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Pipeline project developers press FERC for project decisions

Highlights

Williams, Tallgrass asked for decisions by June 14

Requests for action in handful of FERC dockets

  • Author
  • Maya Weber
  • Editor
  • Valarie Jackson
  • Commodity
  • Natural Gas

Washington — June 14 has come and gone, and supporters of several interstate natural gas pipeline projects that had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve their projects by that date are still waiting.

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FERC has cleared four high-profile LNG export projects this year, but amid a divide at FERC over environmental reviews, uncertainty has remained about the timing of decisions even for some smaller pipeline projects that would move gas to markets.

Decisions could come at any time, and at least one developer was hopeful about seeing a certificate order "any day now." Still, a handful of pipeline expansions have seen no decision at least four months after a final environmental report.

Williams June 4 asked FERC to act by June 14 on its 7.7-mile Southeastern Trail project, intended to add 296,375 Dt/d of gas delivery capacity to Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states in time for the 2020-21 winter heating season. The company wrote FERC to "emphasize the importance of prompt commission action" so that it would complete work for a November 2020 start. With an environmental assessment in hand February 8, it previously sought action by May 1.

Tallgrass Energy also asked FERC to decide on its Cheyenne Connector Pipeline and Cheyenne Hub projects by June 14, noting that timing uncertainties could impact the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons for farmland traversed.

"The Cheyenne Connector Pipeline Project will bring an extra 600,000 Dt/d of liquidity to the natural gas market ... by connecting northeast Colorado gas production to the Cheyenne Hub market, a liquid trading point with access to multiple pipelines and downstream markets," Tallgrass said in a May 30 letter.

"We expect our FERC certificate any day now," said Tallgrass spokeswoman Phyllis Hammond, asserting all major milestones for the two projects have been achieved.

NEW MEXICO PRODUCTION

Customers have also recently nudged FERC for decisions. The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association asked FERC June 4 to act on the 400 MMcf/d Sendero Carlsbad Gateway project, which would expand capacity between a gas processing plant in southeastern New Mexico and the Waha Hub in Texas.

"This proceeding has been fully ripe for commission action for a considerable time now," it said, calling the project important to growing regional production, and suggesting there were no protests and there was a finding of no significant impact. The environmental assessment was issued January 11.

"Pipeline applicants request particular in-service dates in order to be confident that construction schedules can be maintained and commercial commitments can be fulfilled; so there can be real consequences if these deadlines are not met," Don Santa, president of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, said in an emailed statement. No gas projects were listed on FERC's agenda for its monthly open meeting Thursday.

GHG CONSIDERATIONS

The exact reasons for any delays to developers' desired schedules are hard to discern, given FERC's rules against ex parte communications on pending projects. One area dividing commissioners on pipeline projects has been whether FERC calculates upstream or downstream greenhouse gas emissions and considers their significance. A recent decision from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that touched on those issues did not appear to bridge that divide.

Cheyenne Connector has seen other debates in its dockets, including over an alternative Kinder Morgan proposed.

Industrial consumers in April also pressed for approval of the Adelphia Gateway project, which would carry Marcellus gas to Philadelphia and other Northeast markets. "Manufacturing investment and jobs are directly and negatively impacted by not having the pipeline in service," they wrote. In that docket, environmental groups argued FERC did not account for GHG emissions associated with a proposed amendment to increase capacity.

Separately, Williams has responded to New Jersey regulators' rejection of its application for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project by filing new water quality and other permit applications with the state.

"We strongly believe the discrete technical issues raised by the [New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection] June 5 ... were addressed in our previous application and, in this application, we have provided additional information showing that these issues have been addressed," Williams spokesman Christopher Stockton said in a statement.

Pending gas project applications at FERC
Docket # Capacity Final EIS/EA *Agency deadline
PENDING LNG PROJECTS
Texas LNG CP16-116 15-Mar-19 13-Jun-19
Corpus Christi Stage 3 CP18-512 29-Mar-19 27-Jun-19
Eagle LNG CP17-41 12-Apr-19 11-Jul-19
Gulf LNG Liquefaction CP15-521 17-Apr-19 16-Jul-19
Annova LNG Brownsville CP16-480 19-Apr-19 18-Jul-19
Rio Grande LNG CP16-454 26-Apr-19 25-Jul-19
Plaquemines CP17-66 3-May-19 1-Aug-19
Jordan Cove CP17-495 11-Oct-19 9-Jan-20
Alaska LNG CP17-178 6-Mar-20 4-Jun-20
PENDING PIPELINE PROJECTS
Sweden Valley Project CP18-45 120 MMcf/d 31-Aug-18 29-Nov-18
South Mainline Expansion CP18-332 182,085 Dt/d 14-Dec-19 12-Feb-19
Cheyenne Connector and Hub CP18-102 600 MMcf/d 18-Dec-18 18-Mar-19
Adelphia Gateway CP18-46 850 MMcf/d 4-Jan-19 4-Apr-19
Sendero Carlsbad Gateway CP18-538 400 MMcf/d 11-Jan-19 11-Apr-19
Southeastern Trail CP18-186 296 Mmcf/d 8-Feb-19 9-May-19
Willis Lateral Project EA CP18-525 200 MMcf/d 4-Mar-19 2-Jun-19
Sabine Pass Compression CP18-487 400 MMcf/d 8-Mar-19 6-Jun-19
Del-Mar Energy Pathway CP18-548 11.8 MMcf/d 1-Apr-19 30-Jun-19
Buckeye XPress Project CP18-136 275 MMcf/d 20-May-19 18-Aug-19
West Loop Project CP19-26 150 MMcf/d 28-May-19 26-Aug-19
Lockridge Extension Pipeline CP19-52 500 MMcf/d 31-May-19 29-Aug-19
MVP Southgate CP19-14 375 MMcf/d 19-Dec-19 18-Mar-20

*authorization deadline for agencies cooperating in FERC process

Source: FERC

-- Maya Weber, maya.weber@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Valarie Jackson, newsdesk@spglobal.com