Williams to start work on Louisiana natural gas pipeline despite ongoing dispute

Williams Cos. notified the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it “intends to proceed” with construction of its 1.8-bcfd Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) natural gas pipeline. The company said it plans to begin pre-construction activities along its right-of-way as early as July 25, 2024, and then proceed with construction.

Williams is moving forward with the work despite still-pending rulings, explaining that it recently “prevailed in certain right-of-way litigation with Energy Transfer LP affiliates in Louisiana state courts regarding proposed pipeline crossings for the LEG system.” The company said that these victories, combined with having secured necessary easements and federal permitting would allow it to proceed, adding that “but for the crossing litigation with Energy Transfer, construction of the system would be well underway” already.

Counsel for Energy Transfer in turn described Williams as “continuing its efforts to circumvent [FERC’s] Natural Gas Act authority to review the jurisdictional status of the proposed Louisiana Energy Gateway project, noting what they described as “serious questions [before the Commission] about whether Williams’ LEG project is a transmission pipeline subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction, or whether it is non-jurisdictional gathering.”

Energy Transfer’s counsel also called out what they saw as discrepancies between Williams’ testimony is Louisiana state court proceedings that LEG was already under construction and its more recent 6-day notice to begin construction, asking “is Williams now misleading the Commission or did it mislead the Louisiana courts?” Counsel’s letter to FERC concluded by suggesting that “the Commission should clarify the rules of the road and explain whether or not the Williams project is subject to FERC jurisdiction.”

Earlier this year, Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling preventing DT Midstream Inc. from building a natural gas pipeline crossing under Energy Transfer’s ETC Tiger pipeline system. Williams filed an amicus brief on DT Midstream’s behalf in that case (OGJ Online, Aug. 12, 2024).

LEG will transport Haynesville shale gas to the US Gulf Coast and is now expected to be in service second-half 2025. In-service had originally been planned for late 2024.