The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement for Williams Partners’ Atlantic Sunrise project.
The issuance of the final EIS is a key step toward FERC’s final decision on the project, which is expected early this year.
Following the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, Williams Partners anticipates beginning construction in mid-2017, allowing for a full in-service of the project in mid-2018.
The expansion will add 1.7 million dekatherms/day of pipeline capacity to the 8.4 million-dekatherm/day Transco pipeline system.
The project will consist of compression and looping of the Transco Leidy line in Pennsylvania along with a greenfield pipeline segment, referred to as the Central Penn line, connecting the northeastern Marcellus region to the Transco mainline near Station 195 in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The preliminary project design includes 183 miles of new greenfield pipe (Central Penn North and Central Penn South), two pipeline loops totaling 12 miles (Chapman Loop, Unity Loop), 2.5 miles of existing pipeline replacement, two compressor facilities in Pennsylvania, and other facility additions or modifications in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina.
In addition to previously announced gas sale and purchase agreements related to its 850,000 MMbtu/day of transportation capacity on the project, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. reported the execution of a new definitive gas sale and purchase agreement with an undisclosed company.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Cabot has agreed to sell an additional 150,000 MMbtu/day of natural gas for a term of 3 years commencing on the full in-service of the Atlantic Sunrise project.
