Dominion Resources, US Partners Sign $5B Pipeline Deal

Dominion Resources enters a joint venture with three other US energy companies for a $4.5-$5 billion pipeline that will ship natural gas to North Carolina and Virginia.

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Dominion Resources Inc entered into a joint venture with three other U.S. energy companies for a $4.5-$5 billion pipeline that will ship natural gas to North Carolina and Virginia.

The proposed 550-mile pipeline, to be built by Dominion, will also be owned by Duke Energy Corp, Piedmont Natural Gas Co and AGL Resources Inc under the partnership Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC.

Dominion, which operates 8,000 miles of interstate pipeline in six U.S. states, will operate the pipeline that is expected to transfer 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, the companies said in a statement.

The pipeline will help move rising production from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio to growing markets in Virginia and North Carolina.

Dominion is determining the best route for the pipeline and will seek to secure approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the summer of 2016. The company said it expects to begin construction shortly thereafter.

Dominion will own 45 percent of the pipeline, while Duke Energy will hold a 40 percent. Piedmont Natural will own a 10 percent and AGL Resources a 5 percent.

(Reporting By Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)