Northwest Pipeline has filed an application with FERC for its Rockies Expansion Project in Wyoming and southeastern Idaho. The project would increase its capacity by 175,000 Dth/d for transportation of existing customers’ domestic supplies to markets in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

The $154 million project would add six sections of new pipeline loops, totaling 91 miles. Northwest said the new pipe will be placed alongside Northwest’s existing system. In conjunction with the expansion, the company said it will modify compressor stations to add 25,000 horsepower. It plans to modify its compressor stations in Green River, Muddy Creek, Pegram, Lava Hot Springs, Pocatello, Burley and Buhl.

“The additional physical capacity created by this expansion will help shippers on the Northwest Pipeline system maintain reliable and flexible access to economically priced domestic gas supplies,” said John Davis, manager of business development.

Northwest said it expects to begin construction on the expansion during the spring of 2003 with an anticipated in-service date of October 2003. Northwest Pipelines currently operates a 3,964-mile natural gas pipeline system delivering Rocky Mountain and Canadian gas to markets in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. The company said the system currently has capacity to transport 2.9 Bcf/d of gas.

A spokesman for Northwest also said the company’s Evergreen project — a mainline expansion that will add 276 MMcf/d to serve new power generation in Washington — would be filed with FERC in the next two months. The $200 million looping and compression project first reported by NGI in June will include the addition of 26 miles of pipeline in Skagit, King and Pierce counties and 90,000 hp of compression at eight existing stations (see NGI, June 25).

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