Developers of the embattled Mountain Valley pipeline are delaying its completion date, marking the latest setback for a project championed by West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and supported by the 2023 debt deal.
In earnings results released Tuesday, Equitrans Midstream said the natural gas pipeline will be finished sometime in the second quarter of 2024, instead of before the end of March as previously planned. The Pittsburgh-based company also raised the project’s cost by nearly 6 percent, putting the latest estimated price tag between $7.57 billion and $7.63 billion.
Equitrans CEO Diana Charletta said on a call with investors that workers on the pipeline encountered “unforeseen construction challenges” and “considerably adverse weather conditions” throughout January, including above-average precipitation. The project is being developed by Mountain Valley Pipeline, a joint venture of energy companies led by Equitrans.
“While our construction plans took into account the potential effects of winter weather, these conditions were far worse and lasted much longer than anticipated, which had a significant impact on productivity, which in turn impacted our ability to reduce construction headc ount,” Charletta added.
