Active Rigs In North Dakota Trending Back Toward 50 As We Approach Winter -- December 11, 2017

Active rigs:

$57.56→	12/11/2017	12/11/2016	12/11/2015	12/11/2014	12/11/2013
Active Rigs	52	40	65	186	192

RBN Energy: Algonquin, Transco Pipeline xxpansions feed more Marcellus gas to New England, New York markets.

Several large-scale gas pipeline expansions targeting the New England and New York City markets have been sidelined in the past year, either due to insufficient financial backing or the challenges of regulatory rigmarole in the region. But in recent weeks, a couple of smaller-scale projects along existing rights-of-way have managed to cross the finish line, allowing incremental gas supplies to trickle into the region. The new pipeline capacity will provide natural gas utilities and power generators in the region with greater access to additional gas supplies from the nearby Marcellus Shale this winter. Today, we look at recent capacity additions and their potential impacts.

The last time the U.S. Northeast had exceptionally cold weather — during the Polar Vortex winter of 2013-14 — natural gas prices in New England spiked to nearly $25/MMBtu. That’s a long way from the $80-$100 premiums the region used to see prior to the Shale Revolution, but still an impressive premium, considering Marcellus/Utica shale gas production had reached upwards of 14 Bcf/d by then. So why the high prices? Well, there simply wasn’t enough transportation capacity to get the gas to the utilities serving those densely populated markets.

Since then, Northeast gas production has nearly doubled, and the New England-New York region has been adding new gas-fired generating capacity, driven by a big push to reduce emissions. Additionally, nuclear, coal and older oil-fired power plants are aggressively being shuttered.

In other words, the New England-New York region has become increasingly dependent on gas-fired power. But pipeline capacity additions to bridge gas supply and demand have been slower to come. That’s not to say there haven’t been some meaningful additions.