UGI Energy Services Inc. has completed two gathering projects in northeast Pennsylvania that will give a boost to utility customers with locally-sourced natural gas and help operators move more of their production to sales.

UGI completed its Union Dale pipeline project, finishing six miles of 12-inch diameter pipeline and two interconnection facilities that link Marcellus Shale gas supplied by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to the UGI Penn Natural Gas Inc. distribution system. The project is capable of delivering 100,000 Dth/d to the UGI Penn system.

UGI also completed phase one of a two-phase expansion of its Auburn Gathering System, adding three additional compressor units at is Manning station in Wyoming County, PA, and a new interconnection facility that adds 50,000 Dth/d to the UGI Penn system and the Transcontinental (Transco) interstate pipeline (see Shale Daily, Aug. 7, 2012; Aug. 24, 2011). Construction of phase two on that project is expected to begin in the spring of 2015 and will expand the system by 150,000 Dth/d.

The company billed the projects as a “critical milestone” for utility customers in the area, adding that those in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area are almost entirely supplied with locally-produced Marcellus natural gas. The projects also bolster the region’s infrastructure, where operators have been limited in some instances by available midstream options compared to those in the southwest part of the state (see Shale Daily, May 5).

“Cabot views the completion of these projects as significant steps forward to ensure the long-term dependability of locally produced natural gas for the Pennsylvania consumer,” company spokesman George Stark said.