Mountain Valley Pipeline seeks to begin gas service

The 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline has completed construction, its developer said in a filing asking for federal authorization to begin flowing natural gas to its customers.

The 2 Bcf/d (57mn m³/d) natural gas project is now "mechanically complete" after crews finished welding, testing, cleaning and drying the pipeline, the company said Monday in a filing with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The company has asked the federal agency to issue an order for in-service authorization by Tuesday.

"Multiple shippers have executed agreements to commence transporting volumes using the project facilities beginning the day after the project declares in-service, which further heightens the need for prompt authorization to meet market demands," the filing said.

Equitrans Midstream, which is developing the $7.85bn pipeline, has been targeting an in-service date of "early June." The company today declined to provide a specific date when it intends to start service of the pipeline, which is being built to transport shale gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia, where it will interconnect with Williams' Transcontinental pipeline.

"Final preparations are underway to begin flowing gas," Equitrans said.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline was initially scheduled to start service in 2018. That timeline was pushed back repeatedly because of permitting lawsuits and, more recently, difficulties building the pipeline through mountainous terrain. Equitrans recently had aimed to start commercial service before 1 June before another delay last month.

By Chris Knight