Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) said Monday the ETC Tiger Pipeline and the Fayetteville Express Pipeline (FEP) will both be in service on Dec. 1, well ahead of their previously scheduled in-service dates and “significantly under budget,” the partnership said.

Combined, the project costs for the two interstate pipelines are expected to total $2.02 billion, $200 million less than the most recent estimates and $480 million less than original cost estimates, ETP said.

“The early completion of these large-scale, interstate projects, coupled with the cost savings we were able to achieve, is an incredible accomplishment for our partnership,” said Lee Hanse, senior vice president of ETP’s interstate pipeline division. “We are very proud to have two projects of this magnitude in service ahead of schedule and well below the original budget — FEP 22% and Tiger 16% — particularly in light of significant cost overruns and delays experienced by other companies in constructing interstate pipelines in recent years.”

The 42-inch diameter Tiger Pipeline will serve the Haynesville Shale and Bossier Sands producing regions in Louisiana and East Texas and will have an initial capacity of 2 Bcf/d, ETP said. Through a planned expansion project subject to FERC approval, the ultimate capacity of the 175-mile pipeline is expected to be 2.4 Bcf/d, all of which is sold under long-term contracts ranging from 10 to 15 years. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Tiger last spring (see Daily GPI, April 12).

Tiger’s new in-service date of Dec. 1 is seven months ahead of the original projection of mid-2011. In addition, pre-expansion project costs are expected to be approximately $1.01 billion, down $85 million from the most recent estimate of $1.095 billion and down $190 million from the original projection of $1.2 billion, ETP said.

The 42-inch diameter FEP, a 50/50 joint venture with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, will serve the Fayetteville Shale producing region in Arkansas. The 185-mile pipeline, which will have the capacity to transport up to 2 Bcf/d, currently has approximately 1.85 Bcf/d of capacity sold under long-term contracts ranging from 10 to 12 years, ETP said.

FEP’s original in-service date was as late as the first quarter of 2011. Project costs for FEP are expected to total $1.01 billion, down $115 million from the most recent estimate of $1.125 billion and down $290 million from the original projection of $1.3 billion. As a 50/50 partner in the project, ETP’s portion of cost savings from the original estimate is about $145 million.

Construction of FEP began in March (see Daily GPI, March 9). FERC approved the project last December (see Daily GPI, Dec. 18, 2009).

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