Spectra Energy Transmission’s Texas Eastern Transmission announced an expansion to serve industrial markets in South Louisiana by Spring 2015 with shale gas supplies from multiple basins. An open season runs through Sept. 27.

The South Louisiana Expansion (SOLA) Project is designed to deliver diverse natural gas supplies from the Texas Eastern Transmission interstate system to growing industrial markets in South Louisiana by Spring, 2016.

The project would give South Louisiana markets access to gas from the Marcellus, Utica, Fayetteville, Haynesville, Woodford, Barnett and Eagle Ford shales, as well as traditional Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast production.

New pipeline infrastructure would consist of 20-inch and 24-inch diameter high-pressure pipelines extending from Texas Eastern’s 36-inch diameter system in Assumption Parish, LA, to interconnects with multiple plants in Assumption, Ascension and St. James parishes in Louisiana. It will also include a new compressor station.

“Being uniquely positioned across multiple shale production areas, the Texas Eastern system offers direct access to and significant liquidity from these growing supply basins to the project,” the pipeline said in an open seasonbrochure.

The expansion as planned has a capacity of 600,000 Dth/d. To be an anchor shipper, a minimum bid for 100,000 Dth/d of capacity for at least 15 years is required.

Demand for gas in the market area is expected to grow due to expansions by chemical companies and other industries along the Mississippi River and in the Gulf Coast region.

“The project will support multiple service offerings to these industrial markets, as well as other key markets, by bringing diverse sources of natural gas supply and high-pressure capabilities to serve their delivery requirements,” the pipeline said.

Earlier this month units of Kinder Morgan’s El Paso Pipeline Partners LP business said that during recent open seasons, plenty of customers stepped up for incremental long-term transportation capacity from the Marcellus Shale region to serve markets in Georgia, South Carolina and northern Florida (see Daily GPI, Aug. 16).

Tennessee Gas Pipeline recently concluded an open season for its Southwest Louisiana Supply Project, which is designed to provide transportation from various supply basins in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana to Cameron Interstate Pipeline, which connects directly to the proposed Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, LA (see Daily GPI, July 17).