EQT to buy Mountain Valley Pipeline owner for US$5.5bil

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and will create annual cost savings of US$250mil. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: US natural gas producer EQT Corp has agreed to buy back former unit Equitrans Midstream Corp for about US$5.5bil in stock, the latest in a flurry of deals in the oil and gas pipeline industry.

Equitrans owns the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline venture, which is years behind schedule after facing legal battles and local opposition. The project, due to be completed in the second quarter, will take gas from the Marcellus shale basin in Appalachia – the biggest US source of the fuel – to markets in the Southeast.