It took an “Act of Congress” and a decision from the highest court in the land — handed down by the Chief Justice no less — but it’s looking more and more like Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) will be completed as early as by the end of this year, opening up 2 Bcf/d of new takeaway capacity for the increasingly pipeline-constrained Appalachian gas supply basin. That’s shifted the industry’s gaze to bottlenecks downstream of where the bulk of the volumes flowing on the new pipeline will land — on the doorstep of Williams’s Transco Pipeline in southern Virginia. A number of midstream expansions have been announced to capture the influx of natural gas supply from MVP and shuttle it to downstream markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, and indications are that more will be announced and greenlighted in the coming months. These projects will be key to both enabling gas production growth in the Appalachia basin as well as meeting growing gas demand in the premium markets lying on the other side of the constraints. In today’s RBN blog, we delve into the details and timing of the announced expansion projects vying to increase market access to MVP supply.
In Part 1, we provided the latest developments on MVP, which, along with the growing demand for gas-fired generation in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, is the impetus for the other midstream projects we’ll dive into today. The biggest news, of course, is that the long-sought pipeline looks like it is finally happening. There are three main events that shifted the odds in favor of MVP in recent months just as it was looking like it would languish under the weight of endless legal battles. The first was the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), which was signed into law in early June and included a rare mandate from Congress to permit and complete MVP. As we detailed in Rescue Me, the provision stripped the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals of jurisdiction, prohibited any further challenges to the state and federal permits, and, for those wanting to challenge the FRA provision itself, it restricted jurisdiction to the DC Circuit Court. The second was the Supreme Court decision to grant MVP’s emergency appeal and negate the Fourth Circuit’s ruling to stay construction even after the FRA was signed. And finally, the third was the lower court’s decision to dismiss pending petitions against MVP given the FRA took away its jurisdiction to hear them.
Join us at our historic 20th School of Energy!
School of Energy: Foundations is a two day, in person conference designed to help energy professionals better understand the forces shaping crude oil, natural gas, NGLs, refined products, and petrochemicals.
Attendees will learn from RBN experts, work with Excel based analytical models, participate in Q&As, and network with industry peers.
Build the foundation to better navigate volatile energy markets.
There’s still some risk to MVP’s completion and timing. For one thing, there’s a lingering eminent domain case in the DC Circuit that could still throw a wrench in the gears for the project. Separately, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Safety Order (NOPSO) to Equitrans on August 11 related to concerns that years of construction delays could have affected pipeline integrity. The resulting inspections, possible remediation, and third-party testing related to this order could delay completion, as could extreme weather if construction extends into the winter months. But barring major setbacks related to these risks, the odds have shifted in favor of MVP completion, for the first time in a long while, and we could see the pipeline come online later this year or in early 2024.
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
"Bring It On Home to Me" was written by Sam Cooke and appears as the sixth song on side two of Sam Cooke's second greatest hits album, The Best of Sam Cooke. Cooke wrote the song while touring, and it was a nod to his gospel roots, drawing heavily from Charlie Brown's 1959 single, "I Want to Go Home." It was recorded at RCA Studio 1 in Hollywood in April 1962, with Hugo and Luigi producing. "Having a Party" was the A-side of the single that was released in May 1962. Al Schmidt, who engineered the songs that were recorded at the same time in the same session, said the session was like a big party, with an 18-piece backing group and friends of Cooke all in the studio at the same time. Both sides were hits for Cooke, with "Bring It On Home to Me" going to #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts. Many artists have covered the tune, and The Animals, Eddie Floyd, Lou Rawls, and Mickey Gilley all had hit records with the song. Personnel on the record were: Sam Cooke (lead vocals), Lou Rawls (backing vocals), Rene Hall, Clifton White, Tommy Tedesco (guitar), Adolphus Asbrook, Ray Pohlman (bass), Ernie Freeman (piano), William Green (saxophone), Frank Capps (drums, percussion), and 10 session musicians on violin, cello and viola.
The Best of Sam Cooke was the second hits collection for Cooke. It contains most of Cooke's hit singles from 1957-1962. Produced by Hugo and Luigi, the 12-song album was released in the fall of 1962. The singles, "Bring It On Home to Me," and "Having a Party" only appeared on this album.
Sam Cooke was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be one of the most influential soul artists of all time, he is referred to as the "King of Soul." He got his professional start in the 1950s as the lead vocalist in the gospel group, the Soul Stirrers. He went solo in 1957 and released 29 charting singles in his eight-year solo career before being shot and killed by a motel manager in Los Angeles in December 1964 at the age of 33. Cooke was a central figure of the civil rights movement, with his song "A Change is Gonna Come" becoming an anthem of the movement. He released 14 studio albums, two live albums, 13 compilation albums and 49 singles. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a solo artist, and again as a member of the Soul Stirrers. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
