Construction is nearly 75% complete on the Midship Pipeline project, the roughly 200-mile natural gas pipeline running from Kingfisher to Bryan counties that will open a direct route to the Gulf Coast.

Norman Herrera, Midship public affairs director, and Jenna Palfrey, communications manager for Cheniere Energy, the parent company of Midship Pipeline, visited the Times and Free Press office Tuesday to discuss the project’s progress.

“We started construction in February and our goal is to be as close to completion as possible by the end of the year,” Herrera said.

Strike LLC is the independent pipeline construction contractor working on the 36-inch mainline that starts a half-mile north of the Kingfisher-Canadian county line and connects with a 20.3 mile 30-inch line called the Chisholm Lateral in southern Kingfisher County.

“If you’ve seen the white Strike pickup trucks in the county, that’s who they are,” he said.

Midship is still working to complete right-of-way acquisitions in the county, some of which are the subject of condemnation lawsuits pending in Kingfisher County District Court, Herrera said.

Facilities constructed in the county also will include a meter station on the mainline and receipt tap on the Chisholm Lateral.

Direct investment in the county’s portion of the project is expected to total nearly $8.6 million and employ 53 people here at the height of construction.

Four natural gas producers contracted to utilize the pipeline include Devon Energy, Marathon, Gulfport and Cimarex, Herrera said.

The pipeline opens Gulf Coast market access to Oklahoma producers in the Anadarko Basin, giving them an option to Texas markets, where they compete with Permian Basin producers, or Chicago.

“Natural gas prices are deflated right now, but the commodity would have an improved value in comparison to where it’s currently being sold,” Herrera said.

During the three-year regulatory approval and construction planning process, Midship has been an active corporate neighbor in the county, joining the Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce, presenting grants to Chisholm Trail Technology Center and county fire departments and volunteering in local projects like Kingfisher Winter Nights.

“We’ve also worked closely with Kingfisher County commissioners to keep them in the loop on our progress,” Herrera said.