Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) and Sempra Pipelines and Storage are holding a binding open season through July 14 to solicit interest in extending their proposed Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) East from its currently proposed terminus at the Clarington Hub in Monroe County, OH to Oakford, PA. The 100-mile extension, which would pass through Waynesburg, PA, would provide up to 1.8 Bcf/d.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week granted a request by KMP and Sempra to begin the pre-filing process for the third leg of their $4 billion project, dubbed REX East, to deliver Rocky Mountain gas to markets in the Midwest and East (see Daily GPI, June 15). The REX East project consists of about 622 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline that would extend from Audrain County, MO, through Illinois and Indiana to Clarington. The project would have seven new compressor stations, totaling about 236,000 horsepower, and about 20 interconnects to other major pipeline systems.

Subject to shipper support and regulatory approval, the REX East extension would begin service Jan. 1, 2010.

Scott Parker, president of KMP’s Natural Gas Pipelines group, said the pipe’s extension “would provide consumers in several high-demand markets along the East Coast significantly enhanced access to reliable, long-lived domestic sources of natural gas.” All aspects of the project remain on schedule, he said.

The 1,663-mile project’s initial 136-mile, 36-inch segment that runs from the Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, CO, to the Wamsutter Hub in Sweetwater County, WY, was approved for service in February. Construction on the 192-mile stretch from the Wamsutter Hub to the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, CO, will begin this summer, with service expected to begin next January.

For information on the open season, contact KMP’s Jeff Rawls (303) 914-4903 or Sempra’s Ryan O’Neal at (619) 696-4585.

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