Editor's Notebook
Trans Mountain by the Numbers
With Canada’s announcement that the government will no longer fund the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, many who criticized the country’s purchase of the project in the first place are now wondering if it should be completed at all, regardless of who pays for it.
So Close, Yet So Far
Once again, a U.S. appeals court has tossed out permits granted by federal agencies that would have allowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross a 3.5-mile section of the Jefferson National Forest.
Necessity Meets Innovation
There has been a major oil leak in progress off the coast of Louisiana for 17 years now, and I’d be willing to bet most people, even those in the industry, don’t know about it.
A True Chilling Effect
When the Supreme Court refused to stay a lower court decision that vacated a federal permit allowing Spire’s STL pipeline to operate, it opened a door that could threaten natural gas supplies to residents during St. Louis’ notoriously bitter winter.
CEPA Exiting After Nearly 3 Decades
The decision by the Board of Directors to shut down its offices as of Dec. 31 comes as a tough blow for midstream companies, though all things considered the move was not especially surprising.
Line 3’s Long, Strange Trip Nears Terminus?
The Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to let stand a regulatory ruling that allows Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge’s nearly completed Line 3 project to move forward comes while Canadian midstream companies are overdue for some good news.
Northern Demand not Isolated
Say what you will about the state of the industry, customers are still clamoring for natural gas in their homes and businesses, and with that need for expansion comes new pipeline projects.
Midstream Wins a Big One
The U.S. Supreme Court, in what some people including me would consider at least a minor surprise, upheld PennEast Pipeline’s authority to use eminent domain to acquire access to state property.
A Question of Not ‘If’ but ‘When’
The cyberattack on Colonial Pipelines served as the ultimate exclamation point on that pesky declaration pipeline companies had been hearing for years: Your information systems need to be better protected from malicious software.
West Coast Greets ‘Cleaner’ Pipe Conversion
Between the California towns of Paramount and Carson, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, a pipeline that once shipped crude oil from the former to the latter is another step closer to transporting hydrogen gas instead.
Beware of Pending FERC Shift
A recent vote of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may have come out favorably for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), but 3-2 wins like this for midstream companies will likely become a much rarer commodity this summer.
Great Freeze Revisited
I suppose if I just wanted to write a column that assigned the “villain” label to someone involved in the Great Texas Blackout of 2021, there would be plenty of worthy candidates from which to choose.
PennEast’s Hail Mary Legal Challenge
In what is being viewed as hopeful news from the Marcellus Shale region, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by PennEast Pipeline Company to a ruling that prevents the company from seizing land in New Jersey through eminent domain.
Time to Look Ahead (and Back)
When projects start being advanced again a familiar foe will be lying in wait – that being the ever-vigilant anti-pipeline coalition.
Happ(ier) Days Are Here Again?
Despite recent hard times, there is reason to believe relatively good news is around the corner for the midstream sector.
Biden’s Upside: It Could Have Been Worse
The prospect of a new U.S. president has caused a fair amount of hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth among those in midstream and other energy sectors, but there is reason to believe the fallout caused by a new administration will not be all that severe.
Doubling Down on $5 Natural Gas
While there hasn't been a lot of good news on the midstream front lately, projected $5 natural gas by the fall of 2021 is a hopeful sign. And who can argue with the Farmer's Almanac weather forecast?
A Little Help for Our Friends?
With oil and gas industry workers being especially hard hit by fallout from the coronavirus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers set out a few months ago to secure assistance for those in the sector who need it.
And Our Readers Say …
A recent survey of Pipeline & Gas Journal readers showed a clear majority of respondents believe the lingering effects of the coronavirus and recent developments concerning Dakota Access and Atlantic Coast pipelines have dealt a serious one-two punch to midstream businesses.
Mexico’s President No Fan of ‘Big Fans’
In what could only be viewed as a significant blow to the wind-power industry in Mexico, that nation’s president, Andrés Manuel López-Obrador, said he would end his support for further projects, including the installation of grid connectors.
A Little Good News from Back East
The pipeline industry in the U.S. Northeast finally got some positive news on the permitting front, when New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) received the go-ahead to move forward with construction work on a controversial 30-mile (48-km) section of the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline in New Jersey.
In Texas, Every Little Bit Helps
To quote the frequently quotable Kelcy Warren during a recent network TV interview, “Every day storage is not filled is a day saved for the producer.”
Editor's Notebook: Paradox Pipeline Living Up to Its Name
Well, if nothing else, the Paradox pipeline has at least turned out to be aptly named, though no one involved with the 21-mile (34-km) natural gas conduit, including regulators, is smiling.
Publishing in the Age of COVID-19
Pipeline & Gas Journal Editor-in-Chief Mike Reed discusses how our publication is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and how we are continuing to support our readers during this time.
Publishing in the Age of COVID-19
Pipeline & Gas Journal Editor-in-Chief Mike Reed discusses how our publication is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and how we are continuing to support our readers during this time.
Does Keystone’s Song Remain the Same?
Yes, I know, opening a column with the words of a long-defunct progressive rock band seems like an odd choice and will probably accomplish little beyond pointing out how truly old I have become.
Gas Pipeline Gains Unlikely Ally (This Time)
In a roundabout way of looking at things, the pipeline industry received an unexpected Christmas gift recently when the Rev. Jessie Jackson offered his hearty endorsement for the construction of a natural gas pipeline in a community near Chicago, Ill. (And, yes, I am writing about that Jessie Jackson.)
Bottlenecks Crimping Alberta’s Style
With the largest oil producing province in Canada, Alberta, announcing it would cap output for January at 3.81 MMbpd – the same level as in December – operators continue to scramble for additional capacity.
PGJ: A Shared Pipeline Experience
After sitting at the keyboard for several minutes, though, I realized that hitting on the high points of a magazine that was already more than 150 years old when I joined the staff seven years ago – and has grown to be so much more than a magazine in the digital age – would be a fool’s errand for a couple of reasons.
Boom or Bust in the Permian?
Things are heating up in Texas, and it’s not just the weather. There are numerous complexities surrounding the most prolific shale region in North America that has everyone working in the basin uneasy. Though the Permian Basin, in Texas and New Mexico, has pushed the U.S. past Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s top crude producer, some headwinds have appeared that have this basin fluxed.
- Phillips 66 to Shut LA Oil Refinery, Ending Major Gasoline Output Amid Supply Concerns
- FERC Sides with Williams in Texas-Louisiana Pipeline Dispute with Energy Transfer
- U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Pipeline Permits
- ConocoPhillips Eyes Sale of $1 Billion Permian Assets Amid Marathon Acquisition
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Pipeline Permits
- Malaysia’s Oil Exports to China Surge Amid Broader Import Decline
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Marathon Oil to Lay Off Over 500 Texas Workers Ahead of ConocoPhillips Merger
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
