US FERC Approves Oklahoma Pipe Project
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) approved on August 13 an application from Midship Pipeline Company for its $1bn Midcontinent Supply Header Interstate Pipeline (Midship) project, a 1.44bn ft3/day system intended to deliver natural gas from Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin to Gulf Coast and southeast US markets.
Ferc commissioner Richard Glick dissented, saying the commission failed to consider the project’s contribution to global climate change.
The Midship project consists of 199 miles of mainline pipe and three compressors, along with two laterals totalling 34.4 miles, all within the state of Oklahoma. The mainline will connect with existing interstate gas pipelines near the Oklahoma-Texas border.
Midship Pipeline Company is a new company wholly-owned by Texas-based Midship Holdings, which in turn is indirectly owned by LNG developer Cheniere Energy and funds managed or owned by EIG Management Company.
About 64%, or 925mn ft3/day, of the project’s total design capacity has been subscribed by four shippers: foundation shippers Marathon Oil, Gulfport Energy and Devon Gas Services will together commit for 850mn ft3/day of capacity, while Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Liquefaction will use 75mn ft3/day to provide feed gas to its LNG terminal under construction in Texas. Midship also held an open season to solicit additional interest in firm transportation, and continues to market the remaining capacity.
Midship Pipeline expects to have the new facilities completed by late this year or early next year, according to a timeline on its website.