Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Final Cost Nears $10 Billion

The contentious Mountain Valley Pipeline cost even more than expected to complete – almost $10 billion, according to a regulatory filing.

When it first broke ground in 2018, the Mountain Valley Pipeline was estimated to cost $3.5 billion. 

The pipeline was finished in June, six years later, at a cost of $9.6 billion, according to a filing last Wednesday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The document cites an additional $1.5 billion in costs, including an extra $1.2 billion in construction costs, over the previous estimate.

The 303-mile natural gas pipeline had been delayed by legal challenges but was also affected by weather, labor issues and inflation.

In May, a portion of the pipe in Roanoke County, Virginia, burst during a pressure test.

Congress approved a spending deal in mid-2023 that resolved the court challenges, with the support of President Joe Biden and West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.