Houston Chronicle by James Osborne July 20, 2020
A decade ago, when the shale boom was still in its infancy, developers lined up to build long-distance natural gas pipelines to supply distant markets with low-cost energy to replace aging, dirty coal and oil-burning power plants.
But after years of legal fights with environmental groups trying to eradicate carbon-emitting fossil fuels, pipeline companies are backing off large-scale pipeline projects. The decision by its developers earlier this month to cancel the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project is just the beginning, experts say.
“There’s so much uncertainty on the project timeline and the cost you are unlikely to see another major natural gas pipeline built (that crosses state lines),†said Sam Andrus, executive director of North American gas at the consulting firm IHS Markit. “These environmental groups have made it their explicit goal to delay these projects and raise the costs. And they’re getting better at it as time goes on.â€
If more pipelines go the way of the Atlantic Coast, it would limit markets for natural gas producers in states such as Texas, which produces more gas than any state and has watched its economy thrive under oil and gas boom brought on by hydraulic fracturing.
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Pipeline-firms-scale-back-plans-amid-legal-15417954.php