By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
WASHINGTON, DC — The developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project have asked federal regulators for authorization to put the long-delayed natural gas pipeline into service.
In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday, MVP’s developers asked for the authorization to be issued by Tuesday and said they expected gas to begin shipping the day after authorization is received.
“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 letter reads.
Construction work and testing along all of the pipeline’s 303-mile route have been finished, according to the letter.
“Mountain Valley confirms that the project facilities are mechanically complete,” the letter reads. “Hydrotesting is complete on all project facilities. The final segments of the project are currently being purged and packed with natural gas. All welding, testing, cleaning, drying and tie-ins are complete.”
After aiming to put the pipeline into service late last month, developer Equitrans Midstream announced the start had been pushed to “early June.”
A section of the pipeline failed during testing at the beginning of May, when water was used to expose “components to a pressure that exceeds the maximum allowable operating pressure,” according to information from the company.
