EQT requests MVP in-service authorization, talks 500-MMcfd expansion

EQT Corp. has requested US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permission to place its 2-bcfd Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline (MVP) in service. The company said that the 303-mile pipeline had "completed all waterbody and wetland crossings" and asked that FERC issue an order by May 23 allowing the start of operations.  

Legal counsel for EQT cited long-term agreements with gas customers that become effective June 1 in requesting the May 23 decision. The request also stated that EQT "expects all remaining segments to be welded by early May” and the project as a whole “to be mechanically complete by May 22."

EQT said in its first-quarter 2024 earnings presentation that it plans to pursue a 500-MMcfd expansion of MVP. The company also reduced its expected 2024 sales volume to 2.1-2.2 tcfe, which it said assumes 1 bcfd of operated production curtailments through May. Initial 2024 production guidance, included in EQT yearend-2023 earnings report, placed sales volume at 2.2-2.3 tcfe.

MVP's completion has been delayed for years by numerous legal challenges surrounding its environmental permitting. In late 2023, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a consent order requiring EQT to inspect all segments of pipe that had remained above ground while the legal process played out for potential weakening of its anti-corrosion coating (OGJ Online, Oct. 5, 2023).

The work was to be completed under supervision of a third-party firm, with any defects addressed as they were encountered. Counsel’s request to FERC declared that all aspects of this order had been satisfied and that the commission would be notified as other outstanding requirements are met.