EQT says court rulings increase uncertainty surrounding pipeline project

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - The parent company of the Mountain Valley Pipeline says recent court decisions create greater uncertainty in its ability to complete the project.

But the CEO of Equitrans Midstream says the company is committed to finishing construction, and is now evaluating the best path forward.

Click here for earlier stories about the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

EQT reported its fourth quarter and 2021 financial results Tuesday. We heard from CEO Thomas Karam in an earnings call.

“Today, we report a 2021 net loss of $1.4 billion,” Karam said as he began his remarks during the call.

Karam described 2021 as a complicated year.

Decisions by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that invalidated key permits, he said, were wrong.

“The court decisions elevate the uncertainty around our ability to bring MVP to completion,” Karam said. “And just to remind you, MVP’s total project work is about 94% complete. Obviously we are no longer targeting a summer 2022 in-service.”

Pipeline opponents have disputed how much of the work remains to be completed.

And David Sligh, Conservation Director of the group Wild Virginia, said the company’s troubles are self-inflicted.

“They’re having these difficulties because they didn’t do the job right from the very beginning,” Sligh told WDBJ7. “Both the company and the agencies that have been supposed to review these things and do a thorough analysis simply didn’t do their jobs.”

Russell Chisholm is co-chair of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights Coalition (POWHR).

“This confirms what we have believed for the past seven years: the MVP will never have a completion date because it will never be built,” Chisholm said in a statement. “This is an unnecessary, fracked gas pipeline that has no place in our communities during a global climate disaster. It’s time to shut down this disastrous pipeline.”

Karam said EQT remains committed to the project, and along with its partners is now evaluating the best path forward. He wouldn’t say when he expects the project to be completed.