The largest natural gas pipeline under construction in the Northeast, the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, on Wednesday, June 12, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin operations.

Equitrans Midstream, the lead partner in the venture, said in a statement it is preparing the 303-mile pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia for commercial service. The project has faced numerous legal challenges and stoppages since construction began in 2018.

"Final preparations are underway to begin commercial operations," a spokesperson at U.S. gas pipeline company Equitrans Midstream told Reuters in an email on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. The company is the lead partner in the Mountain Valley venture. 

FERC's approval comes after Equitrans, a U.S. gas pipeline company, requested permission to start the project. The spokesperson did not provide a specific date for when gas would begin flowing through the pipeline, which has a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd).

Analysts expect some of the increased production from EQT, the nation's largest natural gas producer, to eventually flow through Mountain Valley. However, EQT's acquisition of Equitrans, expected to close later this year, would reunite the pipeline business EQT spun off in 2018.  

Downstream pipeline limitations are foreseen to restrict Mountain Valley from reaching full capacity for several months.

According to an analyst note from EBW Analytics, an energy consulting firm, "Output gains are likely to remain far short of (Mountain Valley's 2.0-bcfd) nameplate capacity during the summer months due to downstream pipeline constraints."