FERC has given a preliminary environmental nod to Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP’s proposal to build its East Texas-to-Mississippi Expansion Project that would provide significant takeaway capacity for producers in the prolific Barnett Shale and Bossier Sands trends of East Texas and Northeast Louisiana.

“We conclude that if the proposed project is found to be in the public interest and is constructed and operated in accordance with Gulf South’s proposed minimization and mitigation measures as well as our recommended mitigation measures, the proposed facilities would have limited adverse environmental impacts,” FERC staff said in its draft environmental impact statement on the project [CP06-446].

The project calls for the construction of about 242 miles of 42-inch and 36-inch diameter pipeline that would run from DeSoto Parish, LA, to Simpson County, MS. It would provide approximately 1.7 Bcf/d of capacity for producers to transport production from East Texas/Northeast Louisiana production fields to markets in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast.

The proposed pipeline facilities would interconnect with the intrastate gas pipelines of Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge Energy Partners in Panola County, TX.

Gulf South, a subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipelines LLC, also proposes to install two new compressor stations, the Vixen and the Tallulah Compressor Stations, in Ouachita and Madison Parishes, LA, respectively, and make modifications to three existing compressor stations in Panola County, Bienville Parish, LA, and Walthall County, MS.

The pipeline’s current projected completion date for the project is the fall of this year.

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