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    ISO New England Warns Blackouts Coming If No New Gas Pipelines

    How often do we have to repeat the warning that electrical blackouts are coming to New England if the region does not get new sources of natural gas by building more pipelines? This is not some reckless, wild eyed blogger guy saying it–the warning comes from the top, from the people who operate the electric grid! We first raised the warning back in 2014 (see Officials: New England Faces Blackouts Without New Nagas Pipeline). Last May ISO New England–the independent, non-profit Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) that manages the electric grid for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont–released a study that warned of a coming shortage of natural gas to fire electric power plants in wintertime (see Study: New England Electric Shortage from Lack of NatGas by 2025). ISO New England is back with another reporting warning of “dire scenarios in the future” if New England doesn’t wise up and get more natgas pipelines built. “Without additional natural gas pipeline capacity, rolling blackouts or other emergency actions will likely be needed by the winter of 2024-2025 to keep the power system operating reliably.” It’s sad to see New England’s so-called leaders continue to block new pipelines to the region. One or two well-placed pipelines from the Marcellus could help the region avert the completely predictable disaster that’s on the way…
    Read More “ISO New England Warns Blackouts Coming If No New Gas Pipelines”

  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jan 30, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye over the break that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Roanoke County officials field questions about Mountain Valley Pipe construction; Carroll County gas-fired plant now up and running; Chambersburg, PA gas-fired power plant gets new owner; natgas market update for end of January; cold snap heats up natgas prices; midstream elephants on parade; open letter to EPA’s retired Gina McCarthy; rig count goes up; UK natgas production goes down; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jan 30, 2018”

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    PA Gov Wolf Floats Plan to Fix DEP Slow Drilling Permits: Hike Fees

    As part of the Pennsylvania Senate’s misguided and mangled budget bill last year, Republicans managed to slip in fixes to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) chronic delays in issuing permits related to shale drilling (see PA Senate’s “Olive Branch” of “Relaxed Regulations” for Drillers). Unfortunately the fixes came out before the final budget passed. Problems remain for Marcellus drillers. Delays are long in the Keystone State when it comes to permits for shale wells. The problems NEED to get fixed, now. House Republicans recently introduced a series of five different bills to help address DEP’s chronic delays (see PA House Advances “Fix DEP & Other Agencies” Plan with 5 Bills). No doubt feeling the pressure from the legislature, PA Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday introduced his own plan. Whereas the plan floated by legislators would allow third parties to assist with the backlog, Wolf’s plan is different. In a nutshell, Wolf wants to allocate more money to the DEP so they can hire more help–not third parties. Yeah, that’s the answer! More government. (Yes, we’re being sarcastic.) And what magic pocket will Wolf pull the money from to pay for an increase in head count at DEP, especially since Wolf can’t balance a budget to save his life? Why, from the pockets of the shale industry, of course. Wolf proposes boosting the $5,000 fee drillers now pay when filing to drill a new shale well to $12,500–a 250% (2.5x) increase. You want that permit on time for a change? It’ll cost you, buddy…
    Read More “PA Gov Wolf Floats Plan to Fix DEP Slow Drilling Permits: Hike Fees”

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    After Months of Delay, Atlantic Coast Pipe Gets NC Water Permit

    Atlantic Coast Pipeline path through North Carolina – click for larger version

    On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a federal stream/water crossing permit for Dominion’s $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP)–a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and slice through the midsection of North Carolina, almost to the border with South Carolina. The permit comes more than a year and a half after Dominion and their partners filed an application for it. It is the final “biggie” permit required to construct the project in NC. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved ACP last October (see FERC Approves Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley Pipeline Projects). West Virginia previously issued a water crossing permit for the project, and Virginia recently granted a conditional approval for its water crossing permit. NC was the last domino to fall, and now it has. However, the project is still not out of the woods in NC just yet. First, the DEQ attached all sorts of extra requirements to the water permit they issued. Second, even though a water/stream crossing permit is the biggest and most important permit, NC continues to delay the project by withholding other permits (see NC Continues to Delay Atlantic Coast Pipe, Rejects Part of Erosion Plan). Friday’s water permit issuance was, however, a very positive development–a signal that the rest of the permits although delayed, will be forthcoming. Dominion said it will begin construction in NC (and VA and WV) this year, and finish the project sometime in 2019…
    Read More “After Months of Delay, Atlantic Coast Pipe Gets NC Water Permit”

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    Ohio Democrat Candidate for Governor Says He’ll Ban Utica Drilling

    Congressman Dennis Kucinich

    Congressman Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, who is running for the nomination to be the Democrat candidate for governor in this fall’s election, has always been a crackpot. A nutjob. Flaky. Ranging out there on the far-left fringe. But he’s also never been taken too seriously. Folks like him. He’s amiable. Not, perhaps, as hardcore as some on the left. That is, until now. In a speech last Thursday in Columbus to unveil his first official policy statement as a candidate, Kucinich said if he’s nominated and wins the governor’s chair (fairly unlikely, but then, you never know), he will use his executive powers as governor to end drilling for natural gas and oil in the state. He also said he would direct the state police to look for out-of-state wastewater haulers transporting brine to Ohio’s injection well sites–and have the police turn them around and send them packing. As for all those Utica Shale landowners who signed leases, what about royalties they will never see and signing bonuses they will never pocket? Don’t worry, Dennis will “work to ensure that landowners who have leased land for drilling would receive a separation fee and all royalties they are due.” Kucinich’s first policy statement for his gubernatorial campaign is a far-out, really wacko (certifiably insane) anti-fracking manifesto (full copy below). Everyone is likely to discount his words as, “That’s just Dennis, you know how he talks. He doesn’t stand a chance of winning.” However, we encourage Buckeye State voters to take him seriously–take him at his word. And make sure he doesn’t win the nomination (or the governorship). His election to the governor’s chair would be an economic disaster for the state and for the Utica Shale industry…
    Read More “Ohio Democrat Candidate for Governor Says He’ll Ban Utica Drilling”

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    Ohio Utica Shale Beer Expands Distribution to WV, PA

    In December MDN told you about a small-but-growing brewery in Canton, OH started by shale co-workers who had “a passion for easy drinking brews” (see Ohio Utica Gives Rise to…Beer?! Introducing Shale Brewing Co.). The Shale Brewing Company produces microbrews with names like “Cold Rolled Ale” and “Roughneck Red.” How cool is that?! You can add two more new beers to the Shale Brewing lineup: Coffee Cream Stout and Deep Driller Porter (we love the creativity of these guys). The company now has 150 accounts and distributes their beer as far away as the PA and WV border. We understand if you look hard enough, you might even find a bottle in Pittsburgh. We’re hoping Roughneck Red will become the official beer of MDN ;-). Here’s an update on Shale Brewing and their continuing expansion…
    Read More “Ohio Utica Shale Beer Expands Distribution to WV, PA”

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    #1 New Source of Demand for M-U Gas: Electric Power Plants

    According to MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas production in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia is growing faster than demand. Lately the Marcellus/Utica is producing 42% of all the natural gas produced by the nation’s seven largest shale plays (see EIA Jan ’18 Drilling Report: M-U on Fire, Up 1/3 Billion Cubic Ft). If you add together all natgas production sources (conventional and unconventional), M-U produced 27% of the entire nation’s natgas supplies in 2017–up from 2% in 2008. It is astonishing! But Houston, we have a problem. There still aren’t enough pipelines to carry our gas to other markets, where there is demand. And we in the M-U region don’t have enough of our own demand to keep up with the ever-growing supply. Although populations grow gradually over time, the fact remains the amount of gas used to heat and cool households, and businesses, and the amount of natgas used by industrial customers, remains pretty constant over time. It may grow a little, but not nearly as much as supply is growing, which keeps the price of natgas in our region in the basement. There is a ray of sunshine though. EIA says, “Almost all of the recent growth in natural gas consumption in these [M-U] states has been in the electric power sector.” Our observation/point: the power generation space and the shale drilling space are now bosom buddies–joined at the hip. Electric generation is a critical new market for our gas–about the only new market with the capacity to sop up meaningful portions of our ever-expanding supply…
    Read More “#1 New Source of Demand for M-U Gas: Electric Power Plants”

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    Deep Well Services Completes 575 Marcellus/Utica Wells in 2017

    Deep Well Services (DWS) is a “snubbing” oilfield services company headquartered in Pennsylvania. DWS operates a special kind of drilling rig (“snubber”) that allows the company to drill existing wells already under pressure further out, inserting pipe into a working well, or retrieving pipe from a well, without shutting down the well. It’s called snubbing and it’s a specialized, delicate operation. DWS is one of a handful that performs the service in the Marcellus/Utica. DWS unveiled its newest state-of-the-art snubbing rig–a “fifth-generation” rig, in December (see Deep Well Services Introduces 5th Generation Snubbing Rig for M-U). DWS is a Marcellus/Utica success story–a company born and bread right here in our midst, in 2008. Starting from nothing, the company now employs 200 people and has plans to keep expanding in 2018 and beyond. In 2017, DWS worked on/finished 575 wells, including 229 Utica wells and 346 Marcellus wells. They now hold 30-40% of the snubbing market in the entire M-U region. DWS worked on the current world’s longest-ever onshore shale well drilled–Eclipse Resources’ Outlaw C11H. DWS is a company to watch. Here’s an update on what they’ve done, and what they plan to do…
    Read More “Deep Well Services Completes 575 Marcellus/Utica Wells in 2017”

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    Canada Rejects Discounted Rates for U.S. Shale Gas to New Brunswick

    Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline map – click for larger version

    The Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) runs from Goldboro, Nova Scotia through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to the Canadian – U.S. border near Baileyville, Maine. The pipeline continues through Maine and New Hampshire into Massachusetts where it connects with the existing North American pipeline grid at Dracut, Massachusetts. It used to be that offshore natural gas from Nova Scotia fed the pipeline, which ran from north to south. But those offshore fields are running low, and the Marcellus/Utica appeared. These days the M&NP runs from south to north–at least part of the system does. One of M&NP’s big customers is Irving Oil, with a refinery and cogeneration (natgas-fired) power plant in Saint John, New Brunswick. Irving is an M&NP customer. However, another pipeline company offered to build a new pipeline to feed Irving Oil’s operations with natural gas, at discount. M&NP said that’s crazy. They want to keep Irving as a customer, so they cut a deal with Irving to import natural gas from the U.S. (in all likelihood, Marcellus/Utica gas), flowing the gas from the Maine border to St. John and Irving’s operation there. The only thing standing in the way is the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB)–which is kind of like our own Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The deal offered by M&NP requires NEB approval because it lowers the toll (fee charged) and changes directions to import/flow U.S. gas to Irving. Last week the NEB rejected M&NP’s plan, saying the plan is “premature” because the Maritimes region is facing a period of uncertainty. It is not clear (to the NEB) where natural gas will ultimately come from, and what the market actually needs. Offshore? Canadian fields? Import from U.S.? It’s not yet clear how it will all shake out. So the NEB turned down M&NP’s request. What happens now?…
    Read More “Canada Rejects Discounted Rates for U.S. Shale Gas to New Brunswick”

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    Swamp Fights Back: NRDC Gears Up to File Multiple Lawsuits vs EPA

    Big Green leftists HATED President Richard Nixon (frankly, they hate any/every Republican before and since). They hated Nixon even though he created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Did you know that Nixon created the EPA? And now the EPA’s first-ever Secretary, William Ruckelshaus (a card-carrying member of the swamp dweller’s club) is criticizing current EPA Sec. Scott Pruitt for returning the EPA to its roots–to clean up superfund sites and target polluters. Pruitt has pledged to roll back EPA’s cancerous expansion under Obama, with its wild attempt to regulate anything and everything under the excuse of trying to prevent man-made global warming. Why are we not surprised that a has-been like Ruckelshaus is criticizing Pruitt? Ruckelshaus isn’t the only swamp dweller who hates Pruitt (and yes, hate is the accurate word to use). The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the worst of the worst so-called environmental groups, recently said it is gearing up to launch dozens (!) of lawsuits against the EPA and Pruitt. NRDC is part of the Washington, D.C. swamp. It seems the swamp doesn’t like getting drained and is fighting back. That’s OK. President Trump loves a good fight. It’s about time somebody took the fight to unelected, Big Government-loving nongovernmental organizations like NRDC. Rather than taking something away, Trump and Pruitt are trying to return the EPA to its original mandate. Make no mistake. At it’s core this is a fight about fossil fuels. Big Green disastrously wants to kill the use of fossil fuels–NOW. Here’ a look at how the swamp is fighting back against Trump’s efforts to drain it…
    Read More “Swamp Fights Back: NRDC Gears Up to File Multiple Lawsuits vs EPA”

  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jan 29, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye over the break that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Natgas-fired power plants on the rise in PA; PA Senate Dems introduce bill to cut mythical global warming by 30% by 2025; the TX fracker that cracked the shale code; challenges in funding U.S. shale boom 2.0; NYC Mayor de Blasio admits he’s trying to destroy the fossil fuel industry; DOE Sec. Rick Perry says U.S. shale will not hurt global prices in 2018; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jan 29, 2018”

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    Antis Apoplectic at Sight of Steam Coming from NY Power Plant

    Do the anti fossil-fuel foes in Orange County, NY still not get it? Do they not understand a new gas-fired power plant is about to go online? Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) is building a legal, legitimate, safe, low-emissions electric generating plant in Wawayanda. The plant is almost done and is now preparing for commissioning. This is the same facility Manhattanite Hollywood star James Cromwell (with a summer home in the area) has protested over the past few years (see our stories here). This is the same facility that will be fed by a 7.8-mile natural gas pipeline that connects to the Millennium Pipeline, being fought tooth and nail by Andrew Cuomo’s corrupt Dept. of Environmental Conservation (see NY DEC Asks Court to Toss FERC Order re Millennium Pipe Project). One fact remains: the plant is built and it will go online–soon. Last Friday crews were cleaning in the plant, using low-pressure steam to clean the piping in advance of the commissioning/start-up process. Some of the steam (water vapor, H2O) escaped into the air and area antis were prostrate on the ground, seized with fear that the plant had started operating and was using oil to power it. Antis are still in 100% complete denial that the plant is about to start up–within WEEKS. An area newspaper ran a story which unintentionally made the antis look foolish–frightened at the site of water vapor (i.e. steam)–referring to the steam as “plumes.” The story magically disappeared from the newspaper’s website a day later–but not before we grabbed a copy…
    Read More “Antis Apoplectic at Sight of Steam Coming from NY Power Plant”

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    PHMSA Issues Notice of Probable Violation to ME2 Pipeline in Ohio

    In early January, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) told Sunoco Logistics Partners to suspend all work on the $2.5 billion Mariner East 2 (ME2) NGL pipline–from one side of the state to the other (see PA DEP Caves to Big Green Pressure, Stops All Work on ME2 Pipeline). No further digging of trenches, and no more underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work can be done “until Sunoco can demonstrate that the permit conditions can and will be followed.” The concern is that ME2 work is violating multiple permits, regulations and court-ordered restrictions. However, not ALL work was stopped. As we learned a week later, the DEP does not control and regulate everything–only the parts where dirt is moved (see Work on Mariner East 2 Continues Following “Stop Work” Order). There’s still work being done, like welding pieces of pipeline together, even today. Often overlooked in the ME2 project is the small part of the pipeline that crosses the border into Ohio. The PA DEP’s stop work order (and regulatory authority) does not extend there. The pipeline in Ohio is regulated by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Just coming to light now is a “Notice of Probable Violation” for ME2 in Ohio, issued by PHMSA on Jan. 11th. A PHMSA inspector noticed scrapes, coating damage and a “gouge” that extended into the pipe wall. Chance are none of it makes a hill of beans worth of difference. However, given the pipeline will flow “flammable” natural gas liquids (primarily ethane and propane), anything but a 100% standard of perfection gives antis an excuse to call for a halt to the project, both in Ohio and in PA, which they’re doing…
    Read More “PHMSA Issues Notice of Probable Violation to ME2 Pipeline in Ohio”

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    Analysts Speculate Rover Pipe Will be Delayed Following FERC Order

    Yesterday MDN brought you the news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has slapped a stop work order on underground horizontal direction drilling (HDD) for Rover Pipeline at the site crossing under the Tuscarawas River (see FERC Stops Rover Drilling Near River After 200K Gal Mud Disappears). There is tough geography in that area. In April 2017, Rover lost approximately 2 million gallons of nontoxic drilling mud at that location, mud which leaked out of the hole and onto the ground (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). That accident caused a shutdown of all Rover HDD work in Ohio. Work eventually resumed (last year). Work at the Tuscarawas location didn’t resume until last December (see FERC Gives Rover OK to Resume All HDD Work, Incl. Tuscarawas River). But now Rover has lost another ~200,000 gallons of drilling mud in the Tuscarawas borehole. Hence the FERC order. Energy Transfer Partners, the builder of Rover, maintains the entire Rover project will be completed by the end of March. Given the new stop work order with no apparent resolution in sight for how ET plans to overcome the problems at Tuscarawas, industry analysts are now speculating that Rover will not be done by the end of March, as advertised…
    Read More “Analysts Speculate Rover Pipe Will be Delayed Following FERC Order”

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    WV Senate Bill Allows Counties to Assess “Impact Fees” on O&G

    A newly introduced bill in the West Virginia legislature–Senate Bill (SB) 295–appears to give WV counties the power to impose their own “impact fee” on the oil and gas industry. We say appears because the words “oil” and “gas” never appear in the bill–but those words do appear in a newspaper article discussing the bill. WV counties are in a bind. In PA, counties and towns get a healthy stream of revenue from PA’s “impact fee” (equivalent of a severance tax). When drilling comes to town roads get a lot of heavy truck traffic. Public services of all kinds–police, fire, government buildings–see more use. PA’s impact fee helps with those things. In Ohio, towns sign RUMAs with drillers–Road Use Maintenance Agreements. But in WV, the tax money counties did receive from the oil and gas industry was reduced in 2011 when the state legislature granted discounts to companies spending more than $50 million in the state. Want to fix or build a new road to handle traffic? Good luck! Enter SB 295 which (again) appears to grant counties the ability to assess certain fees, including an “impact fee,” on certain companies in order to assist with things like building and fixing roads. Here’s what we could find about SB 295…
    Read More “WV Senate Bill Allows Counties to Assess “Impact Fees” on O&G”