‘Pipeline Infrastructure keeps us going’

On Friday morning, The Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, a longtime PEIA member, hosted a Virtual Breakfast Club with Chris Koop of Energy Transfer to discuss the energy company’s impact on the Keystone State.

Energy Transfer is one of the largest midstream energy operators in the United States with about 86,000 miles of pipeline in 38 states. About 3,000 of those miles in Pennsylvania brings gas to markets across the state, which allows for downstream processes to take place in facilities like Shell’s cracker plant in Beaver county and to provide energy abundance and affordability for Americans across the country.

Koop gave the chamber an overview of Energy Transfer’s operations in Beaver County, highlighting the Revolution Pipeline, a 40.5-mile pipeline transporting natural gas between two processing facilities, and the Mariner East network, which takes natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the Marcellus and Utica shale fields to market. These projects not only keep the lights on but also make transportation safer as NGLs travel through the ground rather than on trucks and trains through neighborhoods and cities.

Among the ease of transportation benefits of Energy Transfer’s operations in Pennsylvania, the company also employs around 1,000 in-house company personnel — not including the contractor’s they work with to construct and maintain the pipelines once built.

The construction of pipelines is something that communities rarely often see up close, Koop pointed out. To give the chamber members a better understanding of environmentally safe pipeline construction, Koop explained the process from surveying grounds to pipeline installation to restoration of agricultural life above the pipeline.

Energy Transfer’s projects throughout Pennsylvania will pump billions of dollars into the economy, provide millions in tax revenue and create thousands of jobs. And, safety conscious operators like Energy Transfer are crucial to the revitalization of the commonwealth’s economy coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Speaking on the economic impact of the pipeline industry, Koop emphasized that “pipeline infrastructure is a huge part of our economy. … [It’s] what keeps us going on a daily basis … and helps to sustain this really high quality of life we have in this country.”