The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering rerouting a portion of the Atlantic Sunrise Project that is set to connect Marcellus shale gas production to southeastern states, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) said Oct. 13.

The Houston-based company said FERC issued a letter that it's evaluating certain alternatives to the project's Central Penn Line North and South routes.

The Atlantic Sunrise Project will expand the existing Transco system, which is operated by Williams Cos. Inc. (NYSE: WMB), to add 1.7 million dekatherms per day of pipeline capacity.

The two alternative routes that are being evaluated include a potential 1.4 mile deviation, in aggregate, from the currently proposed route.

Comments from the affected landowners regarding the alternative routes are due no later than Nov. 14.

Cabot said it anticipates that FERC will issue an updated notice of schedule in a timely manner. This should address the updated timeline for the issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Pearce Hammond, analyst with Simmons & Co. International, concurred in an Oct. 14 research note.

"We remain highly optimistic in its eventual approval given that the greenfield portion of the pipeline passes only through natural gas friendly Pennsylvania," he wrote.

The preliminary project design of Atlantic Sunrise includes a total of about 183 miles of new greenfield pipe (Central Penn North and Central Penn South), two pipeline loops totaling about 12 miles (Chapman Loop, Unity Loop), two and half miles of existing pipeline replacement, two new compressor facilities in Pennsylvania, and other facility additions or modifications in five states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina).