When I wrote about the potential revival of the Constitution Pipeline project here two weeks ago, I received several notes assuring me it would never be permitted by the New York state government, with others asking who would be willing to risk the capital to fund and build it?
The answer to the second inquiry arrived on Thursday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Williams Co. is working with the Trump administration to revive both the Constitution Pipeline as well as the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline (NSEP), both of which have been held up by the New York state government for years. The Constitution pipeline is designed to carry natural gas produced in the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania into New York and New England to supply inexpensive domestic gas in place of costly imports of liquefied natural gas from other countries, including Russia. The NSEP project is designed to expand existing pipeline infrastructure operated by Williams which distributes natural gas to New York City and New York Harbor. (RELATED: DAVID BLACKMON: Is The Solar Boom About To Implode?)
A few days after I wrote that May 17 piece, news came that the Trump administration was rescinding a stop work order which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had issued in April related to the Empire Wind offshore project operated by Equinor. Given that Empire Wind is a pet project for New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and that Hochul had travelled to the White House in March to talk energy with President Donald Trump, the move generated speculation that a classic political quid pro quo was at work here.
The news from Williams this week certainly does nothing to dispel that rumor, and if there is a project swap at play here, well, so be it. It’s a shame that such a deal would be required to convince Hochul to finally do the right thing to help lower utility bills for people in her state and the New England region, but hey, that’s just the way politics works at times. Hochul is currently involved in what seems destined to become a tight race for re-election and obviously believes Empire Wind will help her cause with a public she believes is largely gullible about the dubious alleged benefits provided by offshore wind.
While a spokesperson for Gov. Hochul claimed she had made no deal with the President related to any specific pipelines when they met in June, the sequencing of events related to both Empire Wind and the two pipeline projects since certainly justify the ongoing speculation. Another interesting point stems from a comment Williams CEO Alan Armstrong made during a March interview. Specific to the prospect of reviving the Constitution line, he said that, “We’re not gonna put our head in the vise. It would have to be a pre-rolled out red carpet, frankly, for us to go back in.”
Given that New York governors starting with Andrew Cuomo have been holding up the project since Williams first proposed it in 2012, no one could blame Armstrong for needing a strong signal from both the feds and Hochul’s office before committing his company to move down that road one more time. Obviously, something changed in the politics surrounding the pipeline since March.
Regardless of how or why it’s all getting done, the Constitution Pipeline will, when completed, be an energy godsend to the people of New England and their utility bills. It’s a real shame that two New York governors – first, Cuomo, and now Hochul – have been allowed to hold up such a critical piece of energy infrastructure for so many years by using it as a political cudgel. If that sad era is about to come to an end, then kudos are due to everyone who worked to make it happen.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
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