Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP) said last week that total project work on its 303-mile natural gas transmission line that will span from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia is approximately 92 percent complete and that full in-service is now expected in early 2021.
The MVP is designed to transport clean-burning natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions to the growing demand markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas of the United States. MVP on June 11 released a schedule and timing update for the upcoming completion of the pipeline.
“First and foremost, we are confident in the ultimate completion of this important infrastructure project,” said Diana Charletta, president and chief operating officer of Canonsburg, Pa.-based EQM Midstream Partners, LP, operator of MVP. “We appreciate the oversight of the various state and federal agencies that have helped guide our construction activities, and despite the unprecedented regulatory and development challenges, we have completed 92% of total project work.”
MVP’s primary focus the last several months has been on continued stabilization and restoration work as well as maintenance of existing erosion and sediment controls along the right-of-way. MVP is expected to resume forward construction once it receives its Biological Opinion and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lifts the project’s Stop Work Order.
“While the additional legal and regulatory reviews have caused schedule delays and cost adjustments, we look forward to MVP’s safe, successful start-up and to serving the growing demand for domestic natural gas in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States,” Charletta said.
According to MVP, three compressor stations are 100 percent complete; the three original certificated interconnects are 100 percent complete and a fourth has been approved for construction in 2020; approximately 80 percent of the pipeline work is complete, which includes 264 miles of pipe welded and in-place; and approximately 50 percent of the right-of-way has been fully restored.
Total project costs for MVP may potentially increase roughly 5 percent above the $5.4 billion estimate as the project draws closer to completion. This is largely due to the need to adapt to complex judicial decisions and regulatory changes.