Midship Pipeline Co. LLC sought to delay proceedings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would determine whether the developer owes compensation to Oklahoma landowners. The operator said, in a new defense of its restoration work, that it expects an ongoing investigation to show the company did not violate the terms of the federal permit authorizing the 200-mile pipeline.
The Cheniere Energy Inc.-owned natural gas pipeline company responded in a Jan. 18 filing to a December 2021 order from FERC that demanded to know why the commission should not conclude that Midship buried rock and debris along its right of way in violation of its Natural Gas Act certificate to build the Midship pipeline. The order also asked Midship to explain why FERC should not order the removal of the material (CP17-458). The possible violation concerned rock and debris buried in the pipeline right of way.
FERC had also referred the matter to its enforcement office for investigation. In a separate Jan. 18 filing, Midship asked FERC to reverse the show-cause order requiring Midship to provide an answer before an investigation by the agency's Office of Enforcement is completed, saying FERC's actions in late 2021 were "unduly prejudicial." Midship told the regulator that it has not had "a meaningful opportunity" to gather the information the commission said was missing, to investigate the allegations referenced in the order, or to remedy restoration issues discovered in the investigation.
"On a full and fairly developed record, Midship does not believe that the commission will find that Midship has buried rock and construction debris in the [project right of way] in violation of its certificate," the developer said in its answer to the show-cause order.
Nonetheless, Midship said it would still comply with the commission's rulings, which included submitting a detailed investigative plan to determine the extent of buried rock and debris, and said it remains committed to restoring any portions of land that require it.
The group Central Land Consulting, which represents numerous landowners, had asked FERC in June 2021 for the show-cause order, saying the enforcement proceeding would be important to trigger an independent investigation, open the door for settlement offers and hold the developer accountable.
Central Land Consulting in a Jan. 19 filing at FERC criticized Midship's response to the regulator, saying it "attempts to defer responsibility and excuse itself as to why it should not be found in violation of their certificate" and put blame on weather, landowners and the consulting group. The group said the filing "was born out of emotion and fails to provide a relevant answer to why Midship should not be found in violation of its certificate."
In December 2021, Midship had also asked a FERC administrative law judge for a partial stay pending the resolution of an upcoming challenge to FERC jurisdiction in the matter. That request was denied Jan. 13. The developer then filed a motion for reconsideration that is pending.
The Midship pipeline, designed to move up to 1.4 Bcf/d of gas to the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast from Oklahoma's Anadarko Basin, received permission to enter service in April 2020 with 1.1 Bcf/d of the project capacity. Cheniere has two major LNG export facilities in operation on the Gulf Coast.
