PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) and NextEra US Gas Assets, LLC, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE) today announced the formation of a joint venture, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, that will construct and own the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The joint venture also announced the launch of a binding open season for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The companies also announced EQT Corporation, through one or more of its affiliates, including EQT Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: EQM), will operate the pipeline and own a majority interest in the joint venture.
With a vast supply of natural gas from Marcellus and Utica shale production, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is expected to provide at least two billion cubic feet per day of firm transmission capacity to demand markets in the Mid- and South Atlantic regions of the United States. Subject to FERC approval, the estimated 330-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline will connect the existing Equitrans transmission system in West Virginia, to Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company’s (Transco) Zone 5 compressor station 165 in Virginia – a highly marketable trading area for the southeast region. To-date, the joint venture has received firm capacity commitments that total 1.5 Bcf per day. The pipeline is expected to be in-service during the fourth quarter 2018.
“As we move into a binding open season, securing the 1.5 Bcf per day of firm capacity confirms we have an economically viable project. Marcellus and Utica producers will have cost-effective access to the growing demand for natural gas for use by local distribution companies, manufacturers, and power generation facilities,” stated Randy Crawford, senior vice president, EQT Corporation; and chief operating officer, EQT Midstream Partners.
“We are encouraged by the market response to the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline thus far,” said TJ Tuscai, president, NextEra US Gas Assets. ”We look forward to working with our partner EQT to bring a new reliable supply of natural gas to customers in the southeast United States.”
The binding open season was filed by the joint venture, and the initial operator of the pipeline will be a subsidiary of EQT Corporation. The binding open season is scheduled to end on September 29, 2014, at which time the final project scope will be determined. For more information on the binding open season, please visit www.eqt.com.
About EQT Corporation:
EQT
Corporation is an integrated energy company with emphasis on Appalachian
area natural gas production, gathering, and transmission. EQT is the
general partner and significant equity owner of EQT Midstream Partners,
LP. With more than 125 years of experience, EQT continues to be a leader
in the use of advanced horizontal drilling technology – designed to
minimize the potential impact of drilling-related activities and reduce
the overall environmental footprint. Through safe and responsible
operations, the Company is committed to meeting the country’s growing
demand for clean-burning energy, while continuing to provide a rewarding
workplace and enrich the communities where its employees live and work.
Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange as EQT.
Visit EQT Corporation at www.eqt.com.
About EQT Midstream Partners:
EQT
Midstream Partners, LP is a growth-oriented limited partnership formed
by EQT Corporation to own, operate, acquire, and develop midstream
assets in the Appalachian Basin. The Partnership provides midstream
services to EQT Corporation and third-party companies through its
strategically located transmission, storage, and gathering systems that
service the Marcellus and Utica regions. The Partnership owns 700 miles
and operates an additional 200 miles of FERC-regulated interstate
pipelines; and also owns more than 1,600 miles of high- and low-pressure
gathering lines.
Visit EQT Midstream Partners, LP at www.eqtmidstreampartners.com.
About NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra
Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company with
consolidated revenues of approximately $15.1 billion, approximately
42,500 megawatts of generating capacity, and approximately 13,900
employees in 26 states and Canada as of year-end 2013. Headquartered in
Juno Beach, Fla., NextEra Energy’s principal subsidiaries are Florida
Power & Light Company, which serves approximately 4.7 million customer
accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric
utilities in the United States, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which
together with its affiliated entities is the largest generator in North
America of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Through its
subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity
from eight commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire,
Iowa and Wisconsin. NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third
parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility,
ethics and compliance, and diversity, and has been named No. 1 overall
among electric and gas utilities on Fortune’s list of “World’s Most
Admired Companies” for eight consecutive years, which is an
unprecedented achievement in its industry.
EQT Cautionary Statements
Disclosures in this news
release contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Statements that
do not relate strictly to historical or current facts are
forward-looking. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
forward-looking statements contained in this news release specifically
include the expectations of plans, strategies, objectives and growth,
and anticipated financial and operational performance of EQT and its
affiliates; including guidance regarding the proposed Mountain Valley
Pipeline (MVP) and joint venture, such as the projected length of the
MVP; the EQT affiliate to own and/or operate the MVP; the MVP’s expected
interconnections with facilities and pipelines; existing customer
commitments; the timing of development and construction for the MVP; and
the expected in-service date for the MVP. The forward-looking statements
included in this news release are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected
results. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. EQT has
based these forward-looking statements on current expectations and
assumptions about future events. While EQT considers these expectations
and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to
significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory, and other risks
and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and are beyond
EQT’s control. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the
operations, performance, and results of EQT’s business and
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set
forth under Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of EQT’s Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2013, as updated by any subsequent Form 10-Qs.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made and EQT does not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NextEra Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect
Future Results
This press release contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent
the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (together with its
subsidiaries, NextEra Energy) regarding future operating results and
other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently
uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's control. Forward-looking
statements in this press release include, among others, statements
concerning adjusted earnings per share expectations and future operating
performance. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking
statements by words or phrases such as “will,” “may result,” “expect,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “aim,” “potential,”
“projection,” “forecast,” “predict,” “goals,” “target,” “outlook,”
“should,” “would” or similar words or expressions. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a
guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra Energy
and its business and financial condition are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, or may
require it to limit or eliminate certain operations. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: effects of
extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's business operations; inability
of NextEra Energy to recover in a timely manner any significant amount
of costs, a return on certain assets or an appropriate return on capital
through base rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms
or otherwise; impact of political, regulatory and economic factors on
regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy; disallowance of cost
recovery based on a finding of imprudent use of derivative instruments;
effect of any reductions to or elimination of governmental incentives
that support renewable energy projects or the imposition of additional
taxes or assessments on renewable energy; impact of new or revised laws,
regulations or interpretations or other regulatory initiatives on
NextEra Energy; effect on NextEra Energy of potential regulatory action
to broaden the scope of regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) financial
derivatives and to apply such regulation to NextEra Energy; capital
expenditures, increased operating costs and various liabilities
attributable to environmental laws, regulations and other standards
applicable to NextEra Energy; effects on NextEra Energy of federal or
state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the
production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra Energy to
significant and increasing compliance costs and substantial monetary
penalties and other sanctions as a result of extensive federal
regulation of its operations; effect on NextEra Energy of changes in tax
laws and in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset
and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy of adverse results of
litigation; effect on NextEra Energy of failure to proceed with projects
under development or inability to complete the construction of (or
capital improvements to) electric generation, transmission and
distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities or other
facilities on schedule or within budget; impact on development and
operating activities of NextEra Energy resulting from risks related to
project siting, financing, construction, permitting, governmental
approvals and the negotiation of project development agreements; risks
involved in the operation and maintenance of electric generation,
transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities
and other facilities; effect on NextEra Energy of a lack of growth or
slower growth in the number of customers or in customer usage; impact on
NextEra Energy of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats
of terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism,
cyber attacks or other attempts to disrupt NextEra Energy's business or
the businesses of third parties; inability to obtain adequate insurance
coverage for protection of NextEra Energy against significant losses and
risk that insurance coverage does not provide protection against all
significant losses; risk of increased operating costs resulting from
unfavorable supply costs necessary to provide full energy and capacity
requirement services; inability or failure to manage properly or hedge
effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; potential
volatility of NextEra Energy's results of operations caused by sales of
power on the spot market or on a short-term contractual basis; effect of
reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's
ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra Energy's
risk management tools associated with its hedging and trading procedures
to protect against significant losses, including the effect of
unforeseen price variances from historical behavior; impact of
unavailability or disruption of power transmission or commodity
transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power or natural gas;
exposure of NextEra Energy to credit and performance risk from
customers, hedging counterparties and vendors; failure of counterparties
to perform under derivative contracts or of requirement for NextEra
Energy to post margin cash collateral under derivative contracts;
failure or breach of NextEra Energy's information technology systems;
risks to NextEra Energy's retail businesses from compromise of sensitive
customer data; losses from volatility in the market values of derivative
instruments and limited liquidity in OTC markets; impact of negative
publicity; inability to maintain, negotiate or renegotiate acceptable
franchise agreements; increasing costs of health care plans; lack of a
qualified workforce or the loss or retirement of key employees;
occurrence of work strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs;
NextEra Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and
integrate acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition
for acquisitions; environmental, health and financial risks associated
with ownership and operation of nuclear generation facilities; liability
of NextEra Energy for significant retrospective assessments and/or
retrospective insurance premiums in the event of an incident at certain
nuclear generation facilities; increased operating and capital
expenditures at nuclear generation facilities resulting from orders or
new regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to
operate any owned nuclear generation units through the end of their
respective operating licenses; liability for increased nuclear licensing
or compliance costs resulting from hazards, and increased public
attention to hazards, posed to owned nuclear generation facilities;
risks associated with outages of owned nuclear units; effect of
disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets
on NextEra Energy's ability to fund its liquidity and capital needs and
meet its growth objectives; inability to maintain current credit
ratings; impairment of liquidity from inability of creditors to fund
their credit commitments or to maintain their current credit ratings;
poor market performance and other economic factors that could affect
NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension plan's funded status; poor
market performance and other risks to the asset values of nuclear
decommissioning funds; changes in market value and other risks to
certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect of inability of NextEra
Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or repay funds to NextEra
Energy or of NextEra Energy's performance under guarantees of subsidiary
obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to meet its financial
obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock; and effect of
disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets
of the market price of NextEra Energy's common stock. NextEra Energy
discusses these and other risks and uncertainties in its annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and other SEC filings,
and this press release should be read in conjunction with such SEC
filings made through the date of this press release. The forward-looking
statements made in this press release are made only as of the date of
this press release and NextEra Energy undertakes no obligation to update
any forward-looking statements.
