A second Louisiana court has sided with Williams in its dispute with Energy Transfer LP over natural gas pipeline crossings, clearing another obstacle for the Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) system that would supply LNG export terminals.
The 42nd Judicial District Court in DeSoto Parish, LA, ruled in late June that Energy Transfer could not block Williams from constructing LEG pipeline crossings under the ETC Texas Pipeline in DeSoto and Sabine parishes in northwestern Louisiana (No. 84,329).
Williams as well as DT Midstream Inc. (DTM) and Momentum Midstream LLC have accused Energy Transfer of upending industry practices for pipeline crossings. The pipeline operators have said it is an attempt by Energy Transfer to prevent competitors from transporting natural gas from the Haynesville Shale. Energy Transfer has in turn defended its land use rights.
“There is absolutely no reason why LEG should be prevented from building its pipeline and crossing the ETP-owned pipelines,” DeSoto Parish Judge Nicholas Gasper wrote in his ruling.
Gasper said Energy Transfer provided no evidence that LEG’s sought crossings would adversely affect its pipelines, and that LEG provided more documents than necessary because Energy Transfer “made an absurd assertion that it needed every” map location file for each crossing.
Noting that Energy Transfer’s Mark Vedral, senior director for Land/Row, Engineering and Construction suggested a commercial solution to the dispute, Gasper wrote, “The mere fact that ETP is willing to allow crossings for the right amount of money makes it obvious to this court that there are no issues related to safety or adverse effects.”
In response to the latest ruling, Williams management said, “With each favorable ruling, Energy Transfer’s anti-competitive behavior is being brought to light and rejected by the courts.”
Meanwhile, Energy Transfer in a statement said, “Contrary to Williams’ claims, they have not provided the critical information we need to thoroughly review the potential operational, safety and environmental impacts of the large number of crossings they are seeking. As a responsible pipeline operator, standing up for the safety of our assets and for those whose property we cross is the right thing to do.”
In April, Energy Transfer had separately asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine whether LEG is an interstate pipeline or gathering system. The Commission has yet to make a final determination.
Two More Crossings
The DeSoto court’s June decision came weeks after a similar ruling by the 36th Judicial District Court in Beauregard Parish, LA (No. C-2023-0915 DIV B).
In all, Louisiana courts have ruled in favor of Williams for 27 crossings. Two more disputed crossings were expected to be decided soon by the 30th Judicial District Court in Vernon Parish, LA (No. 103271). For three cases being appealed, Williams rerouted the system to avoid further delays. Williams has delayed the startup of the 1.8 Bcf/d LEG to the second half of 2025.
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If Williams prevails in the Vernon case, LEG would become the latest project to overcome Energy Transfer’s crossing objections in Louisiana.
DTM found an alternative route for its Louisiana Energy Access Project (LEAP) after a court ruled against it last year. DTM expects to complete a third expansion of LEAP by the end of September that would raise its capacity by 0.2 Bcf/d to 1.9 Bcf/d. LEAP has the potential to expand to around 4 Bcf/d.
In June, Momentum settled its crossing dispute to move forward with the 1.7 Bcf/d New Generation Gas Gathering LLC (NG3) pipeline. Before the court delays, Momentum had targeted finishing NG3 by the end of this year.
Eight other pipeline projects are advancing in Texas and Louisiana to move supply to the Gulf Coast. The pipelines would supply 10.7 Bcf/d of liquefied natural gas terminal capacity that is due online by the end of the decade, according to NGI’s North American LNG Export Project Tracker.
Energy Transfer also has expansion plans for the Gulf Run Pipeline in Louisiana.
