Two large Haynesville natural gas pipelines target late 2025 start

Two greenfield natural gas pipeline projects providing egress from the Haynesville Shale are targeting a 2025 in-service date and two midstream companies recently said they are considering brownfield expansions to egress pipelines in Louisiana.

Haynesville production has declined this year amid weak gas prices. It has averaged 14.3 Bcf/d so far this summer, down from 15.9 Bcf/d in summer 2023, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

But midstream firms are building out capacity in anticipation of a sharp increase in production when the Plaquemines and Golden Pass LNG export terminals start to ramp up. Fuel gas was introduced to the 20 million metric ton per year Plaquemines LNG facility in June. First LNG for the up to 18.1 MMt/y Golden Pass terminal is now expected in the second half of 2025, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said Aug. 2.

Private firm Momentum Midstream's 1.7 Bcf/d New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) pipeline is on track to begin service at the end of 2025, Chesapeake CFO Mohit Singh said July 30 during the company's second quarter earnings call. Chesapeake is the anchor client for the pipeline.

The project had originally been targeting a 2024 start but was delayed by a legal dispute surrounding permission to cross pipelines owned by Energy Transfer. The parties eventually settled the matter, and Louisiana's 42nd District Court granted a motion "dismissing all claims asserted by all parties" on June 10, clearing the way for construction to continue .

"We are very pleased that the litigation that was between Energy Transfer and Momentum has been settled," Singh said. The project is now "back on track...we're expecting an in-service date in Q4 2025."

The pipeline will allow Chesapeake to move 700 MMcf/d of production down to the Gillis Hub, Singh said. While the company also has capacity on the Gulf Run and Tiger Pipelines to take gas east to Perryville, the capacity on NG3 "gives us the flexibility to redirect flows as we see appropriate," Singh said.

Gillis is expected to increase in importance as a hub for supplying gas to LNG export projects on the Gulf Coast.

LEAP

DT Midstream has been increasing capacity from the Haynesville to Gillis through its LEAP Gathering System expansions. It brought its 200 MMcf/d Phase 3 expansion in service ahead of scheduled in June, taking capacity to 1.9 Bcf/d. This follows on from the 400 MMcf/d LEAP Phase 2 expansion, which started service in January. It is already considering a fourth expansion between 200-400 MMcf/d that could begin service in 2025 or 2026, it said in its second quarter earnings presentation.

"We are nearing the next wave of new LNG demand growth, which will increase the call on natural gas production in 2025," CEO David Slater said July 30. "We continue to be in active discussions for LEAP Phase 4 expansion with strong recognition by producers of the coming demand starting next year and the long-term value for production access to Gulf Coast markets." Further expansions are possible; the pipeline has a potential capacity of 4 Bcf/d, the company said.

Williams, Energy Transfer

Another large egress project, the 1.8 Bcf/d Louisiana Energy Gateway, has started construction, Williams executives said Aug. 8 during the company's second quarter earnings call. Like NG3, it is targeting a second half of 2025 in-service date, after the original date was delayed by litigation with Energy Transfer. One potentially complicating factor is Energy Transfer's recent petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission arguing that LEG should be considered a transmission line requiring FERC authorization, but Williams executives expressed confidence in a favorable outcome for the pipeline.

Energy Transfer executives also hinted at brownfield expansions in the Haynesville. "We've got a lot of potential to grow there and so does the industry," co-CEO Marshall McCrea said. Energy Transfer has three 42-inch pipelines in North Louisiana, and the region has "enormous reserves," he said. The company could expand southward capacity on its 1.65 Bcf/d Gulf Run pipeline "relatively easy," McCrea said. Gulf Run connects the Carthage Hub and Perryville markets, and runs south towards the Golden Pass pipeline.

McCrea defended the company's recent litigation around pipeline crossings in Louisiana, saying the company "needed technical data" about the crossings to address its concerns around how crossings could affect rights of way and safety. "All we're doing is protecting our rights and we'll continue to do that as a partnership."