Shippers responding to Duke Energy Gas Transmission’s (DEGT) open season on its Algonquin pipeline system have signaled that they may need more than 2 Bcf/d of new natural gas pipeline capacity to meet the demands of the growing Northeast market, the company said last Thursday.

Shippers showed “exceptional support” during the open season, which ended Oct. 27, for capacity on Algonquin’s proposed East-to-West expansion that would be designed to move gas, including LNG-sourced supply, into existing delivery points in high-growth East Coast markets, said Bill Yardley, DEGT vice president of marketing, business development and customer service.

“The demand for natural gas in the Northeast continues to grow and this project gives our shippers an opportunity to serve their markets by accessing incremental supplies from the eastern end of our Algonquin Gas Transmission system, including new LNG-sourced supply,” he said.

In a related project, Algonquin already has filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a new 16-mile, 24-inch diameter offshore pipeline, the Northeast Gateway Lateral, to transport about 400 MMcf/d of regasified liquefied natural gas from Excelerate’s proposed LNG import terminal offshore Gloucester to Algonquin’s pipeline system (see NGI, June 20, 2005). That project is expected to begin service in the 2007-2008 time frame.

Service on the proposed East-to-West expansion could begin as early as Nov. 1, 2008, the company said. The project would use existing mainline infrastructure, adding incremental expansion capacity as needed. In developing the project, Algonquin said it would use existing rights of way to minimize environmental and landowner impacts.

Algonquin is an 1,100-mile pipeline that provides 1.9 Bcf/d of natural gas service to the New England region.

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