Citing the ever-growing demand for natural gas in the Southeast and last year’s hurricane-related supply interruptions in the region, Duke Energy Gas Transmission (DEGT) is proposing to build a high-deliverability natural gas storage facility and pipeline supply header system to provide hub services in the Florida, Alabama and Mississippi market area.

The Houston-based subsidiary of Duke Energy, whose operations include Texas Eastern Gas Transmission and Market Hub Partners among other companies, is conducting an open season through Feb. 28 for shippers to express non-binding interest in firm services related to the so-called “Southeast Supply Hub” project.

The project calls for the construction of a salt cavern gas storage facility in Greene County, MS, with an initial storage capacity of 6 Bcf that would interconnect with several interstate pipelines via a proposed 85-mile supply header pipeline capable of transporting 600,000 Dth/d initially. The header would be designed for bi-directional flow. The facilities would be expandable to 12 Bcf of storage and 1.2 Bcf/d of hub pipeline services.

The anticipated interstate pipeline interconnections include Florida Gas Transmission (FGT), Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line and Gulfstream Natural Gas System. FGT and Gulfstream serve the Florida gas markets, while Transco serves customers in Texas and 11 Southeast and Atlantic seaboard states. DEGT said the project is scheduled to be in service as early as mid-2007.

“The multiple hurricanes and tropical storms that impacted Gulf of Mexico gas production in 2004 put severe constraints on eastern Gulf supplies that serve the growing Southeast natural gas marketplace,” said DEGT President Tom O’Connor. “Clearly a regional need has been demonstrated for the Southeast United States and particularly Florida to be connected to an integrated storage and header pipeline hub.”

The combination of a “dedicated header system with integrated salt dome storage will provide the region with supply security and diversity as well as enhance development of a supply hub,” he noted.

Those seeking more information about the proposed Southeast Supply Hub or wishing to submit requests for service should contact David Shammo, DEGT’s director of business development SE & Supply, at (713) 627-4419 or at dashammo@duke-energy.com.

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