Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 39 2021
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NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil
PennEast Pipeline stops development
US NORTHEAST PENNEAST Pipeline said this week that it would in 2022, even though it was delaying acquiring
stop developing its proposed pipeline from rights of way for the project owing to outstanding
Pennsylvania to New Jersey. legal and regulatory hurdles. The second phase,
The 120-mile (193-km) pipeline would have from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, would then
carried 1.1bn cubic feet (31.2mn cubic metres) have been completed in 2023.
per day of natural gas produced in the Appala- However, the obstacles the project still faced
chian Basin’s prolific Marcellus shale play. Fol- subsequently appear to have proved too high
lowing numerous delays and regulatory and legal for the pipeline to move forward. This makes
hurdles, the company said PennEast was being PennEast the latest in a series of gas pipe-
scrapped because it had not yet received all of its lines, especially in the Appalachian region, to
required permits, including a water quality cer- be scrapped because of legal and regulatory
tification in New Jersey. All further development challenges. Another proposed pipeline in the
on the project has been ceased, PennEast, which region, the Atlantic Coast project from West
includes units of NJR, South Jersey Industries, Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina, was
Southern, Enbridge and UGI, added in an email cancelled by operator Dominion Energy in
that was cited by Reuters. 2020.
The move comes just three months after PennEast’s demise comes as US gas prices
the company won a victory in the US Supreme have risen to seven-year highs on strong overseas
Court over the State of New Jersey, allowing it demand for the country’s LNG. The Interstate
to use federal eminent domain rules to seize Natural Gas Association of America, an industry
state-owned land for the project. PennEast sub- group, voiced concerns that the pipeline’s cancel-
sequently said in August that it expected to com- lation puts US energy affordability and reliability
plete the first phase of the $1.2bn gas pipeline at further risk.
POLICY
US sets date for next Gulf lease sale
GULF OF MEXICO THE administration of US President Joe Biden
has said it will hold an auction for drilling rights
in the US Gulf of Mexico on November 17. The
auction will be held in order for the govern-
ment to comply with a court ruling ordering it
to resume sales, after it had put them on hold to
review federal leasing.
Biden campaigned for the presidency on a
pledge to end oil and gas leasing in federal waters
and on federal land. Upon taking office in Janu-
ary, he was quick to announce that new leasing Bids for the blocks must be received by
was being suspended while his administration November 16 and will be read the following
carried out its review into the impact of such morning in New Orleans, with the bid opening
lease sales and their value to taxpayers. But the also being live-streamed.
move was strongly opposed by oil-producing While oil prices are stronger and this would
states and industry groups, who filed lawsuits traditionally have encouraged more bidding
against the Biden administration and succeeded for offshore blocks, uncertainty over the Biden
in having a judge rule that lease sales should administration’s next moves in relation to fed-
resume for now. eral leasing could prove to be a deterrent. None-
The last lease sale in the Gulf was held in theless, the sale has been welcomed by industry
November 2020, under former US President groups, with the National Ocean Industries
Donald Trump. The upcoming lease sale, held Association (NOIA) describing it as “welcome
by the US Department of the Interior (DoI), news for the American worker and our national
will comprise roughly 80mn acres (323,749 security”.
square km) offshore, and cover almost all The Biden administration had said the find-
available unleased blocks in the Gulf. It will be ings of its review into federal leasing – at least
roughly the same size as prior lease sales under on an interim basis – would be released in the
Trump. summer, but no report has yet emerged.
P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 30•September•2021
