10/4/16 UPDATE: EQT Confirms the gas began flowing on Oct 1, the day after this post. See EQT’s statement below.
The Ohio Valley Connector (OVC) project is a proposed natural gas pipeline system approximately 37 miles long running from northwestern West Virginia into southeastern Ohio. Equitrans, a subsidiary of EQT Midstream which is itself a subsidiary of EQT the driller, is building the pipeline. We reported in July 2014 that the project was green lighted. At that time, EQT CEO David Porges said the pipeline will interconnect with both the Rockies Express Pipeline and the Texas Eastern Pipeline and will provide about 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of capacity (see EQT Midstream: 2 Major Pipeline Projects Advance, 1 Doesn’t). In July 2015 we ran a story disclosing that the main customer for the new pipeline is one of EQT’s biggest competitors, Range Resources (see EQT Midstream Building $250 Million Pipeline – for Range Resources!). Fast forward to today. The pipeline’s project cost has gone up, to $415 million. But the really good news is that the pipeline is now built, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just given EQT permission to turn it on…
