Shale pipelines task force established

The governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, has announced the formation of a task force to provide assistance to the state authorities, the shale gas industry and communities to collaborate when managing shale gas pipelines.

The state has identified the growing problem of production growth outstripping infrastructure development and the governor has created the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force (PITF) to promote the collaboration of stakeholders to develop a ‘world-class’ pipeline network.

The task force will be comprised of representatives from state agencies, the legislature, federal and local governments, the pipeline and shale gas industries as well as environmental groups.

“We need to work with the industry to make sure that the positive economic benefits of Pennsylvania’s rich natural resources can more quickly be realised in a responsible way,” explained Governor Wolf.

“This taskforce is part of our commitment to seeing the natural gas industry succeed.”

The task force will be chaired by John Quigley, the acting secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.

It will aim to form recommendations for best practices of planning, siting and routing pipelines in order to minimise the environmental and community impacts from the infrastructure growth.

“Over the next decade, we could see the construction of as many as 25 000 miles of gathering lines. These are the lines that connect the wells to the processing stations. We can also expect another 4000 - 5000 miles of midstream and transmission pipelines in Pennsylvania,” Quigley said.

“Now is the time for a collaborative conversation among all stakeholders state, federal and local governments; industry representatives; and environmental and conservation groups.”

Wolf said the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force would be an "unprecedented collaboration of stakeholders to facilitate the development of a world-class pipeline infrastructure system." The group would include representatives from state agencies, the legislature, federal and local governments, environmental groups, producers and midstream companies.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Shale Energy Insider, Natural Gas Intelligence

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/29052015/shale-pipelines-task-force-established/