Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation will undertake a joint venture with Williams Partners LP to develop and construct a large diameter pipeline, specifically designed to transport Cabot's Marcellus production to both the New England and New York markets.

The  high pressure pipeline will be capable of moving at least 500,000 Mcf per day from the heart of Cabot's Marcellus acreage in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania to interconnect with both Iroquois Gas Transmission and Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Schoharie County, New York.

Williams Partners will be a 75% owner and, through its affiliate, will operate the pipeline, while Cabot will retain a 25% equity position.

Cabot's commitment to firm transportation representing the initial design capacity of the pipeline is sufficient to enable the project to go forward subject to receipt and acceptance of the necessary regulatory approvals. 

The initial in service date for the system is slated for March 2015.

“This pipeline is truly the next big step of our capacity expansion program and positions us with access to the premium New England and New York marketplace that has historically been constrained from both a lack of reliable supply and pipeline infrastructure,” Cabot chief executive Dan O. Dinges in a prepared statement. “We see this pipeline playing an important role in the future development of our world class resource that will bring a reliable and dependable long term natural gas supply into an expanding premium market which for years has been searching for that fundamental supply link.  As we move forward as a country and progress towards true energy independence, just consider what positive possibilities exist with our Marcellus production entering both a constrained demand area and an area hungry for development, especially in the power generation industry.”

“The vast majority of our investment in the pipeline will be contributed during the 2014 and early 2015 time frame, when the macro environment for gas will benefit from new gas power generation and the potential for export,” Dinges said. “Additionally, we expect to be producing multiples of our current production volumes at that time.”

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas is an independent natural gas producer, with its entire resource base located in the continental United States.