Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. got the go-ahead from FERC Thursday to start up facilities that will enable it to provide interim firm transportation service to three shippers on its Northeast Supply Diversification (NSD) Project beginning Oct. 1, one month ahead of the in-service date for the entire project.

The project will provide producers with more takeaway capacity from the Marcellus Shale region along Tennessee’s 300 Line system to serve existing markets in New England and the Niagara Falls area of New York [CP11-30].

The Federal Regulatory Commission approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline’s request to place into service a seven-mile, 30-inch pipeline looping segment and pig receiver facilities at Compressor Station 317 in Tioga and Bradford counties, PA, to provide interim firm service to Anadarko Energy Services Co., MMGS Inc. and Seneca Resources Corp.

Tennessee said it has signed a precedent agreement with Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. but the contract does not require it to offer it interim firm transportation service in advance of Nov. 1.

From Oct. 1 to Oct. 31 the three shippers will receive on an interim basis a total of 105,000 Dth/d of the entire 250,000 Dth/d to be created by the Northeast Supply Diversification Project. Tennessee said it expects the entire project to be completed and in service by Nov. 1.

The 105,000 Dth/d in interim firm capacity “would be allocated to the project shippers based on each of the project shippers’ percentage of the project’s transportation quantity of 250,000 Dth/d,” Tennessee told FERC.

To accommodate shippers’ requested transportation paths from Marcellus receipt points to markets in New England and at Niagara Falls, the NSD project combines two Tennessee projects: the original NSD project to provide transportation service to New England; and the Marcellus-to-Leidy and Niagara project to provide transportation service to Niagara Falls (see Shale Daily, Sept. 16, 2011).