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Energy companies propose new natural gas pipeline

3/7/2012 | Real Estate Blog

We have previous written about a bill-now law-that imposes a local impact fee on natural gas drillers across Pennsylvania. The law has caused a lot of controversy over its zoning provision, which effectively stripped the ability of local governments to control zoning of drilling. The law is, as we’ve noted, a response to the growing natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, which many see as in need of revitalization.

On Thursday, several natural gas companies proposed the building of a $1 billion pipeline to transport fuel from Northern Pennsylvania to Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. The proposed pipeline would be 200 miles long and 30 inches wide, and would transport a minimum of 800 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The Marcellus shale is the largest of several shale formations that have begun oil and gas production in recent years as a result of advanced techniques in hydraulic-fracturing.

Inergy Midstream, based in Kansas City, Missouri, would build and operate the pipeline. The three companies would own interests equal interests in the project, which-as an interstate pipeline-would be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The goal of the pipeline, according to sources, is to connect local markets to the Marcellus shale formation in order to allow gas produced in the state to be consumed by the state. This would reduce costs for customers, who purchase most of their fuel from producers in the Gulf Coast.

This month, the companies will be inviting potential customers to express nonbinding interest in acquiring capacity on the proposed pipeline, and this would determine the pipeline route. As of now, the pipeline would start in Lycoming County, travel through Central and Eastern Pennsylvania

The pipeline, while it would not directly connect to Philadelphia, would reportedly make fuel available to the metro area.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, “$1B Marcellus pipeline proposed,” Andrew Maykuth, March 2, 2012.