New massive gas pipeline to cross Orange County

A new, major 750-mile natural gas pipeline, described by the Pipeline Journal as "massive," is being planned to cross Orange County as it goes from the Permian Basin in West Texas to Calcasieu Parish across the Sabine.

At the end of April, the company mailed letters to property owners informing them of the project and asking for right-of-entry permission to go on the property for surveys.

The 42-inch pipeline will carry "liquids-rich natural gas." It is known as the DeLa Express Pipeline and is to be built by Moss Lake Partners, a Houston-based corporation. It is to carry 2 billion cubic feet of the gas a day to the industries along the Gulf Coast.

The company says the project will create 5,300 short-term full-time jobs, plus 380 permanent jobs when it is completed.

Moss Lake Partners information says the pre-filing request for the pipeline and its route was made with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in early April this year. The company plans to file the permit in February next year and get the federal agency's draft environmental impact statement that month.

Then, the preliminary schedule calls for the federal agency to issue its final environmental impact statement in December 2025. Then the timeline sets the agency's final approval to begin construction in September 2026. July 2028 is the target date for the pipeline to be in use.

According to the company, the proposed pipeline will extend from the Permian Basin, originating at a point near Red Bluff in Loving County, Texas, to a termination point near Moss Bluff in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. There will be nine compressor stations proposed for construction in Winkler, Midland, Sterling, Runnels, Brown, Coryell, Robertson, Walker, Ector, and Liberty counties in Texas.

Also planned are six lateral pipelines totaling 65 miles with most of those lateral lines in West Texas. However, a pipeline of about 6.2-miles long and with a 42-inch-diameter delivery lateral is set for Calcasieu Parish.

The map posted on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) website shows the pipeline will cross from Jefferson County and the Neches River into Orange County south of the Vidor area. It will then take jagged turns before going northward across Orange County Precinct 2 and Precinct 1. It will cross the Sabine River near the Newton County line and then go through Calcasieu Parish before ending near the Moss Lake area.

Open houses for information and comments were posted on the FERC website and held earlier this month. The hearings included ones in Beaumont and Vinton. Other hearings were held Cleveland, Gatesville, Moody, Hearn, and Huntsville.

The pipeline is in the preliminary stages and routes could be changed based on surveys and other information. It might also be affected by this year's presidential election as Republican candidate former-President Donald Trump has campaigned on making it easier for companies to produce and transport oil and natural gas.

"Liquid-rich" natural gas is also known as "wet gas" and is a product of the fracking method. Its uses include as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry to turn into plastics, and for blending into gasoline used for cars and trucks.