Transco proposes 258-mile Atlantic Access gas pipeline for Marcellus Shale

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. is maneuvering to construct a pipeline to carry Marcellus Shale natural gas across Pennsylvania to West Virginia.

The Atlantic Access Project, a proposed 258-mile pipeline using 36-inch pipe, would move fuel from the rich Marcellus gas fields of western Pennsylvania and the panhandle of West Virginia to eastern gas-hungry markets.

"We are early - early in this process," said Christopher Stockton, a spokesman for Houston-based Transco. Transco is owned by The Williams Co. Inc. of Tulsa, Okla.

The company has filed a pre-application, amounting to a request for a review of project plans, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The project could cost $1 billion, according to U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.

When the pipeline is completed, it would carry 1,350,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day, or enough energy to provide winter heat for 1,350,000 homes for one day, according to calculations by Penn State's Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.