American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015 - 146

ConventionCoverage: Virginia Oil & Gas Association

Atlantic Coast Energy Needs
Are Increasing Steadily
By Corinne Westeman

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.-As the Atlantic Coast population continues to grow,
Appalachian-based midstream and distribution companies must work to meet
natural gas demand in a way that benefits
all involved parties, Virginia energy
leaders say.
The Virginia Oil & Gas Association
hosted its 38th annual convention June
24-26 at Virginia Beach's Hilton Garden
Inn Oceanfront, where Robert Orndorff,
senior policy adviser of state and local
government affairs for Dominion Resources Inc., and Kenneth Yagelski, managing director of gas supply at AGL Resources Inc., updated VOGA members
on the status and goals of the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline (ACP).
According to Orndorff, Atlantic Coast
Pipeline LLC, which consists of Dominion,
Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas
Company Inc. and AGL, plans to file a
permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission by the end of summer. The
company also will have to file 12 resource
reports on how the pipeline may impact
various natural resources, etc., he added.
If approved, Dominion is set to start
building the pipeline in 2016, and have it
in service by late 2018, Orndorff said. The
project is projected to have a $2.7 billion
economic impact, providing more than
17,000 direct jobs during construction.
While the exact route is subject to
change, the ACP will span from northcentral West Virginia, through parts of
north-central and southeastern Virginia,
and down to central North Carolina, Orndorff and Yagelski commented.
Virginia and North Carolina are expected to see a massive population increase
by 2025, Orndorff remarked, growing by
1.8 million and 2.1 million, respectively.
With more people comes additional energy
consumption and power generation, and
the region has an abundant natural gas
supply in Appalachia, he continued.
"It will be an engineering feat to build
this pipeline," Yagelski stated. "But, if
we don't start building this now, we are
not going to be able to meet the demand

we will be seeing over the next decade."
He pointed out that of the coastal region's top 25 greatest demand days, 19
of them had come in the past two years,
including several during major winter
storms that hit the East Coast early this
year. "Daily demand continues to grow
1-2 percent each year," Yagelski clarified.
"Once the ACP is built, we won't need
to rely as much on peak shaving to meet
future capacity requirements."
Yagelski also outlined several other
issues that the ACP would address, including:
* Production area diversity, or not
having to rely on a limited number of
producers;
* Reducing pricing risk through
greater supplier diversity;
* Additional pipeline optionality providing cost savings and better asset utilization;
* Capacity to stimulate economic
growth; and
* Capacity for transportation customer

146 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Robert Orndorff, senior policy adviser
of state and local government affairs
for Dominion Resources Inc., discusses
the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline at
the Virginia Oil & Gas Association's annual convention, held June 24-26 at Virginia Beach's Hilton Garden Inn Oceanfront. Orndorff said Dominion and its
partners expected major population
growth along the East Coast, and the
proposed pipeline would help meet energy demand.

growth.

Overcome Resistance
Because the ACP has met resistance
from landowners and communities, Orndorff and Yagelski asked for VOGA's
support in promoting the pipeline and its
various benefits for the industry, the
public, power generators, and manufacturers. "After all, a rising tide raises all
ships," Yagelski quoted.
Several anti-industry groups are protesting the pipeline project, particularly in
North Carolina. Yagelski noted the industry's opponents "have moved away
from protesting production, to protesting
pipeline projects."
"This shift in strategy goes to show
that whatever VOGA is doing, it is working," he added.
Orndorff said ACP would continue
its surveys and outreach efforts with
stakeholders while in the prefiling stage.
"It's important to get the public involved
and interested in this project," he commented. "The underserved communities
and new businesses will benefit immensely
from the pipeline. We are looking to mitigate environmental concerns and work
with the communities to find routes that
work for everyone."
Yagelski remarked that, because the
United States had a history of affordable
energy, people forgot how much effort
went into the extraction, processing and
delivery processes. "Energy is so inexpensive that people don't understand or
care about the importance of natural gas
development," he posited. "So really, it's
an education effort more than anything.
There will be costs and some inconvenience,
but the benefits will far outweigh them.
"If people want their lights to stay on
or energy prices to stay down, they should
support this project," he continued. "We
appreciate people's concerns, questions
and feedback, so long as they are built
on reason and understanding, rather than
misinformation."
Virginia Production
According to Rick Cooper, director
of the Virginia Department of Mines,

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