop that he will unilaterally, illegally, block all new “fossil fuel” powered electric plants in the state, including clean-burning natural gas-fired plants. The man is delusional. He doesn’t have that power–unless the sheeple that live in NY allow him to get away with it. We New Yorkers must rise up and stop this megalomaniac before he plunges NY into the ash heap of history. During a campaign event last Thursday, May 10, in Manhattan, Cuomo said with respect to new gas-fired electric plants: “I have not approved any new ones, and I won’t.” He also said that the state currently has gas-fired plants “all over the state” and that the “long-term plan is to close them.” Breathtaking arrogance! We’ve checked the state Constitution and we don’t find anything in it that vests the governor with the power to ban specific types of businesses in the state, whether for energy or otherwise. Where does he get off?…
It’s been a while–quite a while–since we’ve heard anything about Hess’ Utica drilling program. The last article we ran on Hess drilling in the Utica was in April 2016 when Hess management said that while they have “good rock” in the Utica, they would mothball their Utica operations until more pipelines are built. Looks like the pipelines are built. We spotted a story that gives new information about Hess’ plans in the Utica. They currently have 59 wells producing in the Ohio Utica. They’re working to complete another 5 previously drilled (in 2015?) wells, which will give them 64 producing wells “in the next month or so.” As for new drilling, the company will hopefully restart their program to drill new wells “hopefully in mid-2019.” Here’s what Hess’ “Utica operations area lead” guy had to say at a Kiwanis Club meeting last week in Steubenville about how much, and where, they’re drilling in the Utica…
On Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Williams’ Transco Pipeline permission to reverse the flow along part of the pipeline to begin sending more Marcellus gas south. The order allows Transco to start up modified compressor stations in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, and to begin flowing an extra 150 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of yummy Marcellus gas southward. Most of the time when we report on Atlantic Sunrise, we talk about the greenfield (brand new pipeline) being installed in 10 Pennsylvania counties. What’s often overlooked are other aspects of the project, like this one, that will kit out the Transco to flow 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of Marcellus gas to the south and to the Gulf Coast. The greenfield portion of the pipeline is due to be completed sometime soon–by “mid-2018.” This latest order allowing the startup of bidirectional flow along certain portions is an important part of the project…
THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum, issued a letter/petition to THE Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) back in February–which escaped our notice at the time. The petition demands that the DRBC “man up” and exercise complete and total authority over the PennEast Pipeline project–and stop it cold by prohibiting tree clearing. Riverkeeper maintains that if tree clearing is allowed to begin, it will negatively impact water supplies in the Delaware River Basin–therefore it’s within the DRBC’s purview, in fact responsibility, to take hold of the situation and stop it. This is just one of a many-pronged attack by Riverkeeper to try and stop PennEast, a 120-mile pipeline that will run from near Wilkes-Barre, PA to near Trenton, NJ. The planned route passes through Luzerne, Carbon, Northampton, and Bucks counties in PA, and through Mercer and Hunterdon counties in NJ. The pipeline is needed to move PA’s abundant Marcellus gas to markets in NJ. Last week we told you about Riverkeeper’s latest lawsuits to stop PennEast (see