President Trump’s fixation with reviving a long-dead natural gas pipeline to New York is now resulting in action—for not one but two New York gas pipeline projects.
Trump’s focus on the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline that was canceled in 2020 may instead result in pipeline developer Williams Cos. reviving its more practical Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project in New York instead, according to energy analysts.
Williams filed a federal application May 29 to resuscitate its NESE project that expands its Transco natural gas pipeline network in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. NESE was previously axed by Williams a year ago after state-level water permit denials.
As for Constitution, Williams said it has begun “working through state permitting matters” for the pipeline project that would run from the Marcellus Shale gas fields in northeastern Pennsylvania to markets in New York and beyond.
The most feasible result is Williams is using the political and regulatory push from the Trump administration for Constitution to instead help it build the NESE project in New York, said Zach Krause, team lead for equity research at East Daley Analytics.
“Constitution is impractical,” Krause said, arguing the pipeline would tie into another pipeline network, called Iroquois, which is operating at full capacity and would need to turn away much of its existing gas flows from Canada to accommodate Constitution.
“[NESE] is a project that works much better,” Krause said. NESE involves building about 37 miles of pipeline expanding parts of the Transco network in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to carry more gas to the New York and New Jersey markets.
The new NESE application asks for expedited action by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the end of August so construction could commence by the end of this year.
Both the NESE and Constitution projects were killed amid regulatory and political pushback in New York, but now they’re resurrected amid Trump’s executive orders declaring a national energy emergency and a push for American energy dominations.
Trump first brought up resuscitating Constitution back in February during an Oval Office briefing. The news even caught Williams CEO Alan Armstrong by surprise.
Shortly thereafter, in an interview with this reporter for Hart Energy, Armstrong said, “We were kind of like, ‘Whoa, where’d that come from?’” He added, “We’d love to see it get built, obviously.”
In early May, during Williams’ earning call, Armstrong placed a greater emphasis on the NESE project when asked about Constitution.
“NESE’s a lot easier to pull the trigger on,” Armstrong said. “Frankly, [it’s] just a lot less complex and highly dependent on the state of New York and the governor there deciding that they need low-cost, low-emission energy into those markets. So, we’ll see what happens on that.”
Williams Executive Vice President Chad Zamarin, who will become CEO in July when Armstrong moves to the non-executive chairman role, added at the time, “I don’t think there’s too much to mention yet on the Constitution. We’re continuing to work on it.”
In a May 29 statement, mentioning NESE first, Williams said, “The NESE and Constitution projects are essential to address persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast, constraints that have led to higher energy costs for consumers and increased reliance on higher-emission fuels like fuel oil.”
How it came together
Williams is progressing with the NESE project less than 10 days after the Trump administration removed its freeze on Equinor’s Empire Wind project offshore of New York.
With legal action pending after the Trump administration had placed a stop work order on Empire Wind, which was in the early stages of construction, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul intervened to help mediate the issue with the White House.
When the Trump administration removed its objection to Empire Wind, Hochul said in a statement that she would “work with the administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.”
While she denied any quid pro quo, the Trump administration alleged Hochul caved on the Williams pipeline projects.
Trump’s Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, who initially implemented the Empire Wind stoppage, said on social media, “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity. Americans who live in New York and New England would see significant economic benefits and lower utility costs from increased access to reliable, affordable, clean American natural gas.”
Hinds Howard, an energy analyst for CBRE Investment, said Williams would only move forward with NESE and Constitution if “serious assurances [were] made” that the projects would see the finish line this time around.
