Equitrans LP has submitted an application to FERC for its $172 million Equitrans Expansion project in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which would provide up to 600,000 Dth/d of incremental north-south capacity and bring natural gas from the Appalachian Basin to market.

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh-based company filed for a certificate of public convenience and necessity and abandonment authority for the pipeline project [CP16-13]. Equitrans plans to build, own and operate 7.87 miles of pipeline in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny, Greene and Washington counties, and in Wetzel County, WV. The project also calls for an interconnection with the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) (see Daily GPI, Oct. 23), ancillary facilities, and abandoning an existing 4,800 hp compressor station in Greene County.

“In addition to providing shippers with capacity to MVP, the project will provide additional pipeline capacity to existing interconnects with Texas Eastern Transmission LP [Tetco], Dominion Transmission Inc., and Columbia Gas Transmission LLC,” Equitrans said in its filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “The project will also increase system reliability, efficiency, and operational flexibility for the benefit of all Equitrans customers.”

The company said it is planning to begin construction in December 2016.

Equitrans plans to build 2.99 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline in Greene County (officially, the H-316 Pipeline) that would generally run east-west and follow an existing Tetco corridor, and 4.26 miles of 20-inch diameter pipeline (H-318) in Allegheny and Washington counties. It also plans to extend four shorter existing pipelines (M-80, H-158, H-305 and H-319) that collectively would be extended 0.62 miles and have diameters ranging from six inches to 24 inches.

The project also calls for building the Redhook Compressor Station in Greene County, which includes up to 31,300 hp of nominal compression. The Pratt Compressor Station would be abandoned.

Equitrans said it conducted a nonbinding open season last March and negotiated a commitment for 400,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity with an undisclosed shipper for a 20-year primary term. The company is continuing to market unsubscribed capacity.