Vector Pipeline LP and Vector Pipeline LP will test shipper interest in a third expansion of their system that extends from Chicago to Dawn, Ontario, in a binding open season in September, they said Thursday.

The 2010 expansion proposes to add long-haul capacity of up to 120 MMcf/d by installing two new compressors and upgrading the U.S. portion of the Vector system, which is jointly owned by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.and DTE Energy Co. The expansion could also include up to 700 MMcf/d of short-haul capacity from Belle River, MI, to Dawn by adding a loop to the Canadian side of the line, according to the Livonia, MI-based pipeline.

“We still see increasing demand from downstream expansions on connecting pipeline systems, Millennium Pipeline shippers at Dawn, and storage expansions in southeastern Michigan and southwestern Ontario. Supply access is also on the upswing, particularly in the Midwest, with the recently constructed and announced pipelines from the Rockies,” said John Donaldson, Vector vice president of marketing.

Assuming that the project receives sufficient shipper interest and is approved by regulators, Vector said the expansion would go into operation in November 2010.

Binding bids for firm capacity will be accepted between Tuesday and Sept. 30. Open season materials will be available at www.vector-pipeline.com.

Vector’s 2009 expansion, which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved this year, will increase capacity on the pipeline to approximately 1.3 Bcf/d from 1.2 Bcf/d. The expansion calls for Vector to install a new compressor station in Athens Township, MI, and is expected to be in operation in late 2009 (see Daily GPI, June 9). Vector completed its first expansion last year by installing compressor stations in Joliet, IL, and Washington Township, MI.

The Vector Pipeline system, which was built in 2000, extends 349 miles from the Chicago Hub to the storage complex at Dawn. The U.S. leg of the system (Vector Pipeline LP) begins in Joliet, IL, and terminates at the U.S.-Canadian border at St. Clair, MI, where it interconnects with the Canadian leg (Vector Pipeline LP), which provides service to the Dawn storage facilities.

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