Approved Appalachian Projects

Eleven projects to build or expand pipelines in the shale-gas states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia arrived at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2015. Together, they could move 14 billion cubic feet of gas to market per day, according to consulting firm RBN Energy. Five are approved so far.

Map showing the Rover route

Rover

Approved Feb. 2, 2017
  • Status: Under construction, but key work temporarily halted by FERC after environmental violations; company expects the project will be finished before the end of the year.
  • Mileage: 512
  • Capacity: 3,250 million cubic feet of gas per day
  • States: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
  • Companies invested in the project1: Energy Transfer
  • Destination for the gas: Delivery points in Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan and Canada, with the expectation that additional U.S. markets will also be served
Map showing the Leach XPress route

Leach XPress

Approved Jan. 19, 2017
  • Status: Under construction
  • Mileage: 161
  • Capacity: 1,530 million cubic feet of gas per day
  • States: Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
  • Companies invested in the project1: TransCanada
  • Destination for the gas: Ohio and deliveries to an existing, under-expansion pipeline that runs to the Gulf Coast region
Map showing the Northern Access 2016 route

Northern Access 2016

Approved Feb. 3, 2017
  • Status: In limbo; its future depends on the outcome of a court battle after New York denied a necessary water permit in April 2017.
  • Mileage: 100
  • Capacity: 497 million cubic feet of gas per day
  • States: New York and Pennsylvania
  • Companies invested in the project1: National Fuel Gas
  • Destination for the gas: New York, Canada
Map showing the Atlantic Sunrise route

Atlantic Sunrise

Approved Feb. 3, 2017
  • Status: Early construction work underway while awaiting state permits.
  • Mileage: 197
  • Capacity: 1,700 million cubic feet of gas per day
  • States: New pipeline in Pennsylvania, with additional work in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina
  • Companies invested in the project1: Williams
  • Destination for the gas: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, with interconnects to pipelines serving Florida
Map showing the Access South/Adair Southwest/Lebanon extension route

Access South/Adair Southwest/Lebanon extension

Approved Dec. 21, 2016
  • Status: Under construction
  • Mileage: 16
  • Capacity: 622 million cubic feet of gas per day
  • States: Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi
  • Companies invested in the project1: Enbridge
  • Destination for the gas: Expansion project will allow more gas to move through Enbridge’s Texas Eastern pipeline network from Pennsylvania to Midwest and Southeastern markets.

Note

1. Pipeline projects are typically held through subsidiaries. For example, TransCanada’s Columbia Gas Transmission is handling Leach XPress. The table identifies parent companies.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission records, company websites

Credit: Leanne Abraham and Alyson Hurt/NPR; Jamie Smith Hopkins/Center for Public Integrity