Last month, five major U.S. pipeline projects were approved. These projects are expected to boost the outlook for breakbulk demand in the Northeast. Just in the month of October the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the 2-billion-cubic-feet Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Equitrans Expansion Project, the Supply Header Pipeline, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Eastern Shore 2017 Expansion Project.
All of these projects will increase delivery capacity from the Northeast’s Utica and Marcellus shales, and mark the next phase for development, following US$10 billion in new investment approved last year. Construction and preparation for the pipelines is expected to drive demand for breakbulk transportation services throughout the region.
The new pipelines are also expected to provide a boost for the development of plastics and chemicals facilities in the region, with Shell Chemical Appalachia already starting work on a new ethylene cracker unit, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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