Over the last decade, the Northeast has earned a reputation as a pipeline graveyard, where major natural gas infrastructure projects have been buried under regulatory hurdles, legal challenges, and environmental opposition. Cancellations of high-profile projects, like the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, PennEast, and Northeast Supply Enhancement, have become commonplace, underscoring the difficulty of building new gas infrastructure in the region. However, recent developments are breathing new life into the potential for Northeast gas pipelines, as companies once again seek to expand capacity out of the region.
No project better encapsulates the shift in sentiment surrounding Northeast infrastructure than Constitution Pipeline. Williams’ 650-MMcf/d project to move gas from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York originally received FERC approval in 2014 but was ultimately denied a key water permit by the state of New York in 2016 after fierce opposition from environmental groups. Unable to cross the ‘Wall of Cuomo’, the project was officially canceled in 2020. Yet, with the Trump administration taking an interest in reviving the project, and New York under new leadership, Constitution may have a second life. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated construction could begin on the pipeline as soon as this year, and President Trump reportedly met with Governor Hochul in March to discuss advancing the project, although environmental groups are unlikely to back down without a fight.
If Constitution represents the resurrection of something old, Boardwalk’s Borealis project is the birth of something new. On April 1, 2025, Texas Gas Transmission announced a non-binding open season for an expansion project offering up to 2 Bcf/d of capacity from Ohio to the Gulf Coast. If it moves forward, it will mark the first greenfield project out of Appalachia since Mountain Valley Pipeline, and the first project through the Midwest since the completion of Rover and NEXUS in 2018.
All of this potential development comes at a time when the need for Northeast gas volumes has arguably never been clearer. As BTU Analytics’ Katrina Abuls noted last week, few sectors have benefited from the current administration’s promise to open up the U.S. energy industry as much as LNG. In addition to the 10+ Bcf/d of capacity already under various stages of construction, nearly 9 Bcf/d of new capacity is looking to take advantage of a friendlier regulatory environment and make FID in 2025. Not to mention, demand for gas-fired generation is growing, as AI and data centers contribute to sky-high load projections through the end of the decade. At the same time, the supply picture in the U.S. is getting murkier. Producers in the Haynesville, the current marginal gas basin in the U.S., are voicing concerns over inventory and stressing the need for higher gas prices. Additionally, softening oil prices, as a result of tariffs and returning OPEC production, could ultimately lead to weaker associated-gas growth in U.S. oil-directed basins.
While challenges persist, the outlook for Northeast pipeline development is notably improved from where it was just a few months ago. Despite what is likely to be a softer federal regulatory regime, state-level opposition from environmental groups and state agencies will almost certainly result in protracted legal battles. The simple fact, however, that companies are once again pursuing the development of projects out of the region suggests that the obstacles that made the Northeast a graveyard for pipeline development no longer appear to be the death sentence they once were.
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