Pipeline developers looking to build infrastructure to move natural gas out of the Appalachian Basin face numerous challenges, from strengthening opposition from environmental groups to shifting market patterns and increased regulatory scrutiny, speakers at the Platts Appalachian Oil and Gas Conference in Pittsburgh said Friday. Doug Walker, vice president of business development at Tallgrass Energy Partners, said the company, which operates the Rockies Express Pipeline, has encountered more intense opposition to its expansion of the pipeline to create bidirectional flows, than it had faced with the original construction of the pipe from the Rocky Mountain region to the eastern US. The original pipeline was completed in 2009. The 1,700-mile pipeline recently began to offer firm service from Appalachian gas fields to Midwest markets, increasing its delivery capability into Ohio and Illinois from 1.8 Bcf/d to 3.6 Bcf/d. Walker said environmental groups, in expressing their opposition to the expansion project […]