TC Energy’s Columbia Gas and Columbia Gulf natural gas transmission systems’ recent expansions out of the Northeast — the Mountaineer Xpress and Gulf Xpress projects, both completed in March — are responsible for a large portion of the uptick in Marcellus/Utica production in the last few months and they’ve added an incremental 860 MMcf/d of capacity for Appalachian gas supplies moving south to the Gulf Coast. The two projects join a number of other expansions in recent years that have inextricably tied Marcellus/Utica supply markets to attractive demand markets along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Where is that latest surge of southbound supply ending up? Today, we look at the downstream impacts of the completed projects, namely on Louisiana gas flows and LNG feedgas deliveries.
We began in Part 1 with a recap of the recent pipeline expansions completed on TC Energy’s Columbia Gas and Columbia Gulf transmission systems — or TCO and CGT, respectively — to allow for southbound flows out of the Marcellus/Utica producing area to Louisiana. These are the latest (and among the last) of the big takeaway expansions of the Northeast to come online this decade. They’re also among the number of projects in recent years that have increased the interconnectivity between the Northeast and Gulf Coast markets, with implications for prices and flows on both ends of the transportation routes that connect them (see Here I Am, Baby and Look How Far We’ve Come). TC Energy in late 2017/early 2018 completed a pair of projects: Leach Xpress (LXP), which expanded TCO by 1.5 Bcf/d from Marshall County, WV, to southwest to an interconnect with CGT in Leach, KY, and Rayne Xpress (RXP), which enabled an incremental 1 Bcf/d to flow south CGT’s Mainline capacity from Leach, KY, to Rayne, LA.
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Those two expansions were followed earlier this year with the completion of two more projects. One was Mountaineer Xpress (MXP), which expanded TCO’s supply receipt capacity by another 2.7 Bcf/d, including the ability to deliver another 860 MMcf/d into Leach; the other was Gulf Xpress (GXP), which expanded CGT’s southbound capacity by that same 860 MMcf/d from Leach to delivery locations in Mississippi, Louisiana and other Gulf Coast demand markets, including CGT’s mainline pool in Humphreys County, MS; CGT’s Rayne station in Acadia Parish, LA; Williams Transco Pipeline’s Evangeline station in Evangeline Parish, LA; Florida Natural Gas’s Lafayette Station in Lafayette Parish, LA; and Southern Natural Gas’s Shadyside station in St. Mary Parish, LA.
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About the song
"Rainbow Connection" was written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher and is the first song featured in The Muppet Movie and on the soundtrack for the film. Muppets creator Jim Henson commissioned Williams and Ascher to write the soundtrack for the first feature-length film of the Muppets. Williams, who helped produce the album with Henson, said that "When You Wish Upon a Star," as sung by Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, was the blueprint for writing "Rainbow Connection." Williams said he and Ascher wanted the song to reflect that there is "power in your thoughts, and with faith you can do anything."
Jim Henson is the voice of Kermit, the green felt frog that is featured in "Rainbow Connection." Williams said Henson was struggling with the vocals in the studio until he suggested he cut the vocal while puppeteering Kermit, resulting in studio magic and the take you hear on the soundtrack. The song went to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Rainbow Connection" has been covered by many artists since its release in 1979, including Willie Nelson, Judy Collins, Less Than Jake, Jason Mraz, Gwen Stefani, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Personnel on the recording were: Jim Henson (vocals), Art Munson (banjo), Mark Stevens and Alan Estes (percussion) and Kenny Ascher (string arrangements).
The Muppet Movie is a 1979 musical comedy featuring the Muppets, the popular felt puppets created by Jim Henson. The soundtrack was recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood in 1978, and released in June 1979, the same time as the feature film. The soundtrack album went to #32 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Children's Album in 1980.
Jim Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, author, filmmaker, and screenwriter who was involved in the creation of the Muppets and Fragile Rock. He made eight feature films and numerous television shows before his death in 1990. Paul Williams is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and actor who remains active to this day. Kenny Ascher is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is also still doing what he does.
