The Desert Crossing Gas Storage and Transportation System announced an open season beginning Thursday and extending through Feb. 8 for its 10 Bcf, high-deliverability natural gas storage complex and pipeline running through parts of Arizona and Nevada just east of Topock, AZ. The 800 MMcf/d pipeline will span roughly 300 miles from outside of Las Vegas to southwestern Arizona, connecting the storage complex with Kern River, Transwestern, and El Paso Natural Gas.

Project sponsors Allegheny Energy Supply Co., the generation and trading subsidiary of Allegheny Energy Inc.; Salt River Project (SRP); and Sempra Energy Resources, a unit of Sempra Energy, said in a statement that the Desert Crossing project in the Hualapai Valley, north of Kingman, AZ, will provide a “consumer-driven, market-responsive storage and pipeline system to serve the growing needs of the southwestern United States for power and peak period gas supplies.” Limits on gas transportation and storage in Arizona and southern Nevada, “along with past and projected increases in gas demand by consumers in the region,” made the project more attractive, said the participants.

“The beauty of this project is that it connects all the major interstate pipelines. Any potential customer can get gas from the Rockies, or the Anadarko or San Juan Basins; or at Topock it can draw gas on the PG&E System from Canada,” said Dwain Boettcher, vice president of planning and analysis for Sempra Energy Resources. “It will support all the existing pipelines, and “the major advantage of Desert Crossing is scheduling flexibility and providing customers with the ability to manage price risk. It’s a savings account a customer can rely on in regards to shortages, or as a way to provide greater swing service.” Boettcher noted that Kern River is doubling its capacity, while El Paso and Transwestern also are planning expansions.

“As proposed, this project with its north-south pipeline configuration will be uniquely situated to increase shippers’ and consumers’ options for sourcing natural gas and to provide new transportation capacity to the Arizona and southern Nevada markets,” said Michael Morrell, president of Allegheny Energy Supply Co. He added that the increased storage and transportation capacity “will enhance energy reliability at cost-effective prices, which is good news for consumers and shippers of natural gas.” Allegheny is constructing a 1,000 MW-plus power project in the area.

SRP’s David Areghini, associate general manager of power, construction and engineering, agreed. “As we continue to diversify our fuel sources by adding new gas-fired power plants, it is important that we increase our ability to obtain the necessary amount of natural gas supplies. The Desert Crossing project will help ensure an economical and clean energy source for consumers and others in the Southwest for many years.”

Allegheny Energy Inc., the diversified energy company headquartered in Hagerstown, MD, includes Allegheny Power, which delivers electric energy and natural gas to about three million people in parts of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. SRP is the third-largest public power utility in the nation, serving more than 750,000 electric customers in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Sempra Energy Resources acquires and develops power plants and energy infrastructure for the competitive market.

The Desert Crossing project is subject to regulatory approvals and “sufficient commitments from third parties” during the open season. Project scope and costs won’t be announced until the open season is completed. To participate in the open season and for more information about Desert Crossing, visit the web site at www.desert-crossing.com.

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