CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural
Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced its equity investment in
Constitution Pipeline Company, LLC, a natural gas pipeline project
slated to transport natural gas supplies from the prolific
Marcellus supply region in northern Pennsylvania to major northeastern
markets. The project is scheduled to be in service by
March 2015. Piedmont Natural Gas,
through its wholly-owned subsidiary Piedmont Constitution Pipeline
Company, LLC, joins Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) and Cabot
Oil and Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) as a 24 percent equity
participant in the joint venture, and will invest an estimated
$180 million in the new
project.
Thomas E. Skains, Piedmont's Chairman, President, and CEO
commented on the Company's involvement, "Piedmont's equity participation in the
Constitution Pipeline project aligns very well with our strategic
focus on expanding our investments in complementary energy-related
businesses as a means of enhancing shareholder value." Skains
continued, "We are excited about making an investment in strategic
pipeline infrastructure in the Marcellus supply basin that will
transport clean, low cost natural gas supplies to premium East
Coast markets and provide substantial benefits for both natural gas
producers and consumers. We are equally excited to be joining
such strong joint venture partners as Williams Partners and Cabot
Oil and Gas, as both are outstanding companies and widely respected
in our industry."
An affiliate of Williams Partners will construct, operate, and
maintain the new 30-inch, 121-mile long transmission pipeline that
is being designed with sufficient capacity to transport 650,000
dekatherms of natural gas per day (a quantity of natural gas that
can serve approximately 3 million homes) from established Marcellus
production areas in Susquehanna
County of northern Pennsylvania. The pipeline
will connect with the Iroquois Gas Transmission and Tennessee Gas
Pipeline systems in Schoharie County, New
York and is already fully contracted with long-term
commitments from established natural gas producers currently
operating in Pennsylvania;
Piedmont will not be a customer of
Constitution Pipeline. Williams Partners will maintain a 51
percent ownership share, Cabot Oil and Gas a 25 percent share, and
Piedmont Natural Gas, through its wholly owned subsidiary, a 24
percent share in the pipeline venture.
"Williams Partners enjoys a long-term, mutually beneficial
relationship with Piedmont as a
customer on our Transco pipeline system and as a joint venture
partner in existing pipeline and storage infrastructure projects in
North Carolina. We are delighted
to expand that relationship with Piedmont as a new partner in the Constitution
Pipeline," said Alan Armstrong,
chief executive officer of Williams Partners. "Constitution
is a key component of the Susquehanna Supply Hub that Williams
Partners is expanding to connect Marcellus
Shale producers like Cabot
and Southwestern Energy with the highest-value markets.
"The Constitution Pipeline is a great example of the kind of
leadership and investment –from energy-infrastructure providers
like Williams Partners, utilities like Piedmont and producers like Cabot – that we believe is key to building the
foundation our nation needs to realize the full benefits of the new
abundance of long-lived, clean-burning natural gas supplies in
Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale and elsewhere in North America."
The Constitution Pipeline project was first announced in
February 2012 by Williams Partners
and Cabot Oil and Gas. Construction of the new pipeline is expected
to begin in April 2014 with an
in-service date of March 2015.
Constitution Pipeline is currently in the pre-filing process with
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency
charged with the regulation of interstate pipelines.
Constitution Pipeline plans to file a formal certificate
application with the FERC in the spring of 2013. More
information about the Constitution Pipeline project can be found at
www.constitutionpipeline.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
statements are based on management's current expectations and
information currently available and are believed to be reasonable
and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements
are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual
results differ from anticipated results include, but are not
limited to, weather conditions, rate of customer growth, the cost
and availability of natural gas, competition from other energy
providers, new legislation and regulations and application of
existing laws and regulations, economic and capital market
conditions, the cost and availability of labor and materials and
other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some
of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when
making investment decisions. The words "expect," "believe,"
"project," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "could,"
"assume," "can," "estimate," "forecast," "future," "indicate,"
"outlook," "plan," "predict," "seek," "target," "would," and
variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More
information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these
forward-looking statements may be found in Piedmont's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which
are available on the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov.
About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily
engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million
residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 51,600 customers served
by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are
invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including
unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas
storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information
about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at
http://www.piedmontng.com/.
About Williams Partners L.P.
Williams Partners L.P. is a leading diversified master limited
partnership focused on natural gas transportation; gathering,
treating, and processing; storage; natural gas liquid (NGL)
fractionation; and oil transportation. The partnership owns
interests in three major interstate natural gas pipelines that,
combined, deliver 14 percent of the natural gas consumed in
the United States. The
partnership's gathering and processing assets include large-scale
operations in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and both onshore and
offshore along the Gulf of Mexico.
Williams (NYSE: WMB) owns approximately 70 percent of Williams
Partners, including the general-partner interest. More information
is available at www.williamslp.com, where the partnership routinely
posts important information.
About Cabot Oil and Gas
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas is a leading independent
natural gas producer, with its entire resource base located in the
continental United States. For additional information, visit
the Company's Internet homepage at www.cabotog.com.
SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas