American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016 - 93

ConventionSection: Virginia Oil & Gas Association

VOGA Continues Support
For New Pipelines
By Dan Holder
CHESTER, VA.-Virginia, whose natural gas production comes from a small
number of counties, is unlike most energy-producing states. But Brent Archer,
president of the Virginia Oil & Gas Association, says Virginia's isolated production region provides a key lesson for
everyone in the energy field.
"We have learned that from an overall
industry standpoint, we are all in this together. There are different impacts from
the shale revolution, but we all have to
be very cognizant of what those issues
are, and understand how the pieces fit together," assesses Archer, who also is president of Columbia Gas of Virginia, in
Chester.
Reflecting on the state of the industry
in advance of VOGA's annual convention,
scheduled for June 22-24 in Virginia
Beach, Va., Archer says industry veterans
still are trying to fully grasp all the farreaching implications of political and industry developments-notably the huge
increases in domestic production and the
resulting global price declines-seen over
the past few years.
"Everything we see from a production/supply standpoint indicates we will
continue to have plentiful supply for the
foreseeable future, low volatility, and
very competitive prices," he assesses.
"VOGA invests time and energy addressing those questions, not just from producers' standpoint, but also considering
all aspects of the gas supply chain-from
the exploration and production sector to
the pipeline and midstream side, and
also at the local distribution company
level."
While American consumers enjoy lower utility bills, depressed commodity
prices are hurting the gas production
community. Archer says the industry must
mount a response. "We are doing a lot of
educating within the industry to promote
the idea that there is a sweet spot where
prices are beneficial for everybody. That
is where you want to be, where there is
benefit for the producers, but also benefits
on the consumer side," he poses.

Over the past decade, VOGA has become more assertive and proactive about
proclaiming that message, Archer says. In
comparing the amount of anti-gas opposition seen around the country, he says Virginia has a different situation in that people
living in its limited production area have
seen field operations for many years.
"People who live and work in those
areas are very comfortable with production.
It always has been there, and there are
very good, responsible producers involved
in the communities there," Archer says.
"From time to time, you may see a small
faction raise some issues, but VOGA has
pushed back and it really has not been a
prevalent issue in Southwest Virginia."
Pipeline Projects
Some significant amounts of pushback
are emerging to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
(ACP) and Mountain Valley Pipeline
(MVP) projects from parts of Virginia,
Archer acknowledges.
ACP is a joint project announced in
September 2014 by Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources. According to the companies, the
pipeline will originate in Harrison County,
W.V., run to Greensville County, Va., and
turn south into eastern North Carolina.
The 594-mile pipeline will have two laterals
connecting with two Dominion Virginia
Power electric generating facilities. Pipeline
capacity is 1.5 billion cubic feet a day.
MVP will span 301 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.
Its owner, Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC,
is a joint venture of EQT Midstream Partners LLC, NextEra U.S. Gas Assets LLC,
Con Edison Gas Midstream LLC, WGL
Midstream, Vega Midstream MVP LLC,
and RGC Midstream LLC. The pipeline
has a scheduled in-service date of fourth
quarter 2016. The companies say MVP
will move at least 2.0 MMcf/d to markets
in the Mid- and South Atlantic regions.
VOGA has filed support for both projects in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dockets, Archer says. He downplays the reports of opposition to the
pipelines among state legislators.
"It really is not based on an ideology

or position on energy. It primarily is
based on constituent issues," he reveals.
"Legislators who are in the path of the
pipelines have gotten very strong opposition from some of their constituents.
Legislators who have been very strong
allies of the energy industry have been
conflicted over the past couple years.
They understand you have to have a
robust energy supply to promote economic
development, but they are being pushed
by some very persistent and consistent
anti-pipeline groups in their districts."
In response, more than 30 state lawmakers from eastern counties wrote to Virginia's congressional delegation promoting
ACP. They pointed to the increasing demand
for natural gas in Virginia cities such as
Hampton Roads and Chesapeake. Virginia
Governor Terry McAuliffe also took a
strong supportive position on both projects
early in the FERC process, Archer says.
Archer points out that while local governments have some ability to influence
small alterations in pipeline routing or to
secure other concessions from a developer,
it takes opposition from across a state or
congressional district to seriously impact
FERC certifications.
"FERC determines whether there are
solid contracts for the capacity that make
a project economically viable and in the
public interest. At that point, it is judging
what the most sensible route is from an
environmental standpoint," he says. "The
fact that the governor has been so strongly
in favor of these projects has helped make
at least the Virginia portion much more
likely to be constructed, and I believe
both projects will be built."
The two pipeline projects coincide with
legislation approved by Virginia lawmakers
in 2015 that support extending pipeline
infrastructure in underserved parts of the
state. Archer says Virginia's local distribution companies are beginning to pursue
the business opportunities created by HB
1475, sponsored by Delegate R. Lee Ware,
R-Powhatan, and its companion bill, SB
1163, introduced by Senator Richard
Saslaw, D-Springfield. The legislation allows the state's natural gas utilities to recover noneconomic costs through an "exJUNE 2016 93

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016