Energy Transfer accused of boxing out Louisiana pipeline rivals

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A natural gas pipeline developer is accusing Energy Transfer LP of “anticompetitive” behavior after the company denied three projects from crossing its pipelines in Louisiana, Bloomberg reports. It has sparked a legal battle affecting more than than $2 billion of energy infrastructure.

A Momentum Midstream affiliate told a Louisiana district court that Energy Transfer is holding up its $1.6 billion project by refusing to let the firm cross the pipelines of its much larger rival. Energy Transfer owns a vital 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 arguments come in a case in which Energy Transfer sued to block Momentum’s project from crossing its pipelines, saying it would impede upon its rights. Energy Transfer won a similar case against another pipeline company, DT Midstream, earlier this year. That case is now being appealed. Read more.