MOODY, Texas — Several Central Texas counties may soon see significant changes with the proposed construction of the DeLa Express, a 690-mile-long, 42-inch diameter natural gas transportation pipeline.
This project aims to transport natural gas from the Permian Basin in West, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana.
"There's really two key aspects for behind this project, one is that there's a need for take away capacity that is pipes to export natural gas out of the Permian Basin and then secondly, the demand for the natural gas in the area of East Texas around Orange and into Louisiana, Lake Charles -- a significant demand," said Chris Thiele, a senior vice president at Moss Lake. "This project really ties those two together -- satisfying that need for take away capacity and also providing supply for that demand."
The DeLa Express project plans to offer 2 billion cubic feet per day of new liquids-rich natural gas transportation capacity. Additionally, the pipeline will feature five lateral pipelines and eight compressor stations, one of which is proposed for Coryell County.
To engage with the community, Moss Lake and other team members of the DeLa Express hosted an open house meeting in Moody, facilitating public comment and input as part of the permit application process.
"This project is in the preliminary phases," Thiele added. "We have a proposed route, it's not final. Part of what we're doing here today is to listen and talk to landowners, share maps with them, talk about their properties in particular, talk to others that may have questions or concerns and take all that into account."
The potential impact of the project extends beyond infrastructure development. According to documents shared at the open house, the DeLa Express pipeline could generate approximately 5,300 short-term, full-time construction jobs and 380 permanent, full-time jobs for qualified candidates from local and regional communities.
If approved, construction of the pipeline would begin in 2026, and be in service in 2028.
If you are interested in providing comment about the proposed project you can call 1 (832) 924-5011 or email DeLaExpressProject@erm.com.
You can also make a comment here. The docket number for the DeLa Express Pipeline is PF24-4-000.