Virginia

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has signed an executive order establishing a task force dedicated to creating more downstream manufacturing opportunities as the region’s petrochemical industry expands.

Pursuing a strategy that has slowed progress on another major natural gas project, environmental groups have filed a court challenge seeking to overturn federal approvals issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has ordered Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to stop work on a two-mile stretch of the project in Montgomery County until erosion and sediment controls are fixed.

EQM Midstream Partners LP said in a regulatory filing on Monday it was again increasing the estimated cost to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which is now expected to enter service in mid-2020 instead of later this year.

Traditional rivals who have faced off for years over issues including property rights and environmental policies have come together in Virginia, calling for establishing a competitive retail electricity market to implement performance-based regulation and other reforms in the state’s energy market.

Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is unlikely to enter service this year as its backers continue to grapple with a morass of regulatory issues that will take more time to resolve, lead sponsor Equitrans Midstream Corp. said this week.

A group of North Carolina lawmakers has called on FERC to suspend its certificate for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC (ACP), a sign of potential political hostility to a project partially backed by regulated utilities that operate in the state.

Lower 48 explorer Denbury Resources Inc. has scuttled plans to take over Penn Virginia Corp., blaming “difficult market conditions” and opposition by some shareholders.

Diversified Gas & Oil plc has reached a 15-year agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection that addresses asset retirement obligations in the state, where about 40% of all its wells are located.