New 60-Mile Pipeline Proposed from NW Pa. to NE Ohio

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Correction: Please note the correction below. Opatho Gas Trans LLC is not owned by EmKey Energy, et al. Our understanding was in error. RH energytrans contacted MDN to correct the record. We appreciate it! A new 60-mile pipeline is being proposed by a new pipeline company, to connect shale production in northwest Pennsylvania to markets in northeast Ohio. Last week RH energytrans filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build the Risberg Line Project. The route will begin in the Meadville, PA area (Crawford County) and extend in a northwest direction to Ashtabula County, OH. The project will use approximately 32 miles of existing pipeline in an established Right of Way originating in the Meadville, PA area. Approximately 16 miles of new pipeline will be installed in Pennsylvania and approximately 12 miles of new pipeline will be installed in Ohio. According to RH energytrans, there is a need for additional natural gas supplies in the Ashtabula area to enhance future commercial business development and as a backup for residential customers. The pipeline will provide 55 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas to Ashtabula. RH energytrans, with offices in Erie, PA, is owned by Opatho Gas Trans LLC. In a case of Russian matryoshka (nesting) dolls, Opatho is owned by EmKey Energy, Viking Energy Broker and Nucomer Energy. EmKey has pipeline operations in both PA and NY, so you might say (with some justification) that this is a project of EmKey. Corrected: Opatho is owned by three Norwegian companies: Solodden AS, Vicsund AS, and Hellberg Eiendom AS. Opatho has some owners in common with EmKey, Viking Energy Broker and Nucomer Energy. However, it would be incorrect to say that Opatho is owned by EmKey or that the Risberg Line Project is an EmKey project. Below is the official 449-page FERC filing with all the details, along with a summary of the project. We have a handy timeline, and a map of the pipeline route...

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