Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline announced they’re pushing back their targeted completion by several months to June 1.
In a call with investors Tuesday, company CEO Diana Charletta blamed the delay on snow, rain, and challenging construction conditions.
"While the majority of MVP construction is complete, the remaining construction includes some of the most difficult tasks on the project, and could present further challenges," Charletta said.
She added that they have less than four miles left of the pipeline's 303 mile route to complete. These final miles include 13 water crossings, four of which are bores where horizontal drilling puts the pipes at least 10 feet underground.
"The construction work in these areas will consist of completing the Appalachian Trail crossing and installing pipe on some of the steepest slopes along the route," Charletta said.
On the call, one listener asked if recent incidents of muddy water along the pipeline route had caused permitting delays. Charletta said these incidents have been cleared.
Citizens have filed several complaints with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in recent months, citing muddy water, but DEQ has not stopped construction or issued any violations against the company this year.
Charletta estimates most of the construction of the pipeline will be done by the end of March. Before the pipeline can be in service, they estimate it will take several months to do hydrotesting and other safety measures to ensure the pipeline is ready to hold gas. Much of the route, particularly in West Virginia, has already been through that process, Charletta said.
Last fall, Equitrans Midstream entered into a consent agreement with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to make changes in how they assess whether the pipeline has any threats to its coating that could cause corrosion.
The agency had earlier issued a safety order to the company, warning they were concerned of potential safety risks with their process of assessing the pipeline’s coating.
Meanwhile, a sale of Equitrans Midstream, or portions of the company, to a third party may also be on the horizon. Charletta said their board “has been engaged in a process with third parties that have expressed interest in strategic transaction,” but would not comment further.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline is now costing the company at least $7.57 billion, more than double what it initially estimated.
