National Fuel Gas Company Statement on FERC Ruling for the Northern Access Project
August 07 2018 - 10:22AM
We are pleased with yesterday’s ruling which removes a major
barrier for an important project that will provide consumers with
increased access to abundant energy supplies, while also improving
reliability and resiliency of the energy grid. We remain committed
to the Project, and due to the significant delay caused by the
actions of the state agency, our team is developing a revised
timeline including reviewing the status of various other relevant
permits.
FERC ruled that the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation waived its right to review the Northern Access
Project’s application for a crucial Clean Water Act permit by
failing to act within a year of receiving it. The DEC denied the
permit in April 2017.
The Northern Access Project represents an approximate $500
million investment by National Fuel in the local economies of New
York and Pennsylvania while adding essential new infrastructure to
the U.S. natural gas pipeline grid. Job totals will peak
during the construction phase as the Project’s workforce is
estimated at nearly 1,700 jobs. Annual property tax receipts
related to the Project are estimated at approximately $11.8
million, with an additional one-time sales tax impact of greater
than $8 million.
In addition to these more discrete benefits, the Northern Access
Project will help assure access to a substantial supply of low-cost
energy. The development of vast natural gas reserves has
markedly decreased the average winter heating bills of customers in
Western New York. During the winter of 2005-2006, when
natural gas was supplied primarily from the Southwest and Canada,
the average residential bill totaled approximately $1,200 for the
winter heating season alone. During the winter of 2017-2018,
average residential bills were approximately $560 for the
five-month winter stretch. With an average of 482,000
residential customers across the N.Y. service territory, more than
$300 million in energy savings was achieved for the Utility’s
customers this year, utilizing critical infrastructure owned and
operated by National Fuel.
For more than three years, the Northern Access
Project has been extensively reviewed by various federal and state
regulatory agencies as the proposed project design incorporated
best management practices while producing thousands of pages of
technical analysis, months of collaboration, community outreach and
compromise, all within the scope of National Fuel’s proven track
record of responsible development. Throughout its 115 years,
National Fuel has consistently protected water quality and water
supplies in Western New York and Pennsylvania. Like the
dozens of natural gas pipeline projects it constructs yearly, the
Northern Access Project will use construction techniques which are
protective of the environment and will not put at risk or endanger
water supplies. Throughout the Project’s review, the Company
has committed to meet or exceed safety codes and environmental
protection requirements.
Certain statements contained herein, including
statements regarding future prospects, plans, objectives, goals,
projections and estimates, and statements that are identified by
the use of the words “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,”
“forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,”
“believes,” “seeks,” “will” and “may” and similar expressions, are
“forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurance that the
Company’s projections will in fact be achieved nor do these
projections reflect any acquisitions or divestitures that may occur
in the future. While the Company’s expectations, beliefs and
projections are expressed in good faith and are believed to have a
reasonable basis, actual results may differ materially from those
projected in forward-looking statements. Furthermore, each
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is
made. In addition to other factors, the following are important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those discussed in the forward-looking statements: delays or
changes in costs or plans with respect to Company projects or
related projects of other companies, including difficulties or
delays in obtaining necessary governmental approvals, permits or
orders or in obtaining the cooperation of interconnecting facility
operators; governmental/regulatory actions, initiatives and
proceedings, including those involving rate cases (which address,
among other things, target rates of return, rate design and
retained natural gas), environmental/safety requirements, affiliate
relationships, industry structure, and franchise renewal; changes
in laws, regulations or judicial interpretations to which the
Company is subject, including those involving derivatives, taxes,
safety, employment, climate change, other environmental matters,
real property, and exploration and production activities such as
hydraulic fracturing; changes in the price of natural gas or oil;
impairments under the SEC’s full cost ceiling test for natural gas
and oil reserves; financial and economic conditions, including the
availability of credit, and occurrences affecting the Company’s
ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms for working
capital, capital expenditures and other investments, including any
downgrades in the Company’s credit ratings and changes in interest
rates and other capital market conditions; factors affecting the
Company’s ability to successfully identify, drill for and produce
economically viable natural gas and oil reserves, including among
others geology, lease availability, title disputes, weather
conditions, shortages, delays or unavailability of equipment and
services required in drilling operations, insufficient gathering,
processing and transportation capacity, the need to obtain
governmental approvals and permits, and compliance with
environmental laws and regulations; changes in price differentials
between similar quantities of natural gas or oil sold at different
geographic locations, and the effect of such changes on commodity
production, revenues and demand for pipeline transportation
capacity to or from such locations; other changes in price
differentials between similar quantities of natural gas or oil
having different quality, heating value, hydrocarbon mix or
delivery date; the cost and effects of legal and administrative
claims against the Company or activist shareholder campaigns to
effect changes at the Company; uncertainty of oil and gas reserve
estimates; significant differences between the Company’s projected
and actual production levels for natural gas or oil; changes in
demographic patterns and weather conditions; changes in the
availability, price or accounting treatment of derivative financial
instruments; changes in economic conditions, including global,
national or regional recessions, and their effect on the demand
for, and customers’ ability to pay for, the Company’s products and
services; the creditworthiness or performance of the Company’s key
suppliers, customers and counterparties; the impact of potential
information technology, cybersecurity or data security breaches;
economic disruptions or uninsured losses resulting from major
accidents, fires, severe weather, natural disasters, terrorist
activities or acts of war; or significant differences between the
Company’s projected and actual capital expenditures and operating
expenses. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date hereof.
For additional information, please contact:
Karen L. Merkel, 716-857-7654
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