On the morning of Dec 4, Energy Transfer Partners submitted a request to FERC to bring Phase 1B of its Rover Pipeline in service by December 14, 2017. Although horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work was halted earlier this year, Phase 1B progress is actually slightly ahead of schedule according to our gas pipeline tracker. Phase […]
SoCal Gas & Power Prices Rising Sharply Heading into December
December gas prices for SoCal Citygate increased dramatically over the last six weeks. On Monday, the December contract settled at $6.21/MMBTU, its highest settle in four years and more than $2/MMBTU higher than its average through 2017. The prospect of higher gas prices has also pushed SP-15 December power prices to record highs. As noted […]
Forget the rig count — efficiency reigns supreme in the Marcellus
Dry gas production in the Marcellus and Utica, which now comprises about 35% of total U.S. L-48 dry gas production, has steadily increased through 2017. The consistent increase in output has coincided with rising rig counts, as well, but total rigs remain well below 2014 peaks. This is a clear sign that producers in the […]
Lone Star Solar: Amid plummeting costs, solar is set to soar in Texas
Texas has long stood alone as the clear leader in wind development in the United States. As of August 2017, the state has 21.1 GW of wind capacity, which represents a full 25% of total U.S. capacity and is more than 3 times the capacity in Iowa, the country’s second leading wind state. Notably, Texas […]
New natural gas pipeline capacity may outpace production gains over next several months
Over 16.4 BCFD of new natural gas pipeline capacity is expected to come into service between now and October 2018. A large chunk of this capacity (7.2 BCFD) aims to provide incremental production takeaway capacity, primarily in the Marcellus/Utica region (see map below). However, EVA’s most recent natural gas production forecast suggests these pipelines may […]
Clean Power Plan Repeal Finally Picks Up Steam
On October 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added another chapter to the story of one of the most contentious environmental regulations, when EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued the proposed Clean Power Plan Repeal Rule. This action, almost 200 days after President Trump ordered the EPA in his Executive Order to Promote Energy […]
Metallurgical Coal Production drops in Third Quarter, Despite Strong Market Conditions
Quarterly coal production data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show a significant drop in metallurgical coal production for the third quarter in 2017. While year-to-date metallurgical coal production is still well above 2016 levels (+26.7% through Q3), quarter-on-quarter production data shows a 9.5% decline, despite strong export market conditions for U.S. met […]
Unprecedented Outage Cuts Gas Flows on TETCO Southbound
Around 11pm on Oct 11, Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) declared a force majeure on an unplanned outage that occurred on the gas pipeline just south of its Berne Compressor Station in eastern Ohio. As of mid-morning on Oct 12, TETCO has not yet provided an estimate for when service will be restored. As a result of […]
Pumping the PURPA Brakes: North Carolina opts for a more competitive solar development process
Renewable energy development in the Southeast U.S. has been largely non-existent, with the notable exception of North Carolina. Even there, wind development has been scarce, but the state has emerged as the nation’s second largest state for utility scale solar, behind only California. Having added 828 MW in 2015 and 758 MW in 2016, North […]
Sabine Pass LNG fills the tanks while waiting for Harvey to pass
Despite devastating much of Texas’ Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey has by all accounts spared Sabine Pass LNG, located on the Texas-Louisiana border. Owner and operator Cheniere has said operations were largely unaffected by the storm and corresponding deluge. Yet, no LNG cargoes have been loaded at the facility since Thursday 8/24 (just before the storm […]