Tellurian Inc. has received a final environmental impact statement (EIS) from FERC for the proposed Driftwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, which would be sited in Lake Charles, LA. The facility, with an associated 96-mile pipeline, as proposed could export about 27.6 million metric tons/year. CEO Meg Gentle said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had done a “thorough review” on the EIS, keeping the project on schedule. FERC’s authorization still is required to site, construct and operate the project. “Tellurian will then stand ready to make a final investment decision and begin construction in the first half of 2019, with the first LNG expected in 2023,” Gentle said.

National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. has secured all necessary permits to construct a roughly five-mile-long natural gas pipeline to feed Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC’s ethane cracker under construction in western Pennsylvania. The lateral would supply three gas-fired turbines. The plant in Beaver County is expected to come online in the early 2020s and convert about 100,000 b/d of ethane into ethylene and polyethylene.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has upheld an administrative law judge (ALJ) decision rejecting a challenge against the Mariner East (ME) pipeline system. Residents from Delaware and Chester counties, where construction and operational issues have slowed down Sunoco Pipeline LP’s ME 2 and 2X projects, filed an emergency petition to stop operations. An ALJ found the residents provided little evidence and failed to demonstrate that a stoppage was necessary, a decision upheld by the commission. ME 2 has since entered partial service.