Energy Transfer gets go-ahead for more work on Mariner East, other Pennsylvania sites

Washington — Midstream company Energy Transfer received Pennsylvania approval late Wednesday to resume construction at 17 sites including multiple areas associated with the Mariner East NGL pipeline project.

The action comes after a March 19 order by Governor Tom Wolf required a shutdown of non-life sustaining businesses to help slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. While oil and natural gas pipelines and extraction are on the state list of essential businesses, multiple companies have sought waivers related to oil and gas construction projects.

The added waivers Pennsylvania granted to Energy Transfer Wednesday resolve the company's outstanding requests, spokeswoman Vicki Granado said in an email Thursday.

A total of 15 of the newly approved sites are associated with the Mariner East project, and the work includes a mix of partially completed horizontal directional drills, road bores and open excavation sites across Pennsylvania, she said.

Energy Transfer's Mariner East 2 and ME2X are primarily intended to ship propane and butane produced in the Marcellus and Utica shales to the Marcus Hook export terminal. The projects have faced regulatory delays although a scaled-back version of Mariner East 2 began service in late 2018, with expansion work still underway.

"The waivers were requested to ensure the continued safety, integrity and stabilization of these construction sites," Granado said. Construction is shut down at all other construction sites in the state, according to Energy Transfer.

On Tuesday, the company won the state's approval continue monitoring and maintaining right-of-way and work sites associated with its Pennsylvania projects, as well as permission to secure, stabilize and move equipment.

Other Pennsylvania gas projects paused after Wolf's order have included the Pennsylvania portion of Dominion Energy's 150 MMcf/d West Loop Project and the Towanda Liquefaction and Storage Facility in Bradford County, designed for truck-loaded LNG.

Shell has also paused work on its large-scale plastic and petrochemical facility in Beaver County.