Efforts to move more natural gas into gas-starved New England are picking up steam. Enbridge recently said the open season for its Project Beacon, an expansion to the Algonquin Gas Transmission (AGT) system into and through New England, fared better than expected and remains a top priority. At the same time, DT Midstream is moving ahead with one expansion of its Millennium Pipeline, which moves Marcellus/Utica gas to a key AGT interconnection, as it weighs a much larger one. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll update Project Beacon’s status and dig into the two Millennium projects that will help boost supplies to New England.
The NATGAS Appalachia weekly report provides the data and insights to monitor the northeast natural gas market’s twists and turns and identify the risks and opportunities along the way, including tracking supply-demand trends, outbound capacity and their impact on takeaway pipeline utilization, and regional prices.
As we discussed in Movin’ Out, Marcellus/Utica producers have wanted to send more gas into New England for years. But most big expansion projects have, until relatively recently, hit massive resistance. Regulators and elected officials are now more open to brownfield projects that build on existing infrastructure, especially if they help reduce the need for diesel-fired power during peak winter demand. The nearby Marcellus/Utica still has plenty of gas to meet rising demand, but more production only matters if the pipeline capacity exists to move that gas to market. (For a deep dive into the Northeast gas market and how it may be poised for a reawakening, see our recently published Drill Down report, Wake Me Up.)
Let’s start with a bit of background. In September 2025, Enbridge, owner of the 3.1-Bcf/d AGT system that stretches from New Jersey to eastern Massachusetts (purple lines in Figure 1 below), sanctioned the development of the AGT Enhancement. The project, scheduled for completion in late 2028, is designed to ease constraints along the 1,130-mile system and increase its capacity during peak-demand periods by 75 MMcf/d. This project involves:
- Installation of about 3 miles of new 36-inch-diameter looping pipeline (i.e., parallel piping; yellow boxes in Figure 1 below) along the AGT system near Burrillville, RI
- Replacing more than 8 miles of existing 16-inch pipeline in Massachusetts’s Norfolk and Worcester counties and Rhode Island’s Providence County with 36-inch pipe (green boxes)
- Adding more than 2 miles of 12-inch looping pipeline in Newport County, RI (dark-blue boxes)
- Making software improvements to AGT’s existing compressor station in Cromwell, CT (orange boxes)
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About the song
“Step by Step” was written by Maurice Starr and appears as the first song on New Kids on the Block’s fourth studio album of the same name. The song’s lyrics give five reasons (step by step) on how to win over a girl's affection over time.
Released as the first single from the album in May 1990, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Personnel on the record were: Jordan Knight (lead vocals), Jonathan Knight, Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre (backing vocals), Maurice Starr (programming), Leo Okeke (drum programming), and Yasko Kubota, Mark Doyle, Richard Mendelson, Michael Jonzun (additional programming).
The album, Step by Step, was recorded between September 1989 and April 1990 at Unique Recording Studios in New York City and produced by Maurice Starr. Released in June 1990, it went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Seven singles were released from the LP.
New Kids on the Block are an American male vocal group formed in Dorchester, MA, by producer, songwriter and talent scout Maurice Starr. Originally conceived as a “boy band,” the group included vocalists/ brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. Maurice Starr (Larry Curtis Johnson) had previously been the creator of the early 1980s vocal group New Edition and was famously fired and sued by the group in 1983 after paying the band members less than $2 apiece following a lengthy tour. New Kids on the Block have released eight studio albums, seven compilation albums, an EP, and 32 singles. They have sold more than 80 million records worldwide. They have won two American Music Awards, 10 Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The group split up in 1994 and reunited in 2008. Donnie Wahlberg, the older brother of actor Mark Wahlberg, has an extensive resume as a television actor. He is currently the star of the hit television police drama Boston Blue. Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood have all had successful solo music careers outside of New Kids on the Block. New Kids on the Block continue to record and tour and will begin a residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas in October.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
