Late last year, staff members at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave preliminary approval for the enormous pipeline projects, although the process is not entirely complete. Still, officials in both Ohio and West Virginia realize how vital these pipelines are to being able to get Marcellus and Utica shale gas to market, as they believe the takeaway capacity will allow producers to make more money from the resource.
However, a group of property owners in southeastern West Virginia continues protesting the route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
“I don’t think a mineral owner getting huge royalty checks in Ohio County should have more rights than a surface owner in Pocahontas County,” said Tim Greene, owner of Land and Mineral Management of Appalachia and a former West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection inspector. “Some of them are being offered about $42 per foot. That is all they’re ever going to get.”
Pipelines and FERC Reports:
According to chief developer Dominion Resources, the $5.1 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline is planned to be 564 miles long with a 42-inch diameter. It would connect pipelines from Tyler County to run south through West Virginia and Virginia on the way to North Carolina and should transport 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Meanwhile, the $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise project, which is a 183-mile addition to an existing pipeline system, would carry 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Pennsylvania to the Southeast.
Although Atlantic Sunrise would not directly connect to West Virginia or Ohio, natural gas from both states would almost certainly end up in this conduit, while there is no doubt about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s potential impact for both states.
“This pipeline is huge for the state. It is providing infrastructure we need,” West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association Executive Director Anne Blankenship said of the Atlantic Coast project. “This will make a really big impact.”
“There’s no question that the pipeline component to the overall Utica Shale story is critical to our ability to continue developing oil and natural gas wells in this region,”added Jackie Stewart of Energy In Depth Ohio.
In West Virginia, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would begin in Harrison County. It would travel southeast through Lewis, Upshur, Randolph and Pocahontas counties before crossing into Virginia. There would be a compressor station in Lewis County.
“Atlantic and (Dominion) would minimize impacts on the natural and human environments during construction and operation of its facilities by implementing the numerous measures described in their respective construction and restoration plans,”the FERC report on the ACP and the related Supply Header project states. “Environmental justice populations would not be disproportionately affected by the projects.”
“We continue to work toward the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the related Supply Header project. We expect completion of these projects in late 2019,”Dominion Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II said.
Officials with FERC made similar findings regarding the Atlantic Sunrise project, which will be an expansion of the existing Williams Energy Transco system.
During the last few years, drillers working in the Marcellus and Utica shale have been disadvantaged by the lack of interstate pipeline infrastructure allowing them to get their natural gas to markets such as New York City, Chicago and the Southeast. For example, a 1,000-cubic-foot unit of natural gas was valued at $3.28 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, but producers in Ohio and West Virginia could actually be selling it for considerably less.
“Natural gas production in the Utica Shale has continued to break records despite a significant pullback in drilling activity due to low commodity prices. Unfortunately, energy infrastructure has not kept pace with production. Addressing our aging pipelines and bottlenecks in energy transportation is a must to fully develop the Appalachian Basin,” Stewart said.
Concerns:
“The FERC staff concludes that construction and operation of Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header project would result in temporary and permanent impacts on the environment, and would also result in some adverse effects,” the agency’s statement reads, though adding developers could mitigate these potential impacts.
“This is a very rigorous and tedious review process. I think the companies expected it to take a while,” Blankenship said. “They are committed to doing this in the most responsible manner.”
However, Greene remains concerned about those who continue to fight the pipeline in the southeastern portion of the state.
“It has got to be a positive for everybody,” he said. “Some don’t want it on their land at all. Others just want a better deal.”
Blankenship emphasized the pipelines’ role in providing sources of “reliable energy”throughout the U.S., while adding those living in the pipeline path will benefit from growth in West Virginia’s economy and tax base.
“In the grand scheme of life, they are a good thing. We just need to make sure everybody is going to be treated fairly,” Greene said.
Morrisey budget plan: WV facing revenue declines, escalating Hope Scholarship costs
February 14, 2025
Bill Weakening School Vaccine Requirements in West Virginia Advances
February 14, 2025
West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner eyes salary enhancements and lab expansion funds as legislative session opens
February 14, 2025
