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Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
US energy firms eye new Northeast natgas pipelines, buoyed by Trump and demand outlook
June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. energy companies are eying renewed opportunities to build natural gas pipelines to tap in to Appalachia shale formations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-energy policies and expectations that demand for the fuel will rise in coming years. The U.S. is already the world's top gas producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas. While the country helps meet fuel demand around the world, many consumers in the U.S. Northeast do not have access to gas due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure and instead continue to use heating oil in their homes and businesses. The Appalachia shale fields, which cover the Marcellus and Utica formations, have the largest gas reserves in the U.S., but energy companies have limited ability to move more of that fuel to the rest of the country because most existing pipelines are already near full. In addition, companies have found it tough to build new projects in the region due to legal and regulatory pushback from states and local and environmental groups. Output growth in the region, which produces about a third of the nation's gas, has stalled in recent years after some firms lost billions on delayed or canceled pipes. But now, as Trump rolls back regulations to boost domestic energy production, several U.S. firms, including Williams Cos (WMB.N), opens new tab, Boardwalk Pipeline, DT Midstream (DTM.N), opens new tab and EQT (EQT.N), opens new tab, have proposed building or expanding pipelines and other infrastructure in the Northeast. "We are actively evaluating opportunities to expand infrastructure," Amy Rogers, spokeswoman at EQT, the nation's second-biggest gas producer with operations in Appalachia, told Reuters. "Enhancing pipeline capacity is essential to unlocking Appalachian supply," she said. In 2024, the U.S. produced about 103.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas and consumed a record 90.5 bcfd of the fuel, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day. Analysts expect that new LNG export plants and electric generation facilities to power artificial intelligence at data centers will push U.S. power and gas demand to record highs in 2025 and 2026 and beyond. Output from Appalachia has increased every year since at least 2009 when the region produced just 1.7 bcfd of gas. Lack of pipeline capacity, however, has slowed that growth to an average of just 2% a year from 2020 to 2024 versus an average of 15% a year from 2015 to 2019, according to EIA data. Looking forward, output in the region is expected to grow by an average of only 1% a year in 2025 and 2026 - to 36.2 bcfd and 36.6 bcfd, respectively - according to EIA projections. New infrastructure, coupled with growing energy needs in the U.S., could add up to 5 bcfd of new demand for Appalachia gas supplies through 2030, said Jack Weixel, an analyst with consultancy East Daley Analytics. "That is definitely a lot more than anyone was expecting from Appalachia just a mere 12 months ago," he said. Support from the Trump administration has already prompted pipeline operator Williams to begin reviving two canceled projects to transport gas from Pennsylvania: the 0.65 bcfd Constitution Pipeline to New York and the 0.4 bcfd Northeast Supply Enhancement to New Jersey and New York. "The NESE and Constitution projects are essential to address persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast, constraints that have led to higher energy costs for consumers," said a spokesperson for Williams. During the winter of 2024-2025, it cost about twice as much to heat a home with oil than with gas, according to federal energy estimates. More than 80% of the roughly 4.6 million U.S. homes still using heating oil as their primary heating fuel in 2024 were located in the Northeast region. Williams canceled Constitution in 2020 and NESE in 2024 after years of fighting for permits, especially water permits, from state regulators. State environmental regulators in New York and New Jersey did not comment directly on Williams filings to revive the NESE project, which runs through both states. In New York, Millennium Pipeline, meanwhile, said it plans to begin negotiations for binding commitments for a proposed expansion that could add up to 0.5 bcfd of capacity to its existing 2.0 bcfd pipe. High interest from shippers underscored the need for additional pipeline capacity in the region, Millennium said, which anticipates that the expansion, if approved by its owners, could start service by late 2029. Millennium is owned by units of DT Midstream and Canadian energy firm TC Energy ( opens new tab. Meanwhile, EQT and partners want to extend their existing 2.0 bcfd Mountain Valley Pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia into North Carolina with the proposed 0.55 bcfd Southgate expansion project. The $7.85 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline, which entered service in 2024 and whose construction cost was more than twice the amount originally planned, was the last big pipeline to enter service in the Northeast region after years of delays. In Ohio, Boardwalk Pipelines said it is evaluating interest for its proposed Borealis pipeline project, which could create up to 2.0 bcfd of incremental transportation to markets from Ohio to Louisiana. Still, despite Trump's pro-energy policies, some of the same headwinds pipeline projects faced in the past are likely to resurface. Several organizations, including the Sierra Club environmental group, have already filed protests against Williams' NESE with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees federal permitting of gas pipeline projects. "The Northeast does not need more gas pipelines that pollute our neighborhoods and leave us vulnerable to price spikes from global volatility, especially as gas demand locally is already beginning to wane," Jasmine Vazin, director of the Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign at the Sierra Club, told Reuters in an email. The following table lists the gas pipes in various stages of development in recent years that could move more fuel from the Appalachia region.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Ugly As Hell': Trump Revives 1 Of His Longest-Running Feuds
President Donald Trump on Sunday launched a new attack on an old target: renewable energy. Trump, who has spent years complaining about wind and solar, bragged during a Fox News interview that he was bringing back coal ― while cleaner forms of energy are on the outs. And he said it's because of artificial intelligence. Trump said he was told the U.S. will need to double its electrical output to help the AI industry grow. Calling it a 'national emergency,' Trump said he was willing to move rapidly to increase energy production. Under the plan, companies building AI infrastructure can also build their own electric utilities. He said that could involve nuclear, oil, gas, and coal. 'The reason we do coal is because, and I call it clean, beautiful coal, you can really do things with coal today that you couldn't have done, but the beautiful thing about the coal, and the thing that I look at, you know who uses coal? China,' he said. 'Fifty-nine plants they're opening this year. Coal.' He said it's because coal is 'very powerful.' 'So we opened up coal,' he said, adding he also wants 'every form' of energy ― except for two. 'I don't want windmills destroying our place,' he said. 'I don't want, you know, these solar things where they go for miles and they cover up a half a mountain that are ugly as hell, and by the way the panels are all made, and the windmills, they're all made in China.' Trump's 'big beautiful bill' making its way through Congress would dramatically roll back credits for renewable energy. Trump has long attacked renewable energy, especiallywind, and in 2019 claimed ― falsely ― that windmills cause cancer. Last year, he called windmills 'big, ugly suckers' that are 'rusting and rotting.' 'The wind, the wind, it sounds so wonderful,' he said. 'The wind, the wind, the wind is, the wind is bullshit, I'll tell you.' His issues with wind may have begun nearly two decades ago, when an offshore wind farm was proposed near the land that would become his golf resort in Scotland. He sued to block it, lost, and has held a grudge against wind and other forms of renewable energy since. Trump: "We're doing coal. I don't want windmills destroying our place. I don't want these solar things where they go for miles and they cover up half a mountain and they're ugly as hell." — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 29, 2025
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Mideast war highlights Egypt's energy weak spot
LONDON, June 30 - Egypt was one of the biggest economic losers of the Middle East's 12-day war after Israel shut down vital natural gas exports to its neighbour. The gas pipeline linking the two countries was turned back on after Israel and Iran agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's ceasefire on June 23, but the episode highlights Egypt's vulnerability and fading hopes that the Eastern Mediterranean could become a major gas exporting region. The discovery and development of enormous offshore gas resources near Egypt, Israel and Cyprus in the 2000s has radically transformed the region's energy landscape, turning the region into a major production hub and attracting international energy companies. The surge in production was a huge boon for Egypt in particular. The discovery in 2015 of the Zohr field, the biggest gas deposit in the eastern Mediterranean, and its rapid development by 2017 offered Egypt critical energy for its domestic market as well as vital income from exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which reached 7 million tons in 2022, nearly 2% of global supply, according to data from analytics firm Kpler. But things started to go awry for Egypt early this decade when production began declining rapidly, particularly in the flagship Zohr field. The country's output dropped from a peak of over 6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in early 2021 to 3.5 bcf/d by April 2025, according to JODI data. Production is expected to average 4.4 to 4.6 bcf/d this year, according to Martin Sherriff, an analyst at consultancy Welligence Energy Analytics. It is, however, unlikely to increase significantly in the coming years given the country's limited offshore gas exploration success in recent years, he added. Egypt's energy woes were compounded by the rapid growth in its population from 100 million in 2015 to 115 million by 2023. With domestic production insufficient to meet the population's needs, Egypt in 2020 started to import gas from Israel, which had also saw a surge in gas production last decade following the discovery of a number of big offshore resources. Israel's production rose by over 70% in the decade to 2024 to 2.5 bcf/d, with around half of the volume exported to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, according to government data. The sharp production decline also led Egypt to resume LNG imports in 2024 for the first time since 2018. Egypt is expected to import up to 160 LNG cargoes this year and next at far higher prices than what it can produce domestically or import from Israel, where export pipelines are already at full capacity. The recent war between Israel and Iran put a harsh spotlight on Egypt's energy vulnerability. Israel and Egypt, neighbouring countries who signed a peace agreement in 1979 after decades of intermittent conflict, saw their inter-dependency tighten significantly as the gas trade between them developed. These gas flows were largely uninterrupted following the outbreak of violence in the region on October 7, 2023. But that changed on June 13 when Israel halted operations at two of its three offshore gas fields, Leviathan and Karish, hours after it launched a surprise wave of airstrikes against Iran, leading to the suspension of natural gas exports. Egypt imported over 0.9 bcf/d from Israel in the first four months of 2025, around 17% of the former's gross observed consumption, according to Jodi data. So the drop in Israel gas deliveries just as demand for power was nearing its summer demand peak threatened to deal a harsh blow to Egypt's economy. Egyptian fertilizers producers were forced to shut down operations as part of a government emergency plan to deal with the drop in Israeli gas supplies. The country's power plants ramped up the use of fuel oil to the maximum level while others switched to diesel to protect the stability of the grid in a country that has experienced huge blackouts in recent years. A back of the envelope calculation suggested that for each week of disruption to Israeli gas imports, Egypt would have needed to buy an extra two LNG cargoes or find alternative fuel sources. Thankfully for Cairo, Israel resumed gas exports to Egypt on June 25. But this hardly solves Egypt's underlying problems. It is true that energy majors including BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Chevron continue to explore for new gas resources in Egypt, which, if located, could help offset the natural decline in its current fields. Israeli gas exports to Egypt could increase when the Chevron-operated Leviathan field expands production to 14 bcm in 2026 from 12 bcm today, although delays in the expansion of pipeline capacity between the two countries could impede that expansion. But, for now, the country's natural gas production faces a grim outlook. Meanwhile, the nation is also struggling with sluggish growth and a significant loss of revenue from Suez Canal transit fees, as many ship operators have diverted vessels away from the Red Sea due to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2023. And taking a broader regional perspective, the decline of Egypt's gas industry is dashing hopes that the Eastern Mediterranean will become a major LNG exporting hub in the coming years. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI),, opens new tabyour essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI, opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X., opens new tab
Zawya
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
GE Vernova modernizes Sasol's Secunda power plant in South Africa
The new upgrade increases operational efficiency at Sasol's plant, while reducing NOx emissions significantly Project is expected also lead to water consumption savings equivalent to about 64 Olympic pools per turbine annually GE Vernova ( announced this project at Enlit Africa 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) today announced the successful completion of the modernization of global energy and chemical company Sasol's Secunda power plant in Mpumalanga. The modernization included the replacement of the existing pre-combustor system with a new DLN1+ combustor supplemented by the Fuel Gas Module (FGM) skid to increase the operational efficiency of the two installed 9E gas turbines and reduce carbon emissions. This project serves as a model for modernizing power plants across Africa. As the continent faces increasing energy demands, initiatives like this highlight how innovative solutions can enable more efficient energy production with reduced emissions, without requiring entirely new infrastructure. The upgrade led to significant improvements, including: Reduction of NOx emissions significantly below the guaranteed values of 25 ppm, representing a reduction of three quarters from previous level. Avoidance of using water as a diluent with the DLN technology, with an expected water consumption saving equivalent to about 64 Olympic pools per turbine annually. There was an efficiency improvement compared to the previous combustor, translating to approximately 10,000 metric tons less CO2 emitted per gas turbine, supporting Sasol's environmental objectives. Extension of the maintenance intervals, reducing downtime and operational costs. Enhanced reliability of the power supply delivered to the national grid. "This project exemplifies our purpose to electrify the world," said Joseph Anis ( President and CEO of GE Vernova's Gas Power business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. "Building on our advanced combustion technologies, we are helping Sasol address South Africa's energy needs more efficiently. Together, we are demonstrating how advanced technologies can deliver tangible benefits for both businesses and communities." This project will be showcased at Enlit Africa ( taking place from 20 – 22 May at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town, South Africa. GE Vernova's participation will include interactive activities at booth C22 in Hall 3 and speaking sessions covering a wide range of topics, including: a keynote on technology driven transformation, smart grids and the future of energy management, digitization and modernization of projects and accelerating women in energy. GE Vernova has contributed to the development of the energy infrastructure in Africa for over a century, supporting power generation, transmission and distribution solutions, energy sector software applications, talent development, and community outreach. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE. Additional Link: Notes to editors: © 2025 GE Vernova and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. For more information, contact: Media Contact – GE Vernova Winnie Gathage Africa Communications Leader GE Vernova Laura Aresi Media Relations Leader, Power GE Vernova Lesego Malete Group Account Director Burson Africa About GE Vernova: GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world's challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with more than 75,000 employees across 100+ countries around the world. Supported by the Company's purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future. Learn more: GE Vernova ( GE Vernova in Middle East&Africa ( and LinkedIn ( GE Vernova's Gas Power business engineers advanced, efficient natural gas-powered technologies and services, along with decarbonization solutions that aim to help electrify a lower carbon future. It is a global leader in gas turbines and gas power plant technologies and services with the industry's largest installed base. Forward Looking Statements: This document contains forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. These forward-looking statements often address GE Vernova's expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and the expected performance of its products, the impact of its services and the results they may generate or produce, and often contain words such as 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'plan,' 'believe,' 'seek,' 'see,' 'will,' 'would,' 'estimate,' 'forecast,' 'target,' 'preliminary,' or 'range.' Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about planned and potential transactions, investments or projects and their expected results and the impacts of macroeconomic and market conditions and volatility on the Company's business operations, financial results and financial position and on the global supply chain and world economy.
Zawya
15-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt: EGAS, Harbour Energy sign deal to expand operations at Disouq gas field
Arab Finance: Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Harbour Energy to expand production operations at the Disouq gas field, according to a statement. The deal includes additional acreage within the Nile Delta concession area to increase drilling activities, boost sustainable growth opportunities, and expand production in the region. On his part, Badawi affirmed the ministry's commitment to supporting this partnership, which is expected to yield mutual benefits through new discoveries and bring them into production. Yassin Mohamed, Executive Managing Director of EGAS, said this deal aligns with the ministry's strategy to increase natural gas production from concession areas in Egypt through the implementation of an incentive package for foreign partners. Meanwhile, Sameh Sabry, Regional Director for Harbour Energy in MENA, noted that the agreement marks a significant move towards expanding their activities and increasing production to meet Egypt's energy needs. The onshore gas project in Disouq is managed by Disouq Petroleum Company (Disouco), a joint venture (JV) between EGAS and Wintershall Dea Nile, a subsidiary of Harbour Energy. © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
