Viking Gas Transmission last week proposed plans for a 45-mile,28 MMcf/d looping of its existing system in northwestern andcentral Minnesota in 1999. This is “a smaller project matched tomeet incremental market demand,” said Viking Gas President GregoryH. Palmer, but he noted it’s the first of a series of expansionsthe pipeline plans to carry out over the next couple of years.

“Basically what we’re going to do is expand every year just tomatch up with the market, whatever the demand is at the time. Whatwe’ve told shippers is we’ll expand for 10 to 20 MMcf/d or 250MMcf/d [annually], whatever the market wants,” he told NGI.

Palmer estimated that total looping of Viking from Emerson,Manitoba through Minnesota and Wisconsin would be about 500 MMcf/d.”We’re not contemplating doing that in one year, but we do thinkthere’s market interest” for expanding the system between 30 MMcf/dand 250 MMcf/d on a yearly basis. The first expansion has beentargeted for service by Nov. 1, 1999. There will be an open seasonfor the 2000 expansion this November.

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