‘Gas Is Ready to Flow’
At long last the day has arrived.
Ten years after the project was first proposed, the 304-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline is ready to hang an Open for Business sign as it awaits the final FERC greenlight, which could happen at any time. During that glorious moment when the first of 2 BCFD of Appalachian gas starts flowing from northwestern W.V. to southern Va., shippers will rejoice, senators will slap palms, and the JV parties behind the whole ordeal will breathe a collective sigh of relief, then toss back a few. Well deserved.
Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest in pipeline news, starting with MVP, which requested an in-service authorization today. After a decade of delays and count battles, the cost of the project is visiting the $7.85 billion neighborhood. Moving mountains in the East doesn’t come cheap or fast. Some have suggested the greenfield interstate pipeline could well be the last there. But after paying high premiums for gas supply and power generation over the last several years, end-users are weeping with joy.
Meanwhile Permian producers are checking their watches for completion of the Matterhorn Express. With linefill expected in July, the 580-mile natural gas pipeline will flow 2.5 BCFD from West Texas to the Katy Hub, offering an Alka Seltzer for producers struggling to move record volumes of residual gas amid current takeaway constraints. But that plop-plop, fizz-fizz relief is only temporary, expected to last until the end of next year or so.
For now, other Permian natgas pipe projects lay fancied out on the whiteboard. In development, yes, but still waiting on FIDs—especially on those major greenfield builds that can take two years to complete. There’s more to share on this and other pipeline news tomorrow, so stay tuned.