Williams Can Cross Path of Energy Transfer Gas Pipeline, Court Rules

Energy Transfer LP can’t stop Williams Cos. from building a natural gas pipeline across the path of the company’s own conduit in Louisiana, a district court in the state ruled.

The by the 42nd Judicial District Court of DeSoto Parish was in Williams’ favor, according to a copy of the judgment provided by the company Wednesday. Energy Transfer didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The dispute concerns Williams’ Louisiana Energy Gateway project, which is being constructed to move gas from the Haynesville shale basin to the Gulf Coast. Energy Transfer owns a key stretch of lines across East Texas and Louisiana and is seeking to expand its Gulf Run system amid booming demand for gas along Louisiana’s coast, where the fuel is chilled to a liquid for export.

The caveat to its ruling, the judgment read, is that Energy Transfer can block Williams from excavating to install pipelines using the open-cut method, in which the company would dig a trench to lay each piece of pipe.

Energy Transfer has waged legal fights with other companies on the rights to build pipelines. The company settled such a dispute with Momentum Midstream, the two companies said in June, and a court ruled in DT Midstream Inc.’s favor in a similar case in April.

The ruling is a step toward “the critical energy infrastructure needed to meet Louisiana’s, and the nation’s, demand for affordable and reliable energy,” a Williams spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company added that it’s still waiting on decisions at multiple crossings.