Demand for natural gas is rising both within the U.S. Northeast and in regions to its south and west. That incremental demand is spurring the development of a host of gas pipeline projects — small, medium and large — that collectively will enable Marcellus/Utica E&Ps to ratchet up their production year by year well into the 2030s. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our analysis of the new pipelines and pipeline expansions being planned to move more gas within — and out of — the U.S.’s largest gas production region.
This is the fourth blog in a series about gas market dynamics in the Northeast. In Part 1, we said that while the dramatic changes happening in Texas and Louisiana have garnered the most attention in the past year or two, the Appalachia market has been quietly evolving in ways that will not only shift flow patterns within the region but also affect flows to the Southeast, Midwest and Gulf Coast. Part 2 focused on gas demand within the Northeast, which is getting a big boost from the power-generation sector as coal retirements continue and data center development proliferates. In Part 3, we started a review of the pipeline projects being planned to enable more gas to flow through and out of the Marcellus/Utica to existing and new demand centers, focusing on projects in New England and New York.
Today, we continue that review. There’s no simple way to categorize most of the remaining projects. The best we can do is separate them into these five buckets: (1) projects within Pennsylvania; (2) regionwide enhancements; (3) projects tied to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and Transco; (4) expanded capacity to Ohio and beyond; and (5) projects that are more distant but still related to the Marcellus/Utica.
Projects within Pennsylvania
We’ll start with National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG), which is building two gas pipeline projects in the Keystone State and planning another. NFG is not familiar to everyone, so we should note that it is an integrated energy company that produces natural gas in north-central and northwestern Pennsylvania, owns and operates a gas pipeline network — National Fuel Gas Pipeline (NFGP; lime-green lines in Figure 1 below) — and the Empire Pipeline (magenta lines) and distributes gas to retail customers in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York.
Figure 1. National Fuel Gas Pipeline Projects. Source: Novi Labs
Canadian Rig Counts: Gas Rigs Up Four, Oil Rigs Up Five, Both Above Prior Five-Year Highs
In Western Canada this week, the gas-directed rig count rose by four to 58 rigs, while the oil-directed rig count gained five to 119 rigs.
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About the song
“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” was written by Billy Joel and appears as the first song on side one of his fifth studio album, The Stranger. The song is about working-class New Yorkers struggling to achieve success in their lives. Joel said “Anthony” was a fictitious character. Released as a single in September 1977, the song went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified 2X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Twyla Tharp produced a musical, Movin’ Out, based on the song, which played for 1,307 performances on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theater from 2002 to 2005. Personnel on the record were: Billy Joel (lead, backing vocals), Steve Kahn, Hiram Bullock (electric guitars), Doug Steinmeyer (bass, small block 1960s Corvette), Richie Cannata (saxophones), and Liberty DeVito (drums).
The Stranger was recorded in 1977 at A&R Studios in New York City and produced by Phil Ramone. Released in September 1977, it went to #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 12X Platinum by the RIAA. Five singles were released from the LP.
Billy Joel is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed “the Piano Man” after his 1973 hit single of the same name, Joel has had a successful career as a solo artist since the early 1970s. Born in the Bronx, Joel started playing piano at 4. He began his professional career playing piano bars while still in high school. His first rock band, The Hassles, made two albums for United Artists Records in 1967. Joel left The Hassles in 1969 and formed the duo Attila, which released one LP in 1970. He released his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, in 1971. Joel has released 13 studio albums, seven live albums, 19 compilation albums and 62 singles and has sold more than 150 million records worldwide. He has won an American Music Award, five Brit Awards, six Grammy Awards and a Tony Award, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Joel, dealing with medical issues, made his last concert appearance at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, in February 2025. His last release was the single “Turn the Lights Back On,” which dropped in February 2024.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
