Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Approves National Fuel's $455 Million Northern Access Project
February 04 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Buffalo-based National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation ("Supply")
and Empire Pipeline, Inc. ("Empire"), both wholly-owned
subsidiaries of National Fuel Gas Company ("National Fuel")
(NYSE:NFG), today received notice that the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission ("FERC") has approved their application to
construct the Northern Access 2016 Project (“Northern Access
Project” or "Project"). The Project, an expansion of the interstate
natural gas pipeline infrastructure systems of Supply and Empire,
will transport domestically-produced natural gas and provide a
reliable, low-cost source of energy for residential and commercial
customers throughout the North American pipeline system.
The Northern Access Project consists of approximately 97 miles
of new pipeline to be constructed within McKean County, Pa., and
the counties of Allegheny, Cattaraugus, Erie, N.Y., and
approximately two miles of new pipeline to be constructed in
Niagara County, N.Y. The Project also includes the addition of
compression facilities at an existing compressor station in Erie
County and construction of a new compressor station and a new
dehydration facility, both in Niagara County. The pipeline will be
integrated with the existing National Fuel pipeline network,
providing for increased reliability to the Western New York natural
gas markets.
Once completed, the Northern Access Project will provide in
total 490,000 Dth/day of incremental firm transportation capacity
on Supply. Of the Project capacity, 140,000 Dth/day will be
delivered to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline 200 Line, serving New York
state and New England markets, and the remaining 350,000 Dth/day of
incremental firm transportation capacity will be delivered to
Empire’s pipeline system, providing access to New York state,
Canadian, Northeast and Midwest U.S. markets.
“We continue to make progress working through the various
federal, state and local regulatory processes, and this
authorization keeps us on track for our recently announced
in-service date during the second quarter of our 2018 fiscal year.
National Fuel will invest nearly a half billion dollars to
construct the facilities necessary to transport this critical
source of natural gas to the Northeast U.S. and eastern Canadian
markets,” said Ronald Kraemer, senior vice president at
Supply and president at Empire. “As the northeast becomes
increasingly more reliant on this nearby supply source, and in
order to meet the growing demand from residential and commercial
customers as well as from electric utilities that are replacing
their coal-fired electric plants with natural gas-fired generation,
the infrastructure required to provide these supplies must be
built.”
The Northern Access Project will have more than a $930 million
economic impact, both direct and indirect, with approximately $735
million of the impact taking place in New York state. A private
sector investment by National Fuel, it will be financed without
government subsidies or economic incentives. Job totals will peak
during the construction phase as the Project’s workforce is
estimated at 1,680 jobs, 75 percent of which will be in New York.
The Buffalo, Niagara County and Southwestern Building, and
Construction Trades Councils recently announced an agreement with
the National Fuel subsidiaries on the use of local union labor
within New York. Pipeline construction in Pennsylvania will also
employ union labor. The Project also supports new and growing
employment at National Fuel.
Locally, the Project is estimated to increase annual property
taxes receipts for New York’s four counties by approximately $11.8
million, with an additional one-time sales tax impact of
approximately $6.6 million for those same four counties. Twelve
local school districts within those New York counties will benefit
from the annual incremental tax dollars that can be allocated
towards capital or infrastructure projects, restoring or enhancing
academic programs or staffing levels.
“As a Buffalo-based company that built, owns and operates nearly
10,000 miles of pipeline in New York state, FERC's approval of the
Northern Access Project is an important next step in our ability to
continue to invest in the essential pipeline infrastructure serving
New York state and interconnected markets," said Ronald J. Tanski,
president and chief executive officer of National Fuel Gas Company.
"While the state and nation continue their transition to more
renewable energy generation, natural gas will continue to be a
critical component of America’s energy supply, economic health and
national security. Equally, it’s integral to the New York state
economy, as the use of natural gas and the pipeline infrastructure
that brings gas from neighboring states not only delivers clean,
homegrown, abundant and affordable energy, but also provides
good-paying jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for
communities. We have 740,000 utility customers that depend on us to
keep them safe and warm each winter. We want to make sure we have
the pipeline infrastructure available to meet their
expectations”
During the more than 31 months of the FERC review process for
this Project, community input relative to the pipeline route,
noise, emissions, property values, lighting, security and
environmental impacts were taken into consideration and
incorporated into the design of the Northern Access Project
facilities. Examples include pipeline route modifications based on
landowner requests where possible and feasible, relocation of the
proposed compressor station in Pendleton, N.Y., to an
industrially-zoned area, relocation of the proposed dehydration
facility to an existing industrial park, use of state-of-the-art
sound and emissions reduction technologies at above ground facility
sites, and the incorporation of an agricultural exterior design for
the proposed Pendleton Compressor Station to enhance the aesthetics
for the facility.
National Fuel reviewed and responded to hundreds of questions
and comments submitted by residents and community groups throughout
the lengthy FERC review process, all of which are well-documented
and posted on the FERC eLibrary website,
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp, and on the Northern
Access Project website,
http://www.natfuel.com/Supply/NorthernAccess2016/default.aspx.
National Fuel is a diversified energy company headquartered in
Western New York that operates an integrated collection of natural
gas and oil assets across five business segments: Exploration and
Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, Utility, and Energy
Marketing. Additional information about National Fuel is available
at www.nationalfuelgas.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170204005003/en/
Media inquiries:For National Fuel Gas CompanyKaren Merkel,
716-857-7654
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