Boardwalk Pipelines has modified its proposed Borealis natural gas project, reining in the project scope in an effort to attract more shipper interest out of the Northeast.
Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Transmission (TGT) announced Borealis in April 2025 through a non-binding open season. Originally, the project was designed to move up to 2 Bcf/d of Appalachian supply to Louisiana and Gulf Coast markets. The initial design called for ~200 miles of new 42-inch pipeline from the Utica and Marcellus in eastern Ohio to a TGT interconnect near Lebanon, OH. Borealis would then require significant looping and compression additions on TGT to allow the additional gas to flow south to the Gulf.
Boardwalk initially targeted a final investment decision on the project in 1Q26, but made no announcements regarding commercialization when the deadline passed.
In recent months, the company has changed its strategy for Borealis, as East Daley Analytics reviews in the latest Northeast Supply & Demand report. Boardwalk has revised the project to target regional demand, relying less on TGT utilization and instead focusing on greenfield construction.
The original greenfield pipe from eastern to western Ohio, now called the Supply Leg, would extend along a new 265-mile greenfield Borealis Mainline through Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky (see project map at right from Boardwalk). The Supply Leg would maintain the original 2 Bcf/d of capacity, and the Mainline would provide 1.75 Bcf/d. In total, the Borealis project would construct ~450 miles of 36- and 42-inch pipeline.
Boardwalk now plans to file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2H27, and is targeting an in-service date two years later in 2H29.
The adjustments represent a notable change to the markets Borealis would be able to deliver into, suggesting the economics of adding another 2 Bcf/d of southbound throughput to the Texas Gas system were either more costly or more difficult than originally anticipated.
See East Daley’s Northeast Supply & Demand report to learn more. Pipeline corridors out of the Northeast are heavily used, and producers have been hesitant to increase production too quickly to avoid maxing out pipeline utilization and subsequently reducing in-basin prices. These constraints in egressing Appalachian supply suggest that value still exists for Borealis. But with the project no longer targeting the high-demand LNG corridor along the Gulf Coast, there are still questions as to whether Boardwalk will be able to commercialize the project. – Ian Heming.
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How Will Data Centers Affect Development in the Permian Basin?
Data centers are adding significant, non-intermittent demand for natural gas. What could that mean for Permian production and infrastructure?
Join East Daley on Oct. 28 at 10 am MT for a look at how growing gas demand could reshape the region’s natural gas, crude oil and NGL markets.
We’ll cover:
- Natural gas: Permian demand is growing from Gulf Coast pipeline expansions and gas-fired power generation supporting data centers. The basin could very become short gas – a strange paradox for a basin that has been notoriously constrained in the past.
- Crude: As gas demand and egress capacity grow, producers could shift toward gassier windows in the Delaware and Midland basins, producing more associated gas alongside lower oil volumes. We’ll consider how that could ease crude egress pressure, and how much new oil pipeline capacity might be needed beyond potential brownfield expansions.
- NGLs: Higher Waha prices could encourage more ethane rejection, while new very large ethane carriers (VLECs) are expected to be built over the next several years. We’ll explore the tug-of-war between rejection at the wellhead and growing demand at the dock — and what it could mean for ethane production.
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