FERC’s Office of Energy Projects (OE) has placed in service and certificated significantly more natural gas projects during the first four months of 2015 than it did during the same period last year, the agency said.

Through April 30, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission placed in service seven gas projects with a capacity of 2.27 Bcf/d, according to OE’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update. During the first four months of 2014, FERC placed into service three projects with a capacity of 448 MMcf/d.

Certificated projects increased to 13 with a combined capacity of 4.04 Bcf/d so far this year, compared with 10 projects with a capacity of 1.94 Bcf/d last year.

FERC placed in service 63 miles of pipeline and certificated another 245 miles of pipe through April; during the same four months in 2014 it placed in service 33 miles of pipe and certificated just 98 miles.

In April, FERC granted Cheniere Energy Inc. permission to place into service its Creole Trail Expansion Project, located in Louisiana’s Beauregard and Cameron parishes (see Daily GPI, April 28). The project [CP12-351] called for Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline LP to construct and operate a new interstate natural gas pipeline, compression and related facilities in the two parishes, thereby enabling bi-directional gas flow on Creole Trail’s existing pipeline.

Also last month, FERC authorized Enable Gas Transmission to place into service its Central Arkansas Pipeline Enhancement Project, which increased capacity on its system by 9.7 Bcf/d.