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NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil

Some Mountain Valley construction to resume

US NORTHEAST THE US Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- lower court’s decision on the matter. Indeed,
sion (FERC) has given Equitrans Midstream Mountain Valley is set to cross the trail in the Jef-
permission to resume some construction on the ferson National Forest.
Mountain Valley pipeline from Virginia to West Despite that ruling and the new FERC deci-
Virginia. sion, however, questions remain over whether
This comes after the FERC suspended work Equitrans will be able to complete the pipeline
on Mountain Valley a year ago owing to litigation by early 2021 as previously planned. The com-
over a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Ser- pany said this week it would evaluate the cost
vice (FWS), which allows construction in areas and timing of Mountain Valley’s completion
inhabited by endangered and threatened species. based on ongoing litigation and upcoming fed-
The FWS issued a new approval in early Sep- eral approvals.
tember, but environmental and other opposition “We acknowledge the legal challenge that is
groups are continuing to challenge this, along currently before Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
with other federal permits, in court. and have agreed to temporarily delay stream and
Despite the ongoing litigation – which is to waterbody activities out of respect for that pro-
be expected by most pipeline operators as they cess,” Equitrans said.
build new infrastructure – more than one regu- And analysts at Height Capital Markets said
latory and legal development has gone in Moun- they now expected the project to enter service in
tain Valley’s favour recently. In June, the US mid-2021 but warned that this could slip to the
Supreme Court issued a ruling that pertained to third quarter of 2021 if legal challenges held up
the since-cancelled Atlantic Coast pipeline, but certain planned stream crossings.
which was described as good news for Mountain The pipeline was last estimated to cost $5.4bn
Valley as well. The ruling gives federal regulators but Equitrans warned back in June that costs may
the authority to grant rights of way for pipelines rise above this as a result of legal decisions and
to cross the Appalachian Trail, overturning a regulatory changes.™
INVESTMENT

ConocoPhillips reportedly in

talks to take over Concho

US ACCORDING to a Bloomberg report, Cono- acquisition of the year to date if it goes ahead,
coPhillips is in talks to acquire shale producer overtaking the recently closed merger between
Concho Resources, with a deal potentially com- Chevron and Noble Energy.
ing in the next few weeks. Comments earlier this year by ConocoPhil-
The news service cited people familiar with lips’ CEO, Ryan Lance, have suggested that the
the matter as saying that no final decision had company is on the lookout for potential acquisi-
yet been made and the talks could still fall tions, encouraged by the low premiums on offer.
through. Bloomberg added that representatives “We’re looking at asset deals, we’re looking at
for ConocoPhillips and Concho could not be corporate deals, we look across the board,” Lance
reached immediately for comment, implying said in July.
that its sources were not from either of the com- Analysts at JP Morgan Chase & Co. said in
panies. Efforts by other media outlets to confirm a note that a merger between the two compa-
the news have also come to nothing, though a nies would make “strategic and financial sense”,
ConocoPhillips spokesman told the Midland and that acquiring Concho would be accretive
Reporter-Telegram that the company does not on most metrics and provide “critical mass” to
comment on “market rumours”. ConocoPhillips’ position in the Permian Basin.
However, the report comes as consolida- And RS Energy Group, part of Enverus, com-
tion appears to be picking up in the US oil and mented that a deal between ConocoPhillips and
gas industry, including among shale players. Concho would stand out compared to recent
Indeed, if a deal is announced, it would be a corporate transactions thanks to its “large-scale
major bet on shale for ConocoPhillips, which exposure to high-quality, undeveloped shale oil
has both conventional and unconventional resource”.
operations. Concho has drilling rights across roughly
Concho has an enterprise value of $13.4bn, 800,000 gross acres (3,237 square km) in the
according to data cited by Bloomberg. This Permian, according to a September investor
would make it the biggest oil and gas company presentation.™

Week 41 15•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13