Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robert Young on March 1, 2009 at 7:58pm

where is all the welding work, the coal gas in Kansas and the barnett shale in Tx is slowing down

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Permalink Reply by Ron Erickson on March 4, 2009 at 4:22pm

I would venture a guess - after reading all the laments about Marcellus Production being held because of lack of Pipeline Capacity - that in PA, and the follow-on locations of South Central and SE NY State.

In NYS Nornew is putting in significant gathering lines for their Marcellus Exploration (They are also after Trenton/Black River and other strata); and TGP will be continuing its expansion by adding Loops from Station 313 to 325. That is being pushed right along for a 2011 completion - so I'd check in with those locations to find the Subs handling the local loops.

RR

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Permalink Reply by Beverly F Lagrone on March 10, 2009 at 6:27pm

Took a while to find this site. Glad I have. Question is where could I find station 313 to 325? Buy the way borrowed e-mail add..

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Permalink Reply by Melissa L Ramsey on December 11, 2009 at 10:27am

I have been trying to get any information on any pipeline welding jobs! And I don't seem to be having any luck! My husband is a pipeline welder with 20 yrs of experience, 2 rig trucks, a TWIC card, NASA clearance, Department Of Defense Clearance, and many of credetials! We are interested in working on this project..any information would be greatly appriciated! He is will to start working IMMEDIATLY!!! Thank you so much

Melissa

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Permalink Reply by Tim Anderson on January 26, 2010 at 9:37pm

Hello Melissa,
have you ever found anything about pipe welding jobs? i have been looking also. any help would be great

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Permalink Reply by David Grady on March 26, 2010 at 4:09pm

We are in the process of bidding a 8'' Steel pipeline job near Bradford Pa and are looking for a welder or 2 Please contact us via email [email protected] Thank You

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Permalink Reply by Beverly F Lagrone on March 10, 2009 at 6:23pm

Hit wrong reply

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Permalink Reply by beetle on March 11, 2009 at 10:10pm

I live near Amity.......Col. Gas has made a deal with the gas companies to use there transmission line to move the gas from these wells. Im in negotiations now to change my gas appliances to electric....and how much they will cover that cost. They say we will be losing our gas in June.

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Permalink Reply by JUSTIN on March 13, 2009 at 1:42am

WASHINGTON COUNTY,PA

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Permalink Reply by marilyn ascani on March 17, 2009 at 8:15am

Are there any pipelines going up Rte 87 or Rte 187 north to south?

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Permalink Reply by Justin McCartney on January 4, 2010 at 8:00pm

As producers develop plans to extract natural gas from the burgeoning Marcellus shale play, pipeline companies are stepping up their efforts to build the transportation systems needed to move the gas to markets throughout the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States.

The Marcellus shale is one of the nation’s hottest natural gas plays, and some industry analysts consider the play to be one of the biggest opportunities facing the natural gas sector. Running from upstate New York to West Virginia and eastern Ohio, the mostly untapped reservoir lies in thick black shale about 6,000 ft beneath the surface.

The Marcellus shale gas was once considered too difficult and expensive to tap, but pioneering technological efforts by Chesapeake Energy and others have made the 54,000-square-mile reservoir more attractive. A study released earlier this year by Penn State University and State University of New York suggested that the Marcellus could house more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with about 50 trillion accessible using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods applied in the Barnett shale.

All of this has producers and pipeline operators looking for ways to expand the region’s natural gas transportation infrastructure. For example, Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P., recently announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Williams to form Laurel Mountain Midstream, LLC, a joint venture whose goal is to be the leading gathering system in the southwestern Pennsylvania portion of the Marcellus shale. As part of the deal, Atlas Energy Resources, LLC, announced that it would sell the joint venture two natural gas processing plants and associated pipelines located in southwestern Pennsylvania for $12 million.

Laurel Mountain Midstream will own and operate all of APL’s northern Appalachian assets, which include gathering and processing assets in the Marcellus Shale region in southwestern Pennsylvania. The joint venture will manage the ongoing operation and anticipated expansion of the Appalachian system, which will in turn be utilized by Atlas Energy and other third-party producers in the Marcellus shale. Although the system will be operated on a day-to-day basis by Williams, all important decisions will be made jointly by Atlas Pipeline and Williams. Gene Dubay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Pipeline, observed that the new venture will provide “the financial leverage needed to fund expansion capital for anticipated growth in production from the Marcellus Shale.”

Another key player in the Marcellus shale is Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. It recently agreed to sell for $552 million the natural gas drilling rights on more than 205,000 acres, mostly in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, to Antero Resources. Dominion will reportedly gain after-tax proceeds of about $325 million, plus receive a 7.5% royalty interest on future natural gas production from the assigned acreage. The proceeds will enable Dominion to build a pipeline that will deliver gas from southwestern Pennsylvania to the East Coast. Dominion said the sale represents between one-third and one-quarter of the 600,000 to 800,000 acres where it controls drilling rights in the Marcellus shale. The company says it expects to pursue similar transactions relating to its Marcellus shale drilling rights.

Dominion’s planned pipeline, called Dominion Keystone, would take natural gas from southwestern Pennsylvania to Chester County, Pennsylvania, where it would connect to pipelines operated by Dominion, Spectra, Williams and NiSource. Antero and a Dominion subsidiary would provide about 500 million cubic feet of gas per day to the pipeline, and about 1 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2012. “The pipeline project is a response to the many Appalachian producers who are seeking reliable natural gas pipeline transmission for increased production from conventional drilling, coalbed methane and Lower Huron shale, as well as Marcellus shale,” Dominion said in a news release.

Still elsewhere in the region, Range Resources and Markwest Energy Partners have signed an agreement under which MarkWest will construct and operate gas gathering pipelines and processing facilities associated with Range’s Marcellus shale acreage in the Appalachian basin. After having slated $50 million for regional development last year, MarkWest is reportedly scheduled to invest up to an additional $125 million in 2009, based on projects currently being developed. John Pinkerton, chairman and CEO of Range Resources, commented that the arrangement with MarkWest Energy Partners will enable his company to fully develop its acreage in the Marcellus play. “Having the pipeline and processing infrastructure in place will be important for us to develop the reserve potential of the play,” said Pinkerton.

And, there are other pipeline projects being planned and developed. Superior Pipeline of Tulsa, a Unit Corp. subsidiary, has launched a multimillion-dollar effort to build infrastructure around the Marcellus shale. In turn, Superior Appalachian Pipeline, a subsidiary of Superior Pipeline, has signed a long-term agreement with Appalachian Producer Services of McMurray, Pennsylvania, for developing midstream pipeline projects in the Appalachian basin. Those efforts, which mark Superior’s physical growth beyond its primary asset base in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, seek to tap potential natural gas supplies in the Marcellus shale and other Appalachian formations. “We’re interested in constructing new gathering systems to both relieve existing bottlenecks and gather natural gas from these potential sources,” said Unit President and Chief Executive Larry Pinkston in a report published by the Oklahoma City Journal Record. Robert Eckle, president and founder of Appalachian Producer Services, said the two firms have eight or nine projects under development, starting with small pipeline extensions. Eckle hopes to complete four or five such projects by the end of 2009. “We have a number of projects that are at various different points,” says Eckle. “Some are pretty far along and some are just starting.” Superior Appalachian Pipeline, which has opened a business development office in Pittsburgh, will own and operate the facilities.

With the rising cost of acquiring rights of way and building pipelines through the mountain region, Eckle said even small 22-mile legs could require more than $30 million to complete. But since those should be unregulated pipelines, he said the first projects could come online in the first half of 2009. On the drawing board await larger investments, including natural gas processing plants. “We want to be the midstream gatherer in Appalachia that everybody calls to build their systems,” says Eckle, whose firm provides marketing and natural gas management to producers in the Appalachia region, among other consultant services. “We anticipate over time this will be very good for us and for producers.”

Epsilon Energy Ltd., another producer in the Marcellus shale, is also looking to expand its pipeline take-away capacity. It recently announced that it had initiated natural gas production on its Highway 706 project in northeastern Pennsylvania, which is within the boundary of the developing shale play. The company says that this is its first domestic project in which it is the operator and holds a 100% working interest. In two and a half years, the company has acquired roughly 12,000 acres of prospective Marcellus shale leasehold, assembled 25 miles of pipeline right-of-way, drilled a combination of three vertical and five horizontal wells, and hydraulically fractured and completed five of those wells to date. The company has initiated natural gas production from the Poulson #1H and is currently working out related start-up issues. The Poulson #2H will be hooked up for production next. Both wells lie between the compressor site to the north and the tap into the Tennessee Gas pipeline system to the south. Epsilon is currently extending its gathering system to the north of the compressor site in order to bring on three wells that have previously yielded a combined natural gas production rate of 8.5 Mmcf per day.

Speaking of Tennessee Gas, the pipeline company is also looking to expand its pipeline transportation capacity to accommodate growing volumes of natural gas from the Marcellus shale. Last year, Tennessee Gas announced plans to increase the capacity of its 300 Line to transport new diversified natural gas supplies, including newly accessed Appalachian and Marcellus shale gas, to serve the growing demand for interstate natural gas transmission service in the northeastern United States. The 300 Line project involves the installation of seven looping segments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey totaling approximately 128 miles of 30-in. pipeline, and the addition of approximately 52,000 horsepower following the installation of two new compressor stations and upgrades at seven existing compressor stations.

The additional horsepower will be constructed at two new compressor stations to be located in northwestern Pennsylvania, at two existing compressor stations in Pennsylvania, and at an existing compressor station in New Jersey. Additionally, Tennessee will upgrade or restage compressors at three existing stations, and add a filter separator to one existing compressor station. At the same time, to capture efficiencies and increase reliability, Tennessee will be replacing horsepower at four of the previously mentioned existing compressor stations.

Upon completion, Tennessee expects that the project will increase natural gas delivery capacity in the region by approximately 300,000 dekatherms per day. The project would provide access to diversified natural gas supplies from Gulf Coast, Appalachian, Rockies, and Marcellus shale supply areas, and gas deliveries to points along the 300 Line path and into various interconnections with other pipelines in northern New Jersey, as well as an existing delivery point in White Plains, New York.

Tennessee held an open season for the project in 2008, and says it has executed a binding precedent agreement with a shipper for the full capacity of the project. In October 2008, Tennessee submitted its request to the FERC to use its pre-filing procedures. Tennessee currently contemplates submitting its certificate application requesting approval of the project from the commission in June 2009. Following receipt of all applicable approvals, construction may begin in the second half of 2010, and move towards a November 2011 completion date.

Regulatory authorities

Much of this proposed pipeline activity will take place in Pennsylvania, and the prospect of such large levels of construction has state officials rethinking the relevant regulatory authorities. Since development of the Marcellus shale formation could potentially last 50 years, regulators are seeking authority to make sure that the underground pipelines carrying the natural gas product are well maintained and safe. The Public Utility Commission regulates the safety of natural gas pipelines in the state. The agency is pushing for state legislation to extend this authority over non-utility pipelines that will eventually be built throughout the Marcellus shale, underlying a large swath of Northeast and Western Pennsylvania. State law requires that individuals or contractors notify a “one-call” center three days before excavation work to determine if natural gas pipelines are nearby. The center then notifies utilities of the pending work so they can mark the pipeline route. Historically, a significant amount of state utility pipelines have been made of cast iron or steel. Many of these systems are getting to be quite old, and increasingly vulnerable to the freeze-and-thaw cycle of Pennsylvania winters. “We are seeing a lot of corrosion, breaking and cracking,” says PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher.

PUC Chairman James Cawley outlined the agency’s goals earlier this year before the House Consumer Affairs Committee. The agency is seeking authority to inspect pipelines owned by commercial natural gas producers that are outside its traditional jurisdiction over public utilities.

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Permalink Reply by Edgar Simmers on January 27, 2010 at 11:24am

I just recently gave permission to a company to survey my land for a pipeline in west central Lycoming county.

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