Mountaineer XPress ready to boost flows

Columbia Gas Transmission today is set to ship about 1.4 Bcf/d (40mn m³/d) on its Mountaineer XPress natural gas pipeline expansion.

The pipeline filed a request with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to increase flows by about 250mn cf/d on the $2bn project, saying the facilities would be mechanically complete today. FERC last month approved the project to begin flows of 1.1 Bcf/d.

Mountaineer XPress was originally scheduled to begin full flows of 2.7 Bcf/d in late 2018 but that in-service date has been pushed back amid regulatory delays. The pipeline in August increased its rate for new subscribers by nearly 50pc because of a $1bn hike in construction costs related to the delays.

The portion of the expansion approved today includes about 20 miles (32km) of new 36-inch diameter line in Marshall and Wetzel counties, West Virginia, and a tie-in site capable of launching an in-line inspection tool.

The project is designed to transport gas from West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania to Columbia Gas' Appalachia pool and to Columbia Gulf pipeline, which serves the southeast US and Gulf coast. The full project includes 165 miles of new pipeline from Marshall County to Wayne County, West Virginia, three new compressor stations and modifications to three existing compressor stations. Independent producer Antero Resources is an anchor shipper on the project.