Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP’s 650 MMcf/d Fort Worth Basin Pipeline, designed to help move natural gas from the prolific Barnett Shale production area of North Texas, is now in operation, the company said Thursday.

The 55-mile, 24-inch pipeline connects to Energy Transfer’s North Texas Pipeline in Johnson County, TX. More than 400 MMcf/d of gas volumes have been committed by producers, which is 150 MMcf/d more than the commitments previously announced by Energy Transfer. Construction costs were funded entirely by internal funds and no debt was incurred.

In April, Energy Transfer approved construction of an 85-mile, 36-inch pipeline to extend from its Bethel gas storage facility in Anderson County, TX, to its 30-inch Texoma Houston Pipe Line facility located in Rusk County, TX (see NGI, April 25). This project is the first of a multiphase expansion intended to expand transportation in the Bossier Sand and Barnett Shale basins in East and North Texas. This new line will be in service in approximately 12 months, and the entire expansion is expected to take 18-24 months to complete, according to Energy Transfer.

Energy Transfer is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. The partnership’s gas operations include approximately 11,700 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, with natural gas treating and processing assets located in Texas and Louisiana.

The partnership also is the fourth largest retail marketer of propane in the United States, serving more than 700,000 customers from 311 customer service locations in 33 states extending from coast to coast, with concentration in the western, upper midwestern, northeastern, and southeastern regions of the United States.

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