Williams Partners’ Transcontinental Gas Pipeline (Transco) has filed at FERC for its 1.7 Bcf/d Atlantic Sunrise expansion, which would deliver Marcellus Shale gas to Mid-Atlantic and southeastern markets.

“Atlantic Sunrise is a vital piece of North American energy infrastructure needed to transport low-cost, abundant supplies of natural gas from the Marcellus producing region in Pennsylvania to hungry markets along the Atlantic Seaboard,” said Rory Miller, senior vice president of Williams Partners’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area. “Shippers have signed long-term commitments for the expansion’s entire capacity, which represents enough natural gas to serve approximately 7 million homes [see Shale Daily, Feb. 20, 2014].”

The project would provide 1.7 Bcf/d of firm capacity from northern Pennsylvania in Transco’s Zone 6 to Transco’s Station 85 in Alabama, including markets along the Transco system in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and interconnects with existing pipelines serving the Florida market, the pipeline said in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filing [CP15-138].

“The project will include construction of 57.3 miles of new 30-inch diameter greenfield pipeline (the Central Penn Line North) and 125.2 miles of new 42-inch diameter greenfield pipeline (the Central Penn Line South), incremental facilities on Transco’s existing natural gas transmission system, and modifications to Transco’s existing natural gas transmission system to enable north-to-south flow,” the filing said.

Transco and Meade Pipeline Co. LLC would jointly own the Central Penn lines north and south, with Transco having rights to 100% of the capacity.

Project shippers named in the filing are Anadarko Energy Services Co., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Chief Oil & Gas LLC, Inflection Energy LLC, MMGS Inc., Seneca Resources Corp., Southern Company Services Inc., Southwestern Energy Services Co. and WGL Midstream Inc.

Atlantic Sunrise would provide service from various points along Transco’s Leidy Line and from northern Susquehanna County, PA, to as far south as Transco’s Zone 4 and 4A Pools at Station 85 in Choctaw County, AL. The gas carried would serve demand centers on the Atlantic Seaboard. The project would include incremental mainline facilities and a “substantial greenfield pipeline,” referred to as the Central Penn Line. Firm service is expected to be available during the second half of 2017.

Williams said it expects to place Atlantic Sunrise into service in the second half of 2017 as part of $4.8 billion in transmission projects planned to come online through 2017. Williams Partners’ net investment in the Atlantic Sunrise project is expected to be $2.1 billion.

Making its case for the project, Williams recently released a study that found that gas consumers served by Transco in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic could have saved $2.6 billion from 2012 to 2014 if Atlantic Sunrise had been in service (see Daily GPI, March 16).