Columbia Gas Transmission (TCO) is holding a non-binding open season to solicit interest in its Buckeye XPress Project, which would provide firm transportation service from Marcellus and Utica shale production areas in Ohio, Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia to TCO’s IPP Pool and its existing Leach, KY, interconnection with Columbia Gulf Transmission.

“The project’s estimated capacity is 700,000 Dth/d, but may be able to accommodate more volumes based on certain receipt point combinations and market support,” the company said.

Shippers who execute binding precedent agreements for minimum capacity of 300,000 Dth/d and a minimum term of 20 years will receive anchor shipper status. Minimum required contract term is 15 years.

The open season will end at 5 p.m. CST Feb. 16. Interested parties should contact Joshua Gibbon at (832) 320-5647 or Joshua_gibbon@transcanada.com. Open season documents are available on CGT’s electronic bulletin board.

Buckeye XPress would offer primary receipts from west of the Oak Grove processing plant in Marshall County, WV, to the Seneca processing plant in Noble County, OH, and from the Sherwood processing plant in Doddridge County, WV, north to Oak Grove; from Oak Grove north and east to the Majorsville processing plant in Marshall County; and receipts along TCO’s lines 1983 and 1570 between its Waynesburg compressor station and Smithfield compressor station, including A06 receipts.

The project offers primary firm deliveries to TCO Pool and Leach, with conforming capacity bids allocated on a 2.5 Dth (TCO Pool) to 1 Dth (Leach) ratio. TCO said it may also consider other mutually agreeable delivery locations.

Other TCO projects designed to move Marcellus and Utica shale gas to higher-priced markets include Leach Xpress, which would allow for transport of 1.5 million Dth/d of firm transportation service to natural gas customers served by the TCO pipeline system in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio [CP15-514], and the Rayne Xpress Expansion, which would add compression in Kentucky to provide about 621,000 Dth/d of firm transportation on the Columbia Gulf Transmission system [CP15-539]. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized both Leach and Rayne for construction and operation last week.