Forza Pipeline Advances on Favorable FERC Environmental Review
Key Takeaways
- •FERC staff issued a favorable environmental review for Targa Resources' proposed Forza Pipeline.
- •The Forza Pipeline is designed to transport 750,000 Dth/d of natural gas from the Delaware sub-basin to the Waha hub.
- •Waha prices have at times been steeply discounted or negative when Permian takeaway capacity lagged production.
- •The staff assessment moves the project closer to a construction decision, though final FERC approval is still pending.
Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have issued a favorable environmental review for Targa Resources' proposed Forza Pipeline, marking a key step forward for a project designed to move growing natural gas supplies out of the Permian Basin toward the Waha hub.
The proposed pipeline is designed to transport 750,000 Dth/d of natural gas. Supplies from the Delaware sub-basin — the western portion of the Permian Basin — would head toward Waha under the project plan. Waha, a major pricing hub in West Texas, has at times seen steeply discounted — and even negative — natural gas prices when takeaway capacity out of the basin has lagged production, which has made new pipeline outlets a recurring industry priority.
The favorable environmental assessment from FERC staff advances the Forza Pipeline through the federal review process. Under FERC's review procedures, a staff environmental assessment typically precedes a final commission order on a proposed interstate pipeline project, so the document moves Forza closer to a potential construction decision while leaving final approval still pending. The project is one of several infrastructure efforts aimed at moving rising Permian Basin natural gas production to market hubs.
Source: Natural Gas Intelligence
