Equitrans may still complete Mountain Valley natural gas pipe by end-2023

RGC Resources

02/05/2023 15:31

May 2 (Reuters) - U.S. energy company Equitrans
Midstream Corp  ETRN.N  said on Tuesday it expects federal
agencies to issue the required authorizations for its $6.6
billion Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline from West Virginia
to Virginia by the early summer.
    That should allow the company to finish the long-delayed
project by the end of 2023, however, Equitrans warned in its
first quarter earnings that "there remains significant risk and
uncertainty, including regarding current and likely litigation."
    Mountain Valley - the only big gas pipe under construction
in Appalachia - is one of several U.S. pipeline projects delayed
by regulatory and legal fights with environmental and local
groups. These fights mostly stem from federal permit problems
issued during President Donald Trump's administration.
    The project is key to unlocking more gas supplies from
Appalachia, the nation's biggest shale gas basin.
    The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has vacated
several of the projects federal and state permits - some more
than once - is still hearing lawsuits by environmental and local
groups opposed to the project, including a challenge against
authorizations from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    Equitrans has said it was waiting for new authorizations
from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection,
the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
    In addition to pursuing permitting the regular way,
Equitrans said it "continues to support the potential enactment
of federal energy infrastructure permitting reform legislation
that specifically requires the completion of the (Mountain
Valley) project."
    When Mountain Valley construction started in February 2018,
Equitrans estimated the 303-mile (488-km),
2-billion-cubic-feet-per-day (bcfd) project would cost about
$3.5 billion and enter service by late 2018.
    Equitrans, which owns about 48.1% of Mountain Valley and
will operate it, has said the pipeline is nearly 94% complete.
    Mountain Valley is owned by units of Equitrans, NextEra
Energy Inc  NEE.N , Consolidated Edison Inc  ED.N , AltaGas Ltd
 ALA.TO  and RGC Resources Inc  RGCO.O .

 (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Conor Humphries)
 ((scott.disavino@thomsonreuters.com; +1 332 219 1922; Reuters
Messaging: scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))